Abstract Folivory in bats, the behavior of chewing bites of leaves to extract the liquid portion and discard the fiber as oral pellets, is seen as a strategy that might provide vitamins, micronutrients and proteins not always available in fruits, and even secondary metabolites (hormonal precursors) that stimulate/inhibit reproductive processes. While examining chewed leaves, we noticed an important amount of completely intact leaves below the roosts of Artibeus amplus and Artibeus lituratus, and decided to systematically quantify them during a year. We recovered 639 intact leaves from six plant species and found that both species are constantly feeding on leaves, but invariably leaving 26–78% of these intact, dropping them on the floor just below their roosting sites. These large proportions of dropped, intact leaves suggest a completely different, novel, non-nutritional use by bats. Several studies in birds have revealed that fresh leaves are effectively used in nests to control diverse organisms that include blood suckling ectoparasites, protozoans, fungus and bacteria. We report for the first time this biological control behavior performed by bats by selecting, bringing and dropping intact leaves below their roosting sites. The chemical properties of the leaves need to be investigated to reveal those active components against specific pathogens.

中文翻译：

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揭开蝙蝠食叶背后的落叶行为：蝙蝠是否使用生物控制来对抗栖息地寄生虫？

摘要 蝙蝠的叶状体，咀嚼叶子以提取液体部分并丢弃纤维作为口服颗粒的行为被视为一种策略，可以提供水果中并不总是可用的维生素、微量营养素和蛋白质，甚至是次级代谢产物（荷尔蒙前体）刺激/抑制生殖过程。在检查咀嚼的叶子时，我们注意到在 Artibeus amplus 和 Artibeus lituratus 栖息地下方有大量完整的叶子，并决定在一年内系统地量化它们。我们从六种植物中回收了 639 片完整的叶子，发现这两种植物都在不断地以叶子为食，但总会留下 26-78% 的完整叶子，将它们扔在栖息地正下方的地板上。这些大量掉落的完整叶子暗示着完全不同的，蝙蝠的新型非营养用途。对鸟类的几项研究表明，新鲜的叶子可以有效地用于巢穴中，以控制多种生物，包括吸血外寄生虫、原生动物、真菌和细菌。我们首次报告了蝙蝠通过在栖息地下方选择、携带和掉落完整叶子来执行的这种生物控制行为。需要研究叶子的化学特性，以揭示那些针对特定病原体的活性成分。将完整的叶子带到栖息地下方。需要研究叶子的化学特性，以揭示那些针对特定病原体的活性成分。将完整的叶子带到栖息地下方。需要研究叶子的化学特性，以揭示那些针对特定病原体的活性成分。