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Opportunistic predation by Crested Owl Lophostrix cristata upon Seba’s Short-tailed Bat Carollia perspicillata

Opportunistic predation by Crested Owl Lophostrix cristata upon Seba’s Short-tailed Bat Carollia... Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 22(1), 35-37 SHORTCOMMUNICATION March 2014 Opportunistic predation by Crested Owl Lophostrix cristata upon Seba’s Short-tailed Bat Carollia perspicillata 1, 2, 3, 5 1, 3, 4 Ricardo Rocha and Adrià López-Baucells Centro de Biologia Ambiental, Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Bloco C2, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal Metapopulation Research Group, Faculty of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65 (Viikinkaari 1), FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, C.P. 478, Manaus, AM 69011-970, Brazil Museu de Ciències Naturals de Granollers, Àrea Investigació en Quiròpters, Av. Francesc Macià 51, 08402 Granollers, Catalonia Corresponding author:: ricardo.nature@gmail.com Received on 22 November 2013. Accepted on 9 January 2014 ABSTRACT: This note reports two opportunistic events of predation on Seba’s Short-tailed Bats Carollia perspicillata (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) by an immature Crested Owl Lophostrix cristata (Strigiformes: Strigidae), in Central Amazonia, Brazil. Both predation events took place while bats were mist-netted. Given the abundance of C. perspicillata in the study area we argue that this bat species likely constitutes a natural prey for L. cristata. KEYWORDS: central Amazon; diet; Phyllostomidae; Strigidae; trophic interaction. The Crested Owl Lophostrix cristata is a monotypic understory fruits of Piper, Solanum, and Cecropia species, medium-sized owl (mass between 400-600 g; total length and supplements its diet with nectar, pollen, and insects 36-43 cm), widely distributed across tropical and sub- (Cloutier & Thomas 1992; Williams & Genoways 2007). tropical forest habitats of Central America and central Trophic interactions between owls and bats Amazon Basin (Marks et al. 1999). Compared to diurnal have been reported in numerous locations across the birds, the knowledge on the ecology and natural history of Neotropics (e.g., Motta-Jr. et al. 2004; Escarlate-Tavares tropical nocturnal birds is notoriously scarce (Sekercioglu & Pessoa 2005; Motta-Jr. 2006; Carvalho et al. 2011) and 2010) and L. cristata is no exception to this trend (Barros Seba’s Short-tailed Bats have been suggested to constitute & Cintra 2009). In the Amazon, the species has been a potential prey of several owl species such as Barn Tyto found to occur in both secondary and old-growth forest alba, Mottled Strix virgata, and Spectacled Pulsatrix sites (Sberze et al. 2010) and its abundance has been perspicillata Owls (Cloutier & Thomas 1992; Motta- suggested to be positively associated with the density of Jr. & Taddei 1992). Here we report two opportunistic snags (Barros & Cintra 2009). However, information predation events on Carollia perspicillata by the Lophostrix regarding the species’ diet is limited to the description cristata, in central Amazon, Brazil. of large insects and small vertebrates as prey (Marks et al. Both predation events took place two days apart 1999) and currently no studies on the individual species and were observed during bat surveys in the Porto preyed upon by L. cristata are available. Alegre reserve, Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Seba’s Short-tailed Bat Carollia perspicillata is a small Project (for site description, see Gascon & Bierregaard to medium sized bat (mass about 18.5 g; total length 66-95 2001). Bats were captured using 14 mist nets (12 x 3 mm) found in moist evergreen and dry deciduous forests, m) open from 18:00 to 00:00 h and stretched along 2 from Mexico to southern Brazil. It commonly occurs up perpendicular transects of roughly 100 m. to 1,000 m and is one of the most frequently captured The first event took place on 5 June 2012 in a terra bats, being especially abundant in secondary growth firme forest fragment (2°24'17.20"S, 59°52'16.07"W). forests (Cloutier & Thomas 1992; Williams & Genoways Shortly after dusk (18:15 h), a juvenile Lophostrix 2007). Carollia perspicillata feeds predominantly on cristata was netted adjacent to an inanimate bat. When Opportunistic predation by Crested Owl Lophostrix cristata upon Seba’s Short-tailed Bat Carollia perspicillata Ricardo Rocha and Adrià López-Baucells approached, the owl managed to escape leaving behind Cecropia-dominated secondary forest (2°21'58.76"S, a dead bat that presented claw perforations on the 59°58'4.14"W). As in the previous case, the predation thorax and wing membranes. The bat was an adult male event took place just after dusk (18:10 h) and involved Carollia perspicillata (forearm 39.5 mm; tibia 19.3 mm; a juvenile Lophostrix cristata (Figure 1) preying upon weight 12 g). an adult male Carollia perspicillata (forearm 41.5 mm; The second predation event took place 1.4 km tibia 19.7; weight 13 g; Figure 2). Both individuals were away from the first one, on 7 June 2012 in mature entangled and the owl was captured. FIGURE 1. Juvenile Lophostrix cristata captured during bat sampling in mature Cecropia-dominated secondary regrowth, Porto Alegre reserve, central Amazon. A) Head detail; B) owl flying upon release. FIGURE 2. Adult Carollia perspicillata preyed upon by Lophostrix cristata. A) bat entangled in the mist-net; B) detail of claw perforation on the bat’s dorsum; C)–F) details of claw perforations on the bat’s wing membranes. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 22(1), 2014 Opportunistic predation by Crested Owl Lophostrix cristata upon Seba’s Short-tailed Bat Carollia perspicillata Ricardo Rocha and Adrià López-Baucells The owl from the first predation event presented REFERENCES similar size, plumage pattern, and striking bold white Barros, O. G. & Cintra, R. 2009. The effect of forest structure on eyebrows like those of the L. cristata individual captured occurrence and abundance of three owl species (Aves: Strigidae) in on the second event. Based on the spatial and temporal the Central Amazon forest. Zoologia, 26: 85-96. proximity of these predation events it is possible that the Bernard, N.; Michelat, D.; Raoul, F.; Quéré, J. P.; Delattre, P.; & same owl individual had been responsible for both bat Giraudoux, P. 2010. Dietary response of Barn Owls (Tyto alba) to large variations in populations of common voles (Microtus arvalis) fatalities. and European water voles (Arvicola terrestris). Canadian Journal of Bat predation by owls is relatively rare. The frequency Zoology, 88: 416-426. of bats in the diet of Neotropical owls usually constitutes Bobrowiec, P. E. D. & Gribel, R. 2010. Effects of different secondary less than 5% of their vertebrate prey (Escarlate-Tavares vegetation types on bat community composition in Central & Pessôa 2005; Motta-Jr. 2006), likely because bats Amazonia, Brazil. Animal Conservation, 13: 204-216. Carvalho, L. F. A. C.; Cunha, N. L.; Fischer, E.; & Santos, C. F. are more difficult to capture than amphibians or small 2011. Predation on Broad-eared bat Nyctinomops laticaudatus by terrestrial mammals. Owls are opportunistic predators the Spectacled Owl Pulsatrix perspicillata in southwestern Brazil. and their diet is related to the local abundance of prey Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 19: 417-418. in their hunting grounds (Bernard et al. 2010). The Cloutier, D. & Thomas, D. W. 1992. Carollia perspicillata. Mammalian Species, 417: 1-9. reported predation events may have occurred due to the Escarlate-Tavares, F. & Pessôa, L. M. 2005. Bats (Chiroptera, fact that the bats were entangled in the net. However, Mammalia) in Barn Owl (Tyto alba) pellets in northern Pantanal, Carollia perspicillata is the most common bat species in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Mastozoología Neotropical, 12: 61-67. the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments landscape Gascon, C. & Bierregaard, R. O. 2001. The biological dynamics of (Bobrowiec & Gribel 2010) and could constitute a Forest Fragments Project: the study site, experimental design, and research activity, p. 31–42. In: Bierregaard, R. O.; Gascon, C.; natural prey of Lophostrix cristata. The nocturnal lifestyle Lovejoy, T. E.; & Mesquita, R. (eds.). Lessons from Amazonia: of Lophostrix cristata and Carollia perspicillata contributes the ecology and conservation of a fragmented forest. New Haven: to the scarce literature on the natural history and ecology Yale University Press. of both species. Thus, similar predation events should be Marks, J. S.; Canning, R. J.; & Mikkola, H. 1999. Family Strigidae (Typical Owls), p. 152-238. In: del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; & properly reported whenever witnessed to allow a better Sargatal, J. (eds.). Handbook of the birds of the world, v. 5. Barn- understanding of the trophic interactions between bats Owls to Hummingbirds. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. and their avian predators. Motta-Jr, J. C. & Taddei, V. A. 1992. Bats as prey of stygian owls in southeastern Brazil. Journal of Raptor Research 26: 259-260. Motta-Jr., J. C.; Alho, C. J. R.; & Belentani, S. C. S. 2004. Food habits of the Striped Owl Asio clamator in southeast Brazil, p. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS th 777-784. In: Chancellor, R & Meyburg, B. U. (eds.). 6 World Conference on Birds of Prey and Owls. Budapest: World Working We would like to thank Christoph F.J. Meyer, Group on Birds of Prey and Owls and MME/BirdLife. Paulo Bobrowiec, and Jorge Palmeirim for assistance Motta-Jr., J. C. 2006. Relações tróficas entre cinco Strigiformes simpátricas na região central do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. during all phases of the project and José L.C. Camargo, Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 14: 359-377. Rosely Hipólito, and Ary Jorge Ferreira for logistic Sberze, M.; Cohn-Haft, M.; & Ferraz, G. 2010. Old growth and support. We also thank Jared Wolfe and Gonçalo secondary forest site occupancy by nocturnal birds in a neotropical Ferraz for assisting on the owl identification and Sasha landscape. Animal Conservation, 13: 3-11. Vasconcelos for commenting on early drafts. Financial Sekercioglu, C. H. 2010. The mystery of nocturnal birds in tropical secondary forests. Animal Conservation, 13: 12-13. support was provided by the Portuguese Foundation for Williams S. L. & Genoways H. H. 2007. Subfamily Phyllostominae, Science and Technology through the grants PTDC/BIA- p. 255-299. In: Gardner A. L. (ed.). Mammals of South America. BIC/111184/2009 and SFRH/BD/80488/2011. This is Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. publication 632 of the Technical Series of the BDFPP. Associate Editor: Caio G. Machado Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 22(1), 2014 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia Springer Journals

Opportunistic predation by Crested Owl Lophostrix cristata upon Seba’s Short-tailed Bat Carollia perspicillata

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Abstract

Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 22(1), 35-37 SHORTCOMMUNICATION March 2014 Opportunistic predation by Crested Owl Lophostrix cristata upon Seba’s Short-tailed Bat Carollia perspicillata 1, 2, 3, 5 1, 3, 4 Ricardo Rocha and Adrià López-Baucells Centro de Biologia Ambiental, Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Bloco C2, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal Metapopulation Research Group, Faculty of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65 (Viikinkaari 1), FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, C.P. 478, Manaus, AM 69011-970, Brazil Museu de Ciències Naturals de Granollers, Àrea Investigació en Quiròpters, Av. Francesc Macià 51, 08402 Granollers, Catalonia Corresponding author:: ricardo.nature@gmail.com Received on 22 November 2013. Accepted on 9 January 2014 ABSTRACT: This note reports two opportunistic events of predation on Seba’s Short-tailed Bats Carollia perspicillata (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) by an immature Crested Owl Lophostrix cristata (Strigiformes: Strigidae), in Central Amazonia, Brazil. Both predation events took place while bats were mist-netted. Given the abundance of C. perspicillata in the study area we argue that this bat species likely constitutes a natural prey for L. cristata. KEYWORDS: central Amazon; diet; Phyllostomidae; Strigidae; trophic interaction. The Crested Owl Lophostrix cristata is a monotypic understory fruits of Piper, Solanum, and Cecropia species, medium-sized owl (mass between 400-600 g; total length and supplements its diet with nectar, pollen, and insects 36-43 cm), widely distributed across tropical and sub- (Cloutier & Thomas 1992; Williams & Genoways 2007). tropical forest habitats of Central America and central Trophic interactions between owls and bats Amazon Basin (Marks et al. 1999). Compared to diurnal have been reported in numerous locations across the birds, the knowledge on the ecology and natural history of Neotropics (e.g., Motta-Jr. et al. 2004; Escarlate-Tavares tropical nocturnal birds is notoriously scarce (Sekercioglu & Pessoa 2005; Motta-Jr. 2006; Carvalho et al. 2011) and 2010) and L. cristata is no exception to this trend (Barros Seba’s Short-tailed Bats have been suggested to constitute & Cintra 2009). In the Amazon, the species has been a potential prey of several owl species such as Barn Tyto found to occur in both secondary and old-growth forest alba, Mottled Strix virgata, and Spectacled Pulsatrix sites (Sberze et al. 2010) and its abundance has been perspicillata Owls (Cloutier & Thomas 1992; Motta- suggested to be positively associated with the density of Jr. & Taddei 1992). Here we report two opportunistic snags (Barros & Cintra 2009). However, information predation events on Carollia perspicillata by the Lophostrix regarding the species’ diet is limited to the description cristata, in central Amazon, Brazil. of large insects and small vertebrates as prey (Marks et al. Both predation events took place two days apart 1999) and currently no studies on the individual species and were observed during bat surveys in the Porto preyed upon by L. cristata are available. Alegre reserve, Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Seba’s Short-tailed Bat Carollia perspicillata is a small Project (for site description, see Gascon & Bierregaard to medium sized bat (mass about 18.5 g; total length 66-95 2001). Bats were captured using 14 mist nets (12 x 3 mm) found in moist evergreen and dry deciduous forests, m) open from 18:00 to 00:00 h and stretched along 2 from Mexico to southern Brazil. It commonly occurs up perpendicular transects of roughly 100 m. to 1,000 m and is one of the most frequently captured The first event took place on 5 June 2012 in a terra bats, being especially abundant in secondary growth firme forest fragment (2°24'17.20"S, 59°52'16.07"W). forests (Cloutier & Thomas 1992; Williams & Genoways Shortly after dusk (18:15 h), a juvenile Lophostrix 2007). Carollia perspicillata feeds predominantly on cristata was netted adjacent to an inanimate bat. When Opportunistic predation by Crested Owl Lophostrix cristata upon Seba’s Short-tailed Bat Carollia perspicillata Ricardo Rocha and Adrià López-Baucells approached, the owl managed to escape leaving behind Cecropia-dominated secondary forest (2°21'58.76"S, a dead bat that presented claw perforations on the 59°58'4.14"W). As in the previous case, the predation thorax and wing membranes. The bat was an adult male event took place just after dusk (18:10 h) and involved Carollia perspicillata (forearm 39.5 mm; tibia 19.3 mm; a juvenile Lophostrix cristata (Figure 1) preying upon weight 12 g). an adult male Carollia perspicillata (forearm 41.5 mm; The second predation event took place 1.4 km tibia 19.7; weight 13 g; Figure 2). Both individuals were away from the first one, on 7 June 2012 in mature entangled and the owl was captured. FIGURE 1. Juvenile Lophostrix cristata captured during bat sampling in mature Cecropia-dominated secondary regrowth, Porto Alegre reserve, central Amazon. A) Head detail; B) owl flying upon release. FIGURE 2. Adult Carollia perspicillata preyed upon by Lophostrix cristata. A) bat entangled in the mist-net; B) detail of claw perforation on the bat’s dorsum; C)–F) details of claw perforations on the bat’s wing membranes. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 22(1), 2014 Opportunistic predation by Crested Owl Lophostrix cristata upon Seba’s Short-tailed Bat Carollia perspicillata Ricardo Rocha and Adrià López-Baucells The owl from the first predation event presented REFERENCES similar size, plumage pattern, and striking bold white Barros, O. G. & Cintra, R. 2009. The effect of forest structure on eyebrows like those of the L. cristata individual captured occurrence and abundance of three owl species (Aves: Strigidae) in on the second event. Based on the spatial and temporal the Central Amazon forest. Zoologia, 26: 85-96. proximity of these predation events it is possible that the Bernard, N.; Michelat, D.; Raoul, F.; Quéré, J. P.; Delattre, P.; & same owl individual had been responsible for both bat Giraudoux, P. 2010. Dietary response of Barn Owls (Tyto alba) to large variations in populations of common voles (Microtus arvalis) fatalities. and European water voles (Arvicola terrestris). Canadian Journal of Bat predation by owls is relatively rare. The frequency Zoology, 88: 416-426. of bats in the diet of Neotropical owls usually constitutes Bobrowiec, P. E. D. & Gribel, R. 2010. Effects of different secondary less than 5% of their vertebrate prey (Escarlate-Tavares vegetation types on bat community composition in Central & Pessôa 2005; Motta-Jr. 2006), likely because bats Amazonia, Brazil. Animal Conservation, 13: 204-216. Carvalho, L. F. A. C.; Cunha, N. L.; Fischer, E.; & Santos, C. F. are more difficult to capture than amphibians or small 2011. Predation on Broad-eared bat Nyctinomops laticaudatus by terrestrial mammals. Owls are opportunistic predators the Spectacled Owl Pulsatrix perspicillata in southwestern Brazil. and their diet is related to the local abundance of prey Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 19: 417-418. in their hunting grounds (Bernard et al. 2010). The Cloutier, D. & Thomas, D. W. 1992. Carollia perspicillata. Mammalian Species, 417: 1-9. reported predation events may have occurred due to the Escarlate-Tavares, F. & Pessôa, L. M. 2005. Bats (Chiroptera, fact that the bats were entangled in the net. However, Mammalia) in Barn Owl (Tyto alba) pellets in northern Pantanal, Carollia perspicillata is the most common bat species in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Mastozoología Neotropical, 12: 61-67. the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments landscape Gascon, C. & Bierregaard, R. O. 2001. The biological dynamics of (Bobrowiec & Gribel 2010) and could constitute a Forest Fragments Project: the study site, experimental design, and research activity, p. 31–42. In: Bierregaard, R. O.; Gascon, C.; natural prey of Lophostrix cristata. The nocturnal lifestyle Lovejoy, T. E.; & Mesquita, R. (eds.). Lessons from Amazonia: of Lophostrix cristata and Carollia perspicillata contributes the ecology and conservation of a fragmented forest. New Haven: to the scarce literature on the natural history and ecology Yale University Press. of both species. Thus, similar predation events should be Marks, J. S.; Canning, R. J.; & Mikkola, H. 1999. Family Strigidae (Typical Owls), p. 152-238. In: del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; & properly reported whenever witnessed to allow a better Sargatal, J. (eds.). Handbook of the birds of the world, v. 5. Barn- understanding of the trophic interactions between bats Owls to Hummingbirds. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. and their avian predators. Motta-Jr, J. C. & Taddei, V. A. 1992. Bats as prey of stygian owls in southeastern Brazil. Journal of Raptor Research 26: 259-260. Motta-Jr., J. C.; Alho, C. J. R.; & Belentani, S. C. S. 2004. Food habits of the Striped Owl Asio clamator in southeast Brazil, p. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS th 777-784. In: Chancellor, R & Meyburg, B. U. (eds.). 6 World Conference on Birds of Prey and Owls. Budapest: World Working We would like to thank Christoph F.J. Meyer, Group on Birds of Prey and Owls and MME/BirdLife. Paulo Bobrowiec, and Jorge Palmeirim for assistance Motta-Jr., J. C. 2006. Relações tróficas entre cinco Strigiformes simpátricas na região central do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. during all phases of the project and José L.C. Camargo, Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 14: 359-377. Rosely Hipólito, and Ary Jorge Ferreira for logistic Sberze, M.; Cohn-Haft, M.; & Ferraz, G. 2010. Old growth and support. We also thank Jared Wolfe and Gonçalo secondary forest site occupancy by nocturnal birds in a neotropical Ferraz for assisting on the owl identification and Sasha landscape. Animal Conservation, 13: 3-11. Vasconcelos for commenting on early drafts. Financial Sekercioglu, C. H. 2010. The mystery of nocturnal birds in tropical secondary forests. Animal Conservation, 13: 12-13. support was provided by the Portuguese Foundation for Williams S. L. & Genoways H. H. 2007. Subfamily Phyllostominae, Science and Technology through the grants PTDC/BIA- p. 255-299. In: Gardner A. L. (ed.). Mammals of South America. BIC/111184/2009 and SFRH/BD/80488/2011. This is Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. publication 632 of the Technical Series of the BDFPP. Associate Editor: Caio G. Machado Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 22(1), 2014

Journal

Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia – Springer Journals

Published: Mar 1, 2014

Keywords: central Amazon; diet; Phyllostomidae; Strigidae; trophic interaction

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