title: The Value of Molecular vs. Morphometric and Acoustic Information for Species Identification Using Sympatric Molossid Bats.
abstract: A fundamental condition for any work with free-ranging animals is correct species identification. However, in case of bats, information on local species assemblies is frequently limited especially in regions with high biodiversity such as the Neotropics. The bat genus Molossus is a typical example of this, with morphologically similar species often occurring in sympatry. We used a multi-method approach based on molecular, morphometric and acoustic information collected from 962 individuals of Molossus bondae, M. coibensis, and M. molossus captured in Panama. We distinguished M. bondae based on size and pelage coloration. We identified two robust species clusters composed of M. molossus and M. coibensis based on 18 microsatellite markers but also on a more stringently determined set of four markers. Phylogenetic reconstructions using the mitochondrial gene co1 (DNA barcode) were used to diagnose these microsatellite clusters as M. molossus and M. coibensis. To differentiate species, morphological information was only reliable when forearm length and body mass were combined in a linear discriminant function (95.9% correctly identified individuals). When looking in more detail at M. molossus and M. coibensis, only four out of 13 wing parameters were informative for species differentiation, with M. coibensis showing lower values for hand wing area and hand wing length and higher values for wing loading. Acoustic recordings after release required categorization of calls into types, yielding only two informative subsets: approach calls and two-toned search calls. Our data emphasizes the importance of combining morphological traits and independent genetic data to inform the best choice and combination of discriminatory information used in the field. Because parameters can vary geographically, the multi-method approach may need to be adjusted to local species assemblies and populations to be entirely informative.
authors.affiliation: Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany.|Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.|International Max Planck Research School for Organismal Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
authors.forename: Yann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gager
authors.affiliation: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Uppsala, Sweden.|Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz-Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tarland
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz-Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Dietmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lieckfeldt
authors.affiliation: Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany.|Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ménage
authors.affiliation: Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, UMR 5554-CNRS-IRD, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Fidel
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Botero-Castro
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Rossiter
authors.affiliation: Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany.|Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
authors.forename: Robert H S
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Kraus
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz-Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ludwig
authors.affiliation: Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany.|Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.|Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá, Rep. of Panamá
authors.forename: Dina K N
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Dechmann
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics*; D004455:Echolocation; D005121:Extremities / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005260:Female; D056426:Genetic Loci; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D018401:Sample Size; D012880:Skin Pigmentation; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D013045:Species Specificity; D061350:Sympatry; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000033:anatomy & histology