Summary:
- 35 years of field observations
- 13,642 mist-net captures and 181 whole roost captures
- vampire bats in Argentina (near the southern limit of their range) have a reproductive season (unlike most other places)
- we have new records for oldest wild vampire bats: 16 and 17 years
- we corroborated prior evidence of male-biased dispersal and female philopatry
- once settled in a location, adults of both sexes can spend years and perhaps their lifetime at the same site
- despite frequent disturbance, vampire bats readily roosted in man-made structures
- males feed earlier in the night
- males visit female roosts at night (returning to their own roosts by day), but females also visit male roosts
- 82% of vampires captured in mist nets were in the bottom half near the ground
- we found evidence of a consistent male-biased sex ratio even among newborns and mature fetuses (reason unknown!)
Carter Lab 