Sympatric fruit bat species (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) in the Comoro Islands (Western Indian Ocean): diurnality, feeding interactions and their conservation implications

The fruit bats Pteropus livingstonii and Pteropus seychellensis comorensis coexist on two of the Comoro Islands, in the Western Indian Ocean. Pteropus livingstonii is more diurnally active than P. s. comorensis. Differences exist in the feeding strategies exhibited by both species when feeding together on kapok (Ceiba pentandra), with P. livingstonii dominant in aggressive interactions with P. s. comorensis. Preliminary investigations suggest that, although there may be some overlap in feeding ecology, with both species feeding on native forest plants, there may be little evidence of overlap in the native fruits eaten. These differences complement known differences in the roosting ecology, flight behaviour, morphology and timing of reproduction of the two sympatric Pteropus species, and suggest that P. s. comorensis does not act as a major limiting factor on P. livingstonii. The implications for the conservation of the Critically Endangered P. livingstonii are discussed.