How to translate text using browser tools
1 December 2006 Female interactions in harem groups of the Jamaican fruit-eating bat, Artibeus jamaicensis (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)
Jorge Ortega, Jesús E. Maldonado
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Harem groups of the Jamaican fruit-eating bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) are well-defined units that occupy different crevices in caves. For two consecutive years, we analyzed the non-random associations among female bats and their interactions with other members of the harem. Female members occupying the edges of the harems came from different parts of the cave and were more frequently expelled from the roosting site. Females from the central core of the harem were attacked less often and received more affiliative interactions. Females occupying areas between the central core and the edges were the most active in repelling arriving females and were responsible for grooming the central core females. During the breeding season, aggressive activities decreased and females became more tolerant, which suggests that a potential benefit of roosting together is that it provides for a more suitable place to nurse newborns, because all females produce a better environment, in thermoregulatory ways.

Jorge Ortega and Jesús E. Maldonado "Female interactions in harem groups of the Jamaican fruit-eating bat, Artibeus jamaicensis (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)," Acta Chiropterologica 8(2), 485-495, (1 December 2006). https://doi.org/10.3161/1733-5329(2006)8[485:FIIHGO]2.0.CO;2
Received: 16 May 2006; Accepted: 1 September 2006; Published: 1 December 2006
KEYWORDS
affiliative interactions
aggressive interactions
Artibeus jamaicensis
harem groups
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top