Roosting and Foraging Behavior of the Queensland Tube-Nosed Bat, Nyctimene-Robinsoni (Pteropodidae) - Preliminary Radio-Tracking Observations

Abstract

The roosting and foraging behaviour of Nyctimene robinsoni (Chiroptera : Pteropodidae) was studied at Cape Tribulation, far north Queensland, in November and December 1987 using radio-tracking techniques. Bats under and around fruiting sourcop (Annona muricata) trees in a fruit orchard and under cluster fig trees (Ficus spp.) in abandoned pastures were captured with mist nets. Females dominated the captures in the orchard, but the sex ratio was 1 : 1 under cluster fig trees (their presumed normal food). Distances between day-roosting sites and places of capture ranged from 63 to 1012 m. During the day, bats roosted solitarily in the foliage of canopy or understorey trees, usually in primary forest, and most individuals roosted in the same small area for several consecutive days. Except for occasional visits to isolated fruiting trees, individuals foraged at night within 200m of their day roost. The high density of fruiting cluster fig trees in November and December could account for the sedentary behaviour ot this bat at this time of year.