DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Ecomorphological Analysis of Nectar-Feeding Performance in Flower-Visiting Bats

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Bats are critical for the pollination of hundreds of different plantspecies in environments from arid deserts to tropical rainforests. Some NewWorld bats exist entirely on nectar and pollen, while others visit flowersto supplement their regular diets of fruit or insects. The shape of theskull is associated with the relative reliance on nectar in the diet. Thisstudy investigates nectar-feeding ability (performance) among six species ofbats that range from occasional flower visitors to nectar specialists.Feeding performance is measured by filming captive bats feeding atartificial flowers that differ in both shape and nectar availability. Theseexperiments evaluate the impact of flower shape on feeding performance, themaximum distance bats can extend the tongue, and how well bats can extractsmall amounts of nectar. The feeding experiments are coupled with adetailed analysis of skull and tongue structure to establish associationsbetween anatomy and feeding performance. This research contributes to our understanding of the biological andfunctional importance of anatomical diversity, and adds to the picture ofhow these bats function within their ecosystems. By constraining behavioralcapabilities, anatomical differences ultimately help sculpt ecologicalpatterns of resource use and mediate the interactions between bats andflowers. This combination of anatomical and behavioral data will providenew insights into the diversity, evolution, and ecology of these importantpollinators.