科學家近日在印尼婆羅洲發(fā)現(xiàn)，蝙蝠棲息在食肉植物的捕蟲囊中,。這種異于尋常的生存方式,，給雙方都帶來好處——食肉植物得益于蝙蝠糞便中的營養(yǎng)素，而蝙蝠則安全的藏匿于植物的捕蟲囊中,。
豬籠草捕蟲囊中部陰影就是棲息的蝙蝠
新刊登在期刊《生物快報》 Biology Letters 的研究報告稱,，科學家發(fā)現(xiàn)這些獨特的植物亞種和哺乳動物有著非比尋常的關(guān)系。
豬籠草——食肉植物的一種,，長于營養(yǎng)元素稀缺的土壤環(huán)境中,，需要依賴捕食昆蟲來獲取成長所需的足夠的氮元素。
而在婆羅洲的泥沼地和石南林中發(fā)現(xiàn)的萊佛士豬籠草,，以超長捕蟲囊著稱,。而在早前的研究發(fā)現(xiàn),，它所捕食的昆蟲數(shù)量，只有其他婆羅洲食肉植物的1/7,。
烏爾曼·格拉夫(Ulmar Grafe)博士及其研究小組研究這種植物如何補充氮元素的攝入的時候,，卻驚訝的在其捕蟲囊中發(fā)現(xiàn)了長毛蝙蝠。格拉夫博士說,，“我們完全沒有料到會發(fā)現(xiàn)蝙蝠居住在捕蟲囊中,。”而被發(fā)現(xiàn)的小型哈氏長毛蝙蝠生活在捕蟲囊中部，避開了其底部的消化液,。
去年,，科學家發(fā)現(xiàn)樹鼩把另一種食肉植物——馬來王豬籠草的捕蟲囊當做“天然廁所”。但是,，這還是首次在食肉植物的捕蟲囊中發(fā)現(xiàn)哺乳類動物活體,。 （生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原文出處：
Biol. Lett. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2010.1141
A novel resource–service mutualism between bats and pitcher plants
T. Ulmar Grafe1,*, Caroline R. Sch?ner2, Gerald Kerth3, Anissa Junaidi1 and Michael G. Sch?ner2
Abstract
Mutualistic relationships between vertebrates and plants apart from the pollen and seed-dispersal syndromes are rare. At first view, carnivorous pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes seem to be highly unlikely candidates for mutualistic interactions with animals, as they form dimorphic terrestrial and aerial pitchers that trap arthropods and small vertebrates. Surprisingly, however, the aerial pitchers of Nepenthes rafflesiana variety elongata are poor insect traps, with low amounts of insect-attractive volatile compounds and low amounts of digestive fluid. Here, we show that N. rafflesiana elongata gains an estimated 33.8 per cent of the total foliar nitrogen from the faeces of Hardwicke's woolly bats (Kerivoula hardwickii hardwickii) that exclusively roost in its aerial pitchers. This is the first case in which the faeces-trapping syndrome has been documented in a pitcher plant that attracts bats and only the second case of a mutualistic association between a carnivorous plant and a mammal to date.
