Ontogeny

The practice of folivory in bats is a relatively new discovery.  It has not been intensely researched and several questions regarding the development of folivory in bats remain.

 

The seven different types of leaves eaten by the bat species A. amplus are shown to the left (15). Various species of bats have been found to eat specific types of leaves coinciding with certain time periods as well. It is unknown by what means bats learn to recognize specific leaves and begin to feed upon leaves. This specific feeding pattern on leaves raises several questions regarding the development of folivory in bats. How do bats learn to eat leaves?  Is it innate, or do they learn from other animals?  How do they know which leaves to eat?  How do they identify these leaves? How do they know when to eat these leaves?

 

 

 

Since most bats share day roosts (as shown in the image to the right) (16), they are consistently in the presence of each other and it would be possible to learn folivory from surrounding neighbors, especially with the presence of leaf pellets littering the roosts (1).

Bat mothers do not feed their pups fruit and leaves but rather milk their pups for ten to eleven weeks (7).  Thus, bats probably don’t learn folivory from their mothers; unless there is some chemical in the mother’s milk that causes the expression of folivory.

Furthermore, bats are found to feed on specific leaves during certain times of the year (Ruiz-Ramoni).  How do they know when to feed on leaves?  Is it a last resort in response to a food shortage?  Does folivory occur in anticipation of the breeding season (6)?  How would the bat detect this?

Scientists have proposed research in the following areas that will help provide answers to questions concerning the ontogeny of folivory: “Future research will be focused on determining (1) the relative importance of each plant species (number of leaves consumed) during the year, (2) portion of leaves consumed, (3) whether males and females are similar leaf consumers, and (4) the chemical properties of each plant species, in terms of their nutritional and pharmacological contribution to A. amplus diet.”