Researchers at Tel Aviv University found that female fruit bats mate with males who provide them with food

The researchers, led by Prof. Yossi Yuval from the Department of Zoology, found a direct connection between food and sex in the common fruit bat: the males provide food to the females, and in return mate with them later. The article is published tonight (23.5) in the journal Current Biology

Researchers from Tel Aviv University found that female fruit bats mate mainly with males who provide them with food.

The researchers, led by Prof. Yossi Yuval and research students Lee Harthan and Dr. Yosef Perat from the Department of Zoology, found a direct connection between food and sex in the common fruit bat: the males provide food to the females, and in return mate with them later. The study is published tonight (23.5) in the journal Current Biology.

"In recent years, we have been conducting observations of bat colonies of the fruit bat species found in the Zoological Garden of Tel Aviv University," explains Prof. Yuval. "In a previous study, we discovered that the bats obtain their food in two ways: independently, or by taking food out of the mouths of other individuals. We found that the same individuals take food from certain species consistently over many months, so we asked ourselves why some bats allow other bats to take food from them. In nature, several situations have been documented in which animals are willing to share their food with others: sometimes they share food with relatives, and sometimes they give up food that is too difficult and/or too dangerous to defend, against a stronger opponent than them. However, in this case we noticed that the food providers were mostly males, while those who received food from them were mostly females. That's why we decided to examine the possibility that it's reciprocity: it's possible that the supplying males enjoy a future reward for their generosity - the chance for sex..."

To test their hypothesis, the researchers followed one colony of bats in the zoo for a year, and focused on the interaction between males and females who take and/or receive food from them. They found that this behavior begins three or four months before the breeding season: each female gradually strengthens her ties with several male 'food providers', as if she were examining them. Later, the researchers performed genetic tests on the born cubs, to verify who the father was, and compared the data . The findings were unequivocal: the females spawned the offspring of the males that provided them with food.

"An interesting finding was that the quantity does not necessarily determine," adds Prof. Yuval. "In other words, the male who got to mate with the female was not necessarily the one who provided her with the largest amount of food. The determining factor was the nature of the relationship formed between the couple, that is, a male who provided food mainly to a certain female got to mate with her." The researchers also found that the preference of females varies from year to year, and after mating with one male, they may well choose another the following year. In other words: bats are monogamous for one breeding season.

"In our research we found that there is a strong relationship between the supply of food from males to females and their willingness to mate with them. Monitoring the relationship systems with several males at the same time over many months and assessing the strength of the relationship between them, indicates a high social cognitive ability in these bats," concludes Prof. Yuval. "Next we will try to examine how these relationships develop and change over the years. We will also conduct observations among bat populations in the wild."

• More of the topic in Hayadan:
• Bats also learn to 'speak'
• Researchers from Tel Aviv University succeeded in deciphering the language of bats, and extracting information from the tweets they tweet to each other in their caves
• Why do bats hunt in flocks?