Bat-flower trait matching: Extreme phenotypic specialization affects diet preferences but not diet breadth
Data files
Mar 11, 2024 version files 16.94 KB
Abstract
Nectarivorous bats have evolved various adaptations to feeding from flowers, such as long, extensible tongues and the ability to hover. The champion of tongue length, Anoura fistulata, can extend its tongue 150% of its body length, yet little is known about its interactions with flowers in the wild. Here we analyzed the diet of A. fistulata and co-occurring nectar bats in eight sites across Ecuador. Results demonstrate that, despite its phenotypic specialization, A. fistulata is no more ecologically specialized in its dietary breadth than co-occurring nectar bats. However, it prefers deeper flowers and is the sole visitor to two species (Centropogon nigricans and Marcgravia williamsii) whose extremely deep flowers make their nectar inaccessible to other bats. Furthermore, A. fistulata only occurred in sites with at least one flower deeper than the tongue length of other nectar bats, suggesting it needs such a guaranteed nectar source to maintain a population. Finally, we found strong covariation across sites between the local tongue length of A. fistulata and the depth of the deepest flowers it visits. This suggests that the coevolutionary race that selected for the exceptional tongue length of this bat over time is also playing out in a geographic mosaic across space.
README: Bat-flower trait matching: Extreme phenotypic specialization affects diet choices but not diet breadth
https://doi.org/10.7291/D1QX26
This README file was generated on 2023-12-18 by Rossana Maguiña-Conde
1. Title of Dataset: Bat-flower trait matching: Extreme phenotypic specialization affects diet preferences but not diet breadth
2. Author information:
A. Principal Investigator contact information
Name: Nathan C. Muchhala
Institution: University of Missouri at Saint Louis
Email: muchhalan@umsl.edu
B. Associated co-investigators
- Rossana Maguiña-Conde (corresponding author email’s nrmaguina@gmail.com)
- Angelica Caiza
- Daniela Proaño
3. Date of data collection: 2003-2016
4. Geographic location of data collection:
Country: Ecuador
Site (Province)
A. Reserva Bellavista (Pichincha)
B. Bosque Macas Domono (Morona-Santiago)
C. Reserva Floristica Rio Guajalito (Pichincha)
D. San Francisco Scientific Station (Loja)
E. Siempre Verde Reserve (Imabura)
F. Tapichalaca Biological Reserve (Zamora Chinchipe)
G. Yanayacu Biological Station (Napo)
H. Wildsumaco Wildlife Sanctuary (Napo)
5. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data:
National Geographic Society (Grant #8722-09) to Nathan C. Muchhala, and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis to Rossana Maguiña-Conde.
SHARING/ACCESS INFORMATION
1. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain
2. Links to publications that cite or use the data:
Muchhala N., Maguina-Conde R., Caiza A., and Proaño D. (2023). Bat-flower trait matching: Extreme phenotypic specialization affects diet preferences but not diet breadth.
3. Links to other publicly accessible locations of the data: None
4. Links/relationships to ancillary data sets: None
5. Was data derived from another source? No
A. If yes, list source(s): NA
6. Recommended citation for this dataset:
Maguina-Conde, Rossana (Forthcoming 2023). Bat-flower trait matching: Extreme phenotypic specialization affects diet choices but not diet breadth [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.7291/D1QX26
DATA & FILE OVERVIEW
1. File list:
A. pollenpresence.csv
B. flowers.csv
C. tongues.csv
2. Relationship between files, if important: NA
3. Additional related data collected that was not included in the current data package: NA
4. Are there multiple versions of the dataset? No
A. If yes, name of file(s) that was updated: NA
i. Why was the file updated? NA
ii. When was the file updated? NA
DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: pollenpresence.csv
1. Number of variables: 46
2. Number of cases/rows: 22
3. Variable list:
- Site: Site name where the data was collected
- Species: Nectar bat species
- N: Number of samples for each bat species/site combination
- Column 4 to 46 are plant species (or genus or family) of pollen grains found as part of the nectar bats diet. It indicates how many samples per bat species/site combination was positive for the presence of the pollen grains from such taxonomic group.
4. Missing data code: None
5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: None
DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: flowers.csv
1. Number of variables: 4
2. Number of cases/rows: 138
3. Variable list:
- Site: Site name where the data was collected
- Family: Family name of plant species sampled in the study
- Species: Plant species name from which flowers were measured
- Flower Length: Flower depth measured in millimeters
4. Missing data code: None
5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: None
DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: tongues.csv
1. Number of variables: 3
2. Number of cases/rows: 69
3. Variable list:
- Site: Site name where the data was collected
- Species: Nectar bat species name from which tongues were measured
- Tongue: Tongue length measured in millimeters
4. Missing data code: None
5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: None
CODE/SOFTWARE
No code provided