The Pot Got Sweeter, I’m All In!
ESP version ITA version
Instagram Facebook Linktree
Among large and small carnivorous predators, there are striking differences. The former have a high absolute energy demand but a relatively low mass-specific metabolism — that is, the amount of energy consumed per kilogram of body mass. This means that large predators have greater energy reserves and can survive longer without food, while smaller predators, with their faster metabolisms, must feed almost constantly. To do so, they hunt many small but energy-rich prey, minimising the risk of failure.
This pattern also applies to bats… or so scientists thought. There are exceptions, such as Trachops cirrhosus, whose hunting strategies researchers set out to uncover.
They captured adult bats and, on healthy individuals, attached tiny data loggers between their shoulders. These miniature devices recorded ultrasonic sounds and 3D movements — including echolocation calls, the sound of wind during flight, chewing noises, and acceleration changes revealing flight, landing, or prey capture. By combining sound and motion data, researchers estimated the energy gained during a night’s hunting, inferring prey mass from chewing time.
Results showed that T. cirrhosus spends little time flying, instead catching prey on the ground or in vegetation. Acoustic analysis revealed a passive hunting strategy: the bats minimise echolocation use and “eavesdrop” on the sounds made by potential prey, such as frog mating calls. Chewing times varied widely, and in 5% of cases exceeded 28 minutes, suggesting some individuals consumed prey weighing up to 30 grams — nearly their own body weight.
The hunting specialisation of T. cirrhosus is tightly linked to the high abundance of large prey in pristine tropical habitats. Passive listening and perch-hunting allow these bats to conserve energy while targeting big, energy-rich prey, effectively placing them on par with much larger carnivores capable of taking prey their own size.
See You Soon and Good Science!
Source
