Tropical bats - biodiversity in action

Christian Ziegler

National Geographic Magazine

Summary: Bats are an amazing animal group, that has reached a stunning diversity - almost 1000 species worldwide are described. They also reach impressive local diversity and hence offer a great opportunity to visualize mechanisms of biodiversity. On Barro Colorado Island, a 1600 ha island in Lake Gatun in Central Panama, 74 species of bats have been documented to coexist. Scientists have conducted many studies to shed light on the mechanisms that sustain such a breathtaking diversity. Detailed studies have revealed that specializing in feeding strategy and roosting choice help maintain the high diversity of bats. Bats on Barro Colorado feed on insects (which they catch in many different ways), fruit, frogs (!), fish (scooped up from the lake), and nectar. For their roost site they choose hollow trees, fallen loggs, tents made from large leaves, cavities which they chew into living termite nests, and even rolled up banana leaves in which they hang themselves with little suckers. This story aims to illustrate the wide variety of foraging types and roosting strategies that allow this mind-blowing diversity in tropical bats, using the well studied bat community of Barro Colorado Island as a case study. Caption: The greater bulldog or fishing bat is seen here scooping up a fish from the water. The bats of this species use their sonar to detect tiny little bumps on the water surface, created by their prey, minnow sized fish. They then use their long claws to rake the fish from the water and chew it up on the wing. (Taken in large flight cage)

Christian Ziegler, "Tropical bats - biodiversity in action ," in POYi Archive, Item #40420, http://archive.poy.org/index.php/items/show/40420 (accessed June 7, 2025).