Social grooming among Indian short-nosed fruit bats
In: BehaviourSearch for other papers by A. Rathinakumar in
Current site
Google Scholar
Search for other papers by Mauricio Cantor in
Current site
Google Scholar
Search for other papers by K. Senthilkumar in
Current site
Google Scholar
Search for other papers by P. Vimal in
Current site
Google Scholar
Search for other papers by P. Kaliraj in
Current site
Google Scholar
Search for other papers by G. Marimuthu in
Current site
Google Scholar
Social grooming is conspicuous in group-living mammals. Bats are gregarious and may groom each other, but the motivation for such social behaviour remains unclear. Here, we describe patterns and infer function of social grooming in tent-making Indian short-nosed fruit bats. Combining field and captivity observations, we found that males and their harem of females mutually groom and apply bodily secretions to one another in tight clusters. Mutual grooming is more commonly initiated by females, before emergence flight at dusk, and during the non-mating season. The within-harem association pattern suggests males may recognize female reproductive status via social grooming. Chemical analysis of the secretions applied during grooming revealed volatile organic compounds that may be involved in chemosensory-mediated communication and/or mate choice. These fruit bat harems were previously seen as simple aggregations, with limited interactions among individuals. Our findings suggest social grooming is multi-functional, with potential implications for the bats’ social lives.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
-
Alberts A.C. (1992). Constraints on the design of chemical communication systems in terrestrial vertebrates. — Am. Nat. 139: S62-S89.
-
Almeida-Neto M., Guimarães P., Guimarães P.R., Loyola R.D., Ulrich W.A. (2008). A consistent metric for nestedness analysis in ecological systems: reconciling concept and measurement. — Oikos 117: 1227-1239.
-
Altmann J. (1974). Observational study of behavior: sampling methods. — Behaviour 49: 227-266.
-
Ancillotto L., Serangeli M.T., Russo D. (2012). Spatial proximity between newborns influences the development of social relationships in bats. — Ethology 118: 331-340.
-
Balasingh J., Koilraj J., Kunz T.H. (1995). Tent construction by the short-nosed fruit bat Cynopterus sphinx (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) in southern India. — Ethology 100: 210-229.
-
Bascompte J., Jordano P., Melian C.J., Olesen J.M. (2003). The nested assembly of plant–animal mutualistic networks. — Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 100: 9383-9387.
-
Baskaran S., Kaliraj P., Maruthupandian J., Marimuthu G., Elangovan V. (2015). Influence of rain on activity of the Indian flying fox Pteropus giganteus. — Indian J. Sci. 15: 6-12.
-
Booth W.D. (1987). Factors affecting the pheromone composition of voided boar saliva. — J. Reprod. Fertil. 81: 427-431.
-
Brilot B.O., Asher L., Bateson M. (2009). Water bathing alters the speed–accuracy trade-off of escape flights in European starlings. — Anim. Behav. 78: 801-807.
-
Brooke A.P. (1997). Social organization and foraging behaviour of the fishing bat, Noctilio leporinus (Chiroptera: Noctilionidae). — Ethology 103: 421-436.
-
Call J., Aureli F., de Waal F.B. (1999). Reconciliation patterns among stump tailed macaques: a multivariate approach. — Anim. Behav. 58: 165-172.
-
Carter G., Leffer L. (2015). Social grooming in bats: are vampire bats exceptional? — PLoS ONE 10: e0138430.
-
Carter G.G., Wilkinson G.S. (2013). Cooperation and conflict in the social lives of bats. — In: Bat evolution, ecology, and conservation ( Adams R.A., Pedersen S.C., eds). Springer, New York, NY, p. 225-242.
-
Carter G.G., Wilkinson G.S. (2015). Intranasal oxytocin increases social grooming and food sharing in the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus. — Horm. Behav. 75: 150-153.
-
Caspers B.A., Schroeder F.C., Franke S., Streich W.J., Voigt C.C. (2009). Odour-based species recognition in two sympatric species of sac-winged bats (Saccopteryx bilineata, S. leptura): combining chemical analyses, behavioural observations and odour preference tests. — Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 63: 741-749.
-
Charlesworth D., Charlesworth B. (1987). Inbreeding depression and its evolutionary consequences. — Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 18: 237-268.
-
Chattopadhyay B., Garg K.M., Doss P.S., Ramakrishnan U., Kandula S. (2011). Molecular genetic perspective of group-living in a polygynous fruit bat, Cynopterus sphinx. — Mammal. Biol. 76: 290-294.
-
Chaverri G., Kunz T.H. (2010). Ecological determinants of social systems: perspectives on the functional role of roosting ecology in the social behavior of tent-roosting bats. — Adv. Stud. Behav. 42: 275-318.
-
Clayton D.H., Cotgreave P. (1994). Relationship of bill morphology to grooming behaviour in birds. — Anim. Behav. 47: 195-201.
-
de Waal F.B.M. (1997). The chimpanzee’s service economy: food for grooming. — Evol. Hum. Behav. 18: 375-386.
-
Doss D.P.S., Nagarajan-Radha V., Kandula S. (2016). Daily and seasonal variation in non-acoustic communicative behaviors of male greater short-nosed fruit bats (Cynopterus sphinx). — Acta Chiropterol. 18: 199-207.
-
Dunbar R.I.M. (1991). Functional significance of social grooming in primates. — Folia Primatol. 57: 121-131.
-
El-Sayed A.M. (2016). The Pherobase: database of pheromones and semiochemicals. — Available online at http://www.pherobase.com.
-
Fedurek P., Dunbar R.I.M. (2009). What does mutual grooming tell us about why chimpanzee groom? — Ethology 115: 566-575.
-
Garg K.M., Chattopadhyay B., Swami Doss P.D., Kumar Vinoth A., Kandula S., Ramakrishnana U. (2012). Promiscuous mating in the harem-roosting fruit bat, Cynopterus sphinx. — Mol. Ecol. 21: 4093-4105.
-
Hayes R.A., Morelli T.L., Wright P.C. (2004). Anogenital gland secretions of Lemur catta and Propithecus verreauxi coquereli: a preliminary chemical examination. — Am. J. Primatol. 63: 49-62.
-
Henzi S.P., Barrett L. (1999). The value of grooming to female primates. — Primates 40: 47-59.
-
Hohmann G., Gerloff U., Tautz D., Fruth B. (1999). Social bonds and genetic ties: kinship, association and affiliation in a community of bonobos (Pan Paniscus). — Behaviour 136: 1219-1235.
-
Johnson J.S., Kropczynski J.N., Lacki M.J. (2013). Social network analysis and the study of sociality in bats. — Acta Chiropterol. 15: 1-17.
-
Kerth G. (2008). Causes and consequences of sociality in bats. — Bio Sci. 58: 737-746.
-
Kerth G., Almasi B., Ribi N., Thiel D., Lüpold S. (2003). Social interactions among wild female Bechstein’s bats (Myotis bechsteinii) living in a maternity colony. — Acta Ethol. 5: 107-114.
-
Kerth G., Perony N., Schweitzer F. (2011). Bats are able to maintain long-term social relationships despite the high fission-fusion dynamics of their groups. — Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B: Biol. Sci. 278: 2761-2767.
-
Keverne E.B., Martensz N.D., Tuite B. (1989). Beta-endorphin concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid of monkeys are influenced by grooming relationships. — Psychoneuroendocrinology 14: 155-161.
-
Kiyokawa Y., Kikusui T., Takeuchi Y., Mori Y. (2004). Alarm pheromones with different functions are released from different regions of the body surface of male rats. — Chem. Senses 29: 35-40.
-
Lazaro-Perea C. (2001). Intergroup interactions in wild groups of common marmosets, Callithrix jacchus: territorial defence and assessment of neighbours. — Anim. Behav. 62: 11-21.
-
Lazaro-Perea C., Arruda M.D., Snowdon C.T. (2004). Grooming as a reward? Social function of grooming between females in cooperatively breeding marmosets. — Anim. Behav. 67: 627-636.
-
Mooring M.S., McKenzie A.A., Hart B.L. (1996). Grooming in impala: role of oral grooming in removal of ticks and effects of ticks in increasing grooming rate. — Physiol. Behav. 59: 965-971.
-
Ortega J., Maldonado J.E. (2006). Female interactions in harem groups of the Jamaican fruit-eating bat, Artibeus jamaicensis (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae). — Acta Chiroptirol. 8: 485-495.
-
Patriquin K.J., Leonard M.L., Broders H.G., Garroway C.J. (2010). Do social networks of female northern long-eared bats vary with reproductive period and age? — Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 64: 899-913.
-
Pellis S.M., Pellis V.C. (2010). Social play, social grooming, and the regulation of social relationships. — In: Neurobiology of grooming behavior ( Kalueff A.V., Lapote J.L., Bergner C.L., eds). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 66-87.
-
Picardo M., Ottaviani M., Camera E., Mastrofrancesco A. (2009). Sebaceous gland lipids. — Dermato-Endocrinology 1: 68-71.
-
Pusey A., Wolf M. (1996). Inbreeding avoidance in animals. — Trends Ecol. Evol. 11: 201-206.
-
Schönitzer K. (1986). Comparative morphology of the antenna cleaner in bees (Apoidea). — Z. Zool. Syst. Evol. 24: 35-51.
-
Seyfarth R.M. (1980). The distribution of grooming and related behaviours among adult female vervet monkeys. — Anim. Behav. 28: 798-813.
-
Silk J.B., Altmann J., Alberts S.C. (2006). Social relationships among adult female baboons (Papio cynocephalus) I. Variation in the strength of social bonds. — Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 61: 183-195.
-
Singh M., Krishna B.A., Singh M. (2006). Dominance hierarchy and social grooming in female lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus) in the Western Ghats, India. — J. Biosci. 31: 369-377.
-
Spruijt B.M., van Hooff J.A.R.A.M., Gispen W.H. (1992). Ethology and neurobiology of grooming behaviour. — Physiol. Rev. 72: 825-852.
-
Stein R.A., Magnuson J.J. (1976). Behavioral response of crayfish to a fish predator. — Ecology 57: 751-761.
-
Storz J.F., Kunz T.H. (1999). Cynopterus sphinx. — Mammal. Species 613: 1-8.
-
Storz J.F., Bhat H.R., Kunz T.H. (2000a). Social structure of a polygynous tent-making bat Cynopterus sphinx (Megachiroptera). — J. Zool. 251: 151-165.
-
Storz J.F., Balasingh J., Thiruchenthil P., Emmanuel P., Kunz T.H. (2000b). Dispersion and site fidelity in a tent-roosting population of the short-nosed fruit bat (Cynopterus sphinx) in southern India. — J. Trop. Ecol. 16: 117-131.
-
Storz J.F., Bhat H.R., Kunz T.H. (2001). Genetic consequences of polygyny and social structure in an Indian fruitbat, Cynopterus sphinx. I. Inbreeding, outbreeding, and population subdivision. — Evolution 55: 1215-1223.
-
Whitehead H. (2008). Analyzing animal societies: quantitative methods for vertebrate social analysis. — Chicago University Press, Chicago, IL.
-
Whitehead H., Dufault S. (1999). Techniques for analyzing vertebrate social structure using identified individuals: review and recommendations. — Adv. Stud. Behav. 28: 33-74.
-
Wilkinson G.S. (1986). Social grooming in the common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus. — Anim. Behav. 34: 1880-1889.
-
Wilkinson G.S., Boughman J.W. (1998). Social calls coordinate foraging in greater spear-nosed bats. — Anim. Behav. 55: 337-350.
-
Wobst B., Zavazava N., Luszyk D., Lange K., Ussat S., Eggert F., Ferstl R., Müller-Ruchholtz W. (1999). Molecular forms of soluble HLA in body fluids: potential determants of body odor cues. — Genetica 104: 275-283.
-
Wyatt T.D. (2014). Animals in chemical world. — In: Pheromones and animal behavior: chemical signals and signatures ( Wyatt T.D., ed.). University Printing House, Cambridge, p. 1-49.
-
Yamazaki K., Beauchamp G.K., Imai Y., Boyse E.A. (1992). Expression of urinary H-2 odortypes by infant mice. — Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89: 2756-2758.
-
Yamazaki L.K., Beauchamp G.K., Matsuzaki O., Kupniewski D., Bardt J., Thomast L., Boyse E.A. (1986). Influence of a genetic difference confined to mutation of H-2K on the incidence of pregnancy block in mice. — Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83: 740-741.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 890 | 125 | 8 |
| Full Text Views | 233 | 5 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 78 | 12 | 0 |
Social grooming among Indian short-nosed fruit bats
In: BehaviourSearch for other papers by A. Rathinakumar in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Mauricio Cantor in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by K. Senthilkumar in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by P. Vimal in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by P. Kaliraj in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by G. Marimuthu in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Social grooming is conspicuous in group-living mammals. Bats are gregarious and may groom each other, but the motivation for such social behaviour remains unclear. Here, we describe patterns and infer function of social grooming in tent-making Indian short-nosed fruit bats. Combining field and captivity observations, we found that males and their harem of females mutually groom and apply bodily secretions to one another in tight clusters. Mutual grooming is more commonly initiated by females, before emergence flight at dusk, and during the non-mating season. The within-harem association pattern suggests males may recognize female reproductive status via social grooming. Chemical analysis of the secretions applied during grooming revealed volatile organic compounds that may be involved in chemosensory-mediated communication and/or mate choice. These fruit bat harems were previously seen as simple aggregations, with limited interactions among individuals. Our findings suggest social grooming is multi-functional, with potential implications for the bats’ social lives.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 890 | 125 | 8 |
| Full Text Views | 233 | 5 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 78 | 12 | 0 |