MILK CONCENTRATION AND POSTNATAL ACCRETION OF MINERALS AND NITROGEN IN TWO PHYLLOSTOMID BATS

Many female bats give birth to a single large young that is weaned at about 90–95% adult size and about 70–80% adult postpartum mass. The need for young to become independent fliers as quickly as possible presumably drives this burdensome development. We considered whether minerals or nitrogen in mi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of mammalogy Vol. 84; no. 3; pp. 926 - 936
Main Authors:	Kwiecinski, Gary G., Falzone, Michelle, Studier, Eugene H.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Provo, UT American Society of Mammalogists 01-08-2003 Brigham Young University, Department of Zoology Oxford University Press
Subjects:	Accretion Artibeus Artibeus jamaicensis bat Bats Biological and medical sciences Breastfeeding & lactation Calcium Chiroptera Development. Metamorphosis. Moult. Ageing FEATURE ARTICLES Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Lactation Magnesium Mammalia Milk Minerals Nitrogen Phyllostomus Phylogeny Physical growth postnatal growth Potassium Sodium Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution Weaning Lactation Growth rate Biological evolution Interspecific comparison Phylogeny Nitrogen Vertebrata Mammalia Development Mineral salt Chiroptera Osteogenesis Milk
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Summary:	Many female bats give birth to a single large young that is weaned at about 90–95% adult size and about 70–80% adult postpartum mass. The need for young to become independent fliers as quickly as possible presumably drives this burdensome development. We considered whether minerals or nitrogen in milk could limit reproductive and developmental capacity in bats. Milk samples were collected during the course of lactation from captive Artibeus jamaicensis and Phyllostomus discolor with known-aged young. Milk mineral (calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and iron) and nitrogen concentrations did not significantly change during the course of lactation, except for sodium, which decreased in A. jamaicensis. When compared with other bats, concentrations of minerals and nitrogen in milk were weakly associated with phylogeny. We calculated daily accretion rates and total amounts of minerals and nitrogen in the body of young bats for each day of development. We also present calculations of the mass of milk required each day to meet accretion of minerals and nitrogen throughout the course of postnatal growth. From these analyses, we found that, except for calcium, minerals and nitrogen in milk were present in concentrations that exceeded the needs of developing young.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0022-2372 1545-1542
DOI:	10.1644/BWG-029