Non-nutritional maternal support in the brown long-eared bat

Area of Science:

• Animal Behavior
• Mammalogy
• Reproductive Biology

Background:

• Parental care is crucial for offspring survival in many species.
• Lactation imposes significant energetic costs on mothers.
• Understanding maternal behavior during lactation provides insights into reproductive strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate changes in maternal care behaviors of lactating brown long-eared bats (Plecotus auritus) throughout the lactation period.
• To examine the relationship between maternal energetic demands and care-giving behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Adult female brown long-eared bats were housed in free-flight enclosures over three years.
• Maternal behavior, including contact with young and grooming, was monitored using infrared video cameras.
• Behavioral data were collected and analyzed across different stages of lactation.

Main Results:

• Lactating females spent nearly 100% of their time in contact with young on day 1, declining to 13% by day 50.
• Maternal grooming of young decreased over lactation.
• Lactating females exhibited increased roost visits but reduced self-grooming compared to non-reproductive females.

Conclusions:

• Maternal care behaviors in brown long-eared bats decline as lactation progresses.
• The observed pattern of declining caregiving is inversely related to the increasing energetic demands of milk production.
• This suggests a trade-off between maternal investment and energetic constraints during lactation.