To examine whether the bats social bonds also influence their foraging behavior, researchers connected small distance sensing units to 50 female common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus)– consisting of 27 wild bats and 23 that had actually been captive for nearly 2 years– prior to releasing them back into their wild roost on a livestock pasture in Tolé, Panama.
The researchers found that although the tagged bats practically never left the roost together, closely bonded women typically re-united far from the roost. Audio recordings of vampire bat calls in La Chorrera, Panama, revealed 3 distinct call types: down sweeping social calls, antagonistic buzz calls, and n-shaped feeding calls, the latter of which has not previously been observed in wild or captive vampire bats.
Vampire bats roost together in trees where they can be observed grooming each other and even sharing regurgitated blood meals with starving roostmates. Previous research has shown this cooperative behavior is directed towards close relatives and social partners. To examine whether the bats social bonds likewise affect their foraging behavior, scientists attached small distance sensors to 50 female common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus)– consisting of 27 wild bats and 23 that had been captive for nearly 2 years– prior to releasing them back into their wild roost on a livestock pasture in Tolé, Panama.
Typical vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) inside a tree roos. Credit: Simon Ripperger, CC BY 4.0
The researchers found that although the tagged bats nearly never left the roost together, closely bonded women frequently re-united far from the roost. Bats that associated with more partners in the roost also met more partners throughout foraging trips. Audio recordings of vampire bat calls in La Chorrera, Panama, revealed three unique call types: down sweeping social calls, antagonistic buzz calls, and n-shaped feeding calls, the latter of which has actually not previously been observed in captive or wild vampire bats.
The authors hypothesize that the bats might meet trusted partners throughout foraging journeys to share info about hosts or access to an open wound. They speculate that this cooperation may save on the time and effort included in selecting and preparing a wound website on the cattle. The down sweeping calls, which resemble call calls used to acknowledge partners in the roost, may also help the bats to determine pals and opponents on the wing, they state.
The researchers add, “How far does friendship go? We reveal that social bonds of vampire bats are not limited to grooming and food sharing at the roost, however bonded individuals even hunt together, highlighting the intricacy of their social relationships.”
For more on this research study, read I Get Blood With a Little Help From My Friends: Vampire Bats May Coordinate With “Friends” Over a Bite To Eat.
Recommendation: “Social foraging in vampire bats is anticipated by long-lasting cooperative relationships” by Simon P. Ripperger and Gerald G. Carter, 23 September 2021, PLOS Biology.DOI: 10.1371/ journal.pbio.3001366.
Tagging reveals that carefully bonded female bats leave the roost independently however reunite when hunting.
Throughout nighttime foraging journeys, female vampire bats preferentially meet up with roostmates they have a close social bond with, according to a report publishing September 23rd in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, by Simon Ripperger and Gerald Carter of The Ohio State University in the USA and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. The research study suggests that previously documented cooperation in this species also extends beyond the roost.