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Abstract
The objective of this study was to collect and present data on the food plants that a vulnerable migratory nectarivorous bat, Leptonycteris nivalis, used during its seasonal stay at a cave in Tepoztlan, Mexico. This cave is the only mating roost known for this species. Pollen grains from faeces and fur were examined. Little is known about the diet of this bat, especially in the southern half of its distribution. Pollen belonging to 10 plant species was found from five families: Cactaceae (Stenocereus beneckei), Bombacaceae (Ceiba aesculifolia, Pseudobombax ellipticum), Convolvulaceae (Ipomoea arborescens), Fabaceae (Calliandra houstoniana, Bauhinia ungulata), and Amaryllidaceae (Agave dasylirioides, A. horrida, A. inaequidens, A. salmiana). Bats showed the highest dietary diversity in November. There were no significant differences in diet between sexes. Of the four Agave species, two have paniculate inflorescences that are commonly attributed to bat pollination, while the other two had spicate inflorescences, which are considered to be primarily insect‐pollinated.
Acknowledgements
We thank Programa para la Conservación de los Murciélagos Mexicanos (PCMM), BCI, CONACYT, Packard Foundation, NFWF, US Fish and Wildlife Service, INE, SEMARNAT, Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza, and Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, for the support of this work; Enrique Martínez for help with pollen identification, and for facilitating the entrance to the Palynological Collection (Instituto de Geologia, UNAM); Teresa German for all the facilities in MEXU Herbarium (Instituto de Biología, UNAM); Carlos Nuñez for help with permanent slides; Joaquín Arroyo, Marco Tschapka, Bernal Rodriguez‐Herrera, and two reviewers for comments on earlier drafts; and Luis Caballero and Ricardo Rubio for help in the field. We thank Bogan and Hayward for helpful comments. This is Contribution No. 15 of the Wildlife Trust Alliance and BIOCONCIENCIA, A.C.