Context-specific variation and repeatability in behavioral traits of bent-wing bats.

Animals may show consistent among-individual behavioral differences over time and in different contexts, and these tendencies may be correlated to one another and emerge as behavioral syndromes. The cross-context variation in these behavioral tendencies, however, is rarely explored with animals in contexts associated with different locomotion modes. This study assessed the variation and repeatability in behavioral traits of bent-wing bats Miniopterus fuliginosus in southern Taiwan, and the effects of contextual settings associated with locomotion mode.

Effects of host state and body condition on parasite infestation of bent-wing bats.

Background: Ectoparasites inhabit the body surface or outgrowths of hosts and are usually detrimental to host health and wellbeing. Hosts, however, vary in quality and may lead ectoparasites to aggregate on preferred hosts, resulting in a heterogeneous distribution of parasite load among hosts.

Results: We set out to examine the effects of host individual state and body condition on the parasite load of multiple nycteribiid and streblid bat flies and Spinturnix wing mites on eastern bent-wing bats Miniopterus fuliginosus in a tropical forest in southern Taiwan.