关键词: 长舌果蝠, 食蜜动物, 乙醇, 摄食量

Abstract: Nectarivorous bats,（Eonycteris spelaea） generally choose to eat nectar or ripe fruit in which ethanol concentration increases as the fruit and nectar ripen. Ethanol concentration may act as an odor cue, guiding frugivorous bats to the fruit or flower, and aiding them in assessing its quality. We wondered whether ethanol could act as an appetitive stimulant and influenced the quantity of food consumption by captive bats. We offered food (sucrose solution) containing 7 concentrations levels of ethanol (0.005%, 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.3%, 0.5% or 1%),to captive bats  to test whether the bats’ responses were positive or negative, i.e., they ate more or less when ethanol in the food increased comparing to control (ethanol free). The results showed that E. spelaea did not change consumption of food containing 0.005% ethanol, but significantly decreased consumption at higher levels of ethanol concentration (≥0.01%), When ethanol concentration in food was at 1%, food consumption was only 34% compared to that of ethanol free. Our results indicatethat ethanol in food has a negative influence on food intake when its concentration reached 0.01%, but the reasons for this remained to be further tested.

Key words: Eonycteris spelaea, Ethanol, Food consumption, Nectarivore animals