feeding ecology of Eidolon dupreanum (Pteropodidae) in eastern Madagascar

• Published in: African journal of ecology Vol. 45; no. 4; pp. 645 - 650
• Main Authors: Picot, Monica, Jenkins, Richard K.B, Ramilijaona, Olga, Racey, Paul A, Carrière, Stephanie M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2007; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Wiley
• Subjects: Agricultural sciences; Agronomy; Bats; Chiroptera; Diet; Ecology; Eidolon; Environmental studies; Eucalyptus; Forests; frugivory; Fruits; Humanities and Social Sciences; Life Sciences; Madagascar; Psidium; Pteropodidae; seed dispersal; Madagascar; ISW, Indian Ocean, Madagascar; Africa
• ISSN: 0141-6707; 1365-2028
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2007.00788.x

We investigated the diet of the endemic fruit bat Eidolon dupreanum (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) in eastern Madagascar. We collected faecal and ejecta samples under day roosts and at nocturnal feeding trees. Eidolon dupreanum ate mainly fruit, although Eucalyptus spp. flowers were also consumed. In total, 30 plant species (fourteen identified and sixteen unidentified) were recorded in the diet, including six introduced taxa. Polyscias spp. trees, which occurred in humid forest at least 5 km from the roost, were the most frequently recorded plant in the diet. Fruits of Psidium spp. were abundant near to the roost but relatively uncommon in the faeces. Passage through the alimentary canal was limited to seeds <7 mm and there was some evidence for a positive effect on germination after passage through bats' stomachs. The role of fruit bats as seed dispersers in forest ecosystems in Madagascar should be used as an additional leverage for their conservation.