EE Seminar: Graduate Student Presentations
February 28, 2023
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Location
SELE 4289
Calendar
Download iCal FilePlease join us on Feb. 28th for presentations from E&E graduate students.
Jessica Montoya (Salles Lab) will present "Social Dominance Hierarchies in All Female Groups of Carollia perspicillata"
Abstract: Bats are social mammals that live in large groups ranging from a couple dozen to millions of individuals. Close knit animal groups can form dominance hierarchies in order to reduce aggression over shared resources. These hierarchies are characterized by a ranking based on access to resources. The potential for hierarchical structures within bat social groups has not been widely studied despite there being anecdotal evidence of hierarchical structures within various species of bat. One reason for the lack of focus on this question is the fact that many bat species live in fission-fusion groups, where the group composition varies daily. In our study we focused on Carollia perspicillata, which is a harem forming species of bat with female groups ranging between 5-18 females. In this study, we observe Carollia sp. within all female groups to determine if a dominance hierarchy will form based on roost position. The center of the roost is preferred by females due to greater thermoregulation. We took video and audio recordings and quantified by time spent at roost position, aggressive interactions, and social calls between the females. Ongoing analysis aims to explore the hypothesis that female groups of Carollia sp. follow a near-linear dominance hierarchy, with more established females having better roost positions than juveniles or newcomers.
Date posted
Jan 12, 2023
Date updated
Feb 23, 2023