Ethanol and Methanol as Possible Odor Cues for Egyptian Fruit Bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) |
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Authors: | Francisco Sánchez Carmi Korine Marco Steeghs Luc-Jan Laarhoven Simona M. Cristescu Frans J. M. Harren Robert Dudley Berry Pinshow |
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Affiliation: | (1) Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84990 Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel;(2) Life Science Trace Gas Facility, Department of Molecular and Laser Physics, Radboud University of Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, NL-6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands;(3) Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA |
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Abstract: | Frugivorous bats from the Old and New World use odor cues to locate and assess fruit condition. We hypothesized that Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) use as odor cues those volatile compounds that increase in emission rate as fruit ripens. We examined whether the smell of fermentation products may indicate the degree of ripeness to fruit bats. We analyzed volatile compounds in the headspace (the gas space above a fruit in a closed container) of dates (Phoenix dactylifera) and rusty figs (Ficus rubiginosa), both of which are consumed by fruit bats, to elucidate which compounds originate from fermentative pathways and to determine which change in emission rate during ripening. Ethanol, acetaldehyde, and acetic acid were the only volatile compounds detected as products of fermentation in both fruits. In dates, emission rates of these compounds increased during maturation, whereas in rusty figs, they decreased or remained constant. Methanol, although not a fermentation product, increased in emission rate during ripening in both fruits. We found that R. aegyptiacus was neither attracted nor deterred by the smell of methanol at any of the concentrations used. Although the odor of ethanol emanating from food containing concentrations similar to those found in ripe fruit did not attract the bats, at relatively high concentrations (≥1%), the smell of ethanol deterred them. Thus, ethanol at high concentrations may serve as a signal for bats to avoid overripe, unpalatable fruit. |
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Keywords: | Ethanol Fermentation Ficus rubiginosa Food selection Fruit-eating bats Methanol Odorcues Olfaction Phoenix dactylifera Rousettus aegyptiacus Volatile compounds |
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