First data about the dietary pattern of the eastern bat Myotis petax (Hollister, 1812) feeding near Lake Baikal based on visual analysis of feces
A. D. BOTVINKIN1, A. A. KLOPOVA2, I. V. MEKHANIKOVA3, E. V. ROMANOVA3, V. G. SHILENKOV2, D. M. RUDAKOV4, V. P. SAMUSYONOK3
1Irkutsk State Medical University, Irkutsk, Russia
2Irkutsk State University, Irkutsk, Russia
3Limnological Institute of SB RAS, Irkutsk, Russia
4Federal Government Health Institution Irkutsk Antiplague Research Institute of Siberia and Far East of Rospotrebnadzor, Irkutsk, Russia
Keywords: Myotis petax, trophic relationships, insects, amphipods, Baikal
Abstract
Trophic relationships of bats (Chiroptera) with Lake Baikal biota were assessed based on microscopic studies Myotis petax feces (n=22). From 82 to 86 % of samples maintained fragments of exoskeletons of caddis flies (Trichoptera) and dipterans (Diptera). These taxa include mainly aquatic and semi-aquatic species. Many species from these taxa are endemic to Lake Baikal. Terrestrial insects were found in studied samples less frequently (Hymenoptera - 41 %, Neuroptera - 27 %, Heteroptera - 9 %). The morphological analysis revealed fragments of Baikal amphipods in two fecal samples of M. pretax. Further molecular studies will allow the detection of greater invertebrate taxa diversity in fecal samples of bats feeding near Lake Baikal.
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