Intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting dietary specialization in Neotropical frugivorous bats

Frugivory is a feeding habit that evolved on two independent occasions in the order Chiroptera. In the Neotropical phyllostomid bats Carollia, Sturnira and Artibeus, this feeding habit has evolved to become specialized in the core plant taxa Piper, Solanum, and Ficus and Cecropia, respectively. I review the intrinsic factors that promote differences in diet among frugivorous bats of the genera Carollia, Sturnira and Artibeus and the interaction between these and extrinsic factors that affect bat community structure. The intrinsic factors are internal variables associated with fruit selection, body mass and nutrient digestibility that constrain the animals to exploit fruits with different morphological and nutritional characteristics. Intrinsic factors that explain frugivorous bat diet can thus drive community structure in frugivorous bats. The extrinsic factors that affect frugivorous bat community structure are associated with chiropterochoric plant phenology and composition, as well as with human activities that impact food availability. Nutritional diversity in chiropterochoric plants and the digestive capacity of frugivorous bats are key factors in understanding diet partitioning in Neotropical frugivorous bats. These factors are related to food availability and nutrition in bats and could be the major determinants of community structure of frugivorous bats in conserved and disturbed habitats.