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Odour-based species recognition in two sympatric species of sac-winged bats (Saccopteryx bilineata, S. leptura): combining chemical analyses, behavioural observations and odour preference tests

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Abstract

Combining chemical analysis and odour preference tests, we asked whether two closely related sympatric species of sac-winged bats use odour for species recognition. Males of the two sister species Saccopteryx bilineata and Saccopteryx leptura have pouches containing an odoriferous liquid in their antebrachial wing membrane, which is used in S. bilineata during courtship displays. Although both species occasionally share the same daytime roosts and are morphologically similar, there is no evidence for interbreeding. We compared the production and composition of the wing sac odorant in male S. leptura and S. bilineata and performed odour preference tests with female S. bilineata. Similar to male S. bilineata, male S. leptura cleansed and refilled their wing sacs with secretions, but they spent more time each day in doing so than male S. bilineata. Chemical analysis by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry revealed that male Saccopteryx carried species-specific scents in their wing sacs. Binary choice tests confirmed that female S. bilineata preferred the wing sac scents of male S. bilineata to those of the sister species, suggesting that the species specificity of male wing sac scents maintain the pre-mating isolation barrier between these closely related species.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Costa Rican Authorities (MINAE) and especially Javier Guevara for research and collecting permits. We are also thankful to Maike Dieckmann who helped in the field. Dina Dechmann, Nicole Burgener, Detlev Kelm, Tomer Czaczkesmi, and two anonymous referees gave helpful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. The study was financed by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) to Christian C. Voigt (VO890/3 and VO890/7) and a grant from the Berliner Chancengleichheitsprogramm to Barbara Caspers. We declare that the experiments complied with the current laws of Costa Rica.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Evolutionary Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics Research Groups, PO 601103, 10252, Berlin, Germany

    Barbara A. Caspers, W. Jürgen Streich & Christian C. Voigt

  2. Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Tower Road, Ithaca, NY, 14853-1801, USA

    Frank C. Schroeder

  3. Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 6, 20146, Hamburg, Germany

    Stephan Franke

  4. Department of Animal Behaviour, University of Bielefeld, Morgenbreede 45, 33615, Bielefeld, Germany

    Barbara A. Caspers

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  1. Barbara A. Caspers
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  2. Frank C. Schroeder
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  3. Stephan Franke
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  4. W. Jürgen Streich
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  5. Christian C. Voigt
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Correspondence to Barbara A. Caspers.

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Communicated by P. Kappeler

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Caspers, B.A., Schroeder, F.C., Franke, S. et al. Odour-based species recognition in two sympatric species of sac-winged bats (Saccopteryx bilineata, S. leptura): combining chemical analyses, behavioural observations and odour preference tests. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 63, 741–749 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-009-0708-7

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