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 56 a bat-generated seed shadow DHJanzen100999.jpg high resolution
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| Going to the Andira tree, we can see what the bats actually do. While now and then one hangs up in the parent tree to feed, the great majority of the time the bats fly more than 100 meters to roost in a distant, and yet taller tree. Why the bats do this is not clear, but what is clear is that fruit bats only rarely perch in the fruiting tree to eat their fruit. Perhaps it is to avoid predators that could find them easily if they were concentrated in that very evident tree - though this idea is less credible if one considers that they are quite obvious and concentrated in the tree that they do chose to feed in. Again, it is possible that were this Andira tree surrounded by forest, the bats would roost to feed in a more dispersed manner, given that they would have many different tall perch sites. But whatever the cause, the basic behavior of the bats is certainly a major generator of the resultant seed shadow. | ||
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