Phyllostomid Bats

A Unique Mammalian Radiation

Theodore H Fleming, Liliana M Davalos, Marco A R Mello (Herausgeber)

Buch | Hardcover

512 Seiten

2020
University of Chicago Press (Verlag)
978-0-226-69612-6 (ISBN)

Artikel merken

With more than two hundred species distributed across most of mainland Mexico, Central and South America, and islands in the Caribbean Sea, the Phyllostomidae bat family (American leaf-nosed bats) is one of the world's most diverse mammalian families in terms of its trophic, or feeding, diversity. From an insectivorous ancestry, extant species have evolved into several dietary classes, including blood-feeding, vertebrate carnivory, and the consumption of nectar, pollen, and fruit, in a period of about 30 million years. Phyllostomidae's plant-visiting species are responsible for pollinating more than five hundred species of neotropical shrubs, trees, vines, and epiphytes--many of which are economically and ecologically important--and they also disperse the seeds of at least another five-hundred plant species. Fruit-eating and seed-dispersing members of this family thus play a crucial role in the regeneration of neotropical forests, and the fruit eaters are among the most abundant mammals in these habitats.

Coauthored by leading experts in the field and synthesizing the latest advances in molecular biology and ecological methods, Phyllostomid Bats is the first overview in more than forty years of the evolution of the many morphological, behavioral, physiological, and ecological adaptations in this family. Featuring abundant illustrations as well as details on the current conservation status of phyllostomid species, it is both a comprehensive reference for these ecologically vital creatures and a fascinating exploration of the evolutionary process of adaptive radiation.

Theodore H. Fleming is professor emeritus of biology at the University of Miami, where he worked for thirty years. Among his recent books are Island Bats and The Ornaments of Life, both published by the University of Chicago Press, and No Species Is an Island. Liliana M. Davalos is professor of conservation biology at Stony Brook University. She is coeditor of The Origins of Cocaine and coauthor of the 2016 World Drug Report. Marco A. R. Mello is professor of ecology at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. He served as the president of the Brazilian Bat Research Society and is the author, in Portuguese, of Sobrevivendo na Ciencia: Um Pequeno Manual para a Jornada do Cientista.

Section 1 Introduction

1 Overview of This Book
Theodore H. Fleming, Liliana M. Dávalos, and Marco A. R. Mello

2 Setting the Stage: Climate, Geology, and Biota
Theodore H. Fleming

Section 2 Phylogeny and Evolution

3 Phylogeny, Fossils, and Biogeography: The Evolutionary History of Superfamily Noctilionoidea (Chiroptera: Yangochiroptera)
Norberto P. Giannini and Paúl M. Velazco

4 Diversity and Discovery: A Golden Age
Andrea L. Cirranello and Nancy B. Simmons

5 Fragments and Gaps: The Fossil Record
Nancy B. Simmons, Gregg F. Gunnell, and Nicolas J. Czaplewski

6 Phylogenetics and Historical Biogeography
Liliana M. Dávalos, Paúl M. Velazco, and Danny Rojas

7 Adapt or Live: Adaptation, Convergent Evolution, and Plesiomorphy
Liliana M. Dávalos, Andrea L. Cirranello, Elizabeth R. Dumont, Stephen J. Rossiter, and Danny Rojas

8 The Evolution of Body Size in Noctilionoid Bats
Norberto P. Giannini, Lucila I. Amador, and R. Leticia Moyers Arévalo

Section 3 Contemporary Biology

9 Structure and Function of Bat Wings: A View from the Phyllostomidae
Sharon M. Swartz and Justine J. Allen

10 The Relationship between Physiology and Diet
Ariovaldo P. Cruz-Neto and L. Gerardo Herrera M.

11 Sensory and Cognitive Ecology
Jeneni Thiagavel, Signe Brinkløv, Inga Geipel, and John M. Ratcliffe

12 Reproduction and Life Histories
Robert M. R. Barclay and Theodore H. Fleming

13 Patterns of Sexual Dimorphism and Mating Systems
Danielle M. Adams, Christopher Nicolay, and Gerald S. Wilkinson

Section 4 Trophic Ecology

14 The Omnivore’s Dilemma: The Paradox of the Generalist Predators
Claire T. Hemingway, M. May Dixon, and Rachel A. Page

15 Vampire Bats
John W. Hermanson and Gerald G. Carter

16 The Ecology and Evolution of Nectar Feeders
Nathan Muchhala and Marco Tschapka

17 The Frugivores: Evolution, Functional Traits, and Their Role in Seed Dispersal
Romeo A. Saldaña-Vázquez and Theodore H. Fleming

Section 5 Population and Community Ecology

18 Roosting Ecology: The Importance of Detailed Description
Armando Rodríguez-Durán

19 Population Biology
Theodore H. Fleming and Angela M. G. Martino

20 Community Ecology
Richard D. Stevens and Sergio Estrada-Villegas

21 Network Science as a Framework for Bat Studies
Marco A. R. Mello and Renata L. Muylaert

22 Contemporary Biogeography
Richard Stevens, Marcelo M. Weber, and Fabricio Villalobos

Section 6 Conservation

23 Challenges and Opportunities for the Conservation of Brazilian Phyllostomids
Enrico Bernard, Mariana Delgado-Jaramillo, Ricardo B. Machado, and Ludmilla M. S. Aguiar

24 Threats, Status, and Conservation Perspectives for Leaf-Nosed Bats
Jafet M. Nassar, Luis F. Aguirre, Bernal Rodríguez-Herrera, and Rodrigo A. Medellín

Contributors
Index

Erscheinungsdatum	04.11.2020
Zusatzinfo	Illustrations, unspecified
Sprache	englisch
Maße	216 x 279 mm
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Evolution
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Zoologie
ISBN-10	0-226-69612-X / 022669612X
ISBN-13	978-0-226-69612-6 / 9780226696126
Zustand	Neuware