Effects of habitat and fruit scent on the interactions between short-tailed fruit bats and Piper plants

Piper is a mega-diverse genus of pioneer plants that contributes to the maintenance and regeneration of tropical forests. With deforestation and climate change threatening forest ecosystems, understanding the mutualism between Piper and its seed dispersers becomes especially important. In the Neotropics, Carollia bats use olfaction to forage for Piper fruit and are a main disperser of Piper seeds via consumption and subsequent defecation during flight. In return, Piper fruits provide essential nutrients for Carollia year-round. There is evidence that the types and diversity of Piper frugivores are influenced by the primary habitat of different Piper species (forest, gap), with forest Piper depending more on bats for seed dispersal; however, this pattern has not been tested broadly. We aimed to characterize and compare the interactions between Carollia and Piper across forested and gap habitats, and further investigate whether differences in fruit traits relevant to bat foraging (i.e., scent) could underlie differences in Carollia-Piper interactions. We collected nightly acoustic ultrasonic recordings and 24h camera trap data in La Selva, Costa Rica across 12 species of Piper (6 forest, 6 gap) and integrated this information with data on Carollia diet and Piper fruit scent. Merging biomonitoring modalities allowed us to characterize ecological interactions in a hierarchical manner: from general activity and presence of bats, to visitations and inspections of plants, to acquisition and consumption of fruits. We found significant differences in Carollia-Piper interactions between forested and gap habitats; however, the type of biomonitoring modality (camera trap, acoustics, diet) influenced our ability to detect these differences. Forest Piper were exclusively visited by bats, whereas gap Piper had a more diverse suite of frugivores; the annual diet of Carollia, however, is dominated by gap Piper since these plants produce fruit year-round. We found evidence that fruit scent composition significantly differs between forest and gap Piper, which highlights the possibility that bats could be using chemical cues to differentially forage for gap versus forest Piper. By integrating studies of Piper fruit scent, plant visitation patterns, and Carollia diet composition, we paint a clearer picture of the ecological interactions between Piper and Carollia, and plant-animal mutualisms more generally.