Taste preference tests, with simultaneous presentation of treated and untreated food, were administered to 24 common vampire bats (
Desmodus rotundus). The bats received brief exposures to four different stimuli representing sweet, salty, sour, and bitter tastes, each at four different concentrations. Despite a strong location bias, the bats significantly (
P < 0.01)="" avoided="" the="" highest="" concentrations="" of="" the="" salty,="" sour,="" and="" bitter="" tastes.="" consumption="" of="" the="" sweet="" stimulus="" at="" all="" concentrations="" was="" similar="" to="" that="" of="" the="" untreated="" standard.="" vampires="" evidently="" can="" discriminate="" based="" on="" taste,="" although="" their="" ability="" is="" apparently="" poorly="" developed="" when="" compared="" with="" some="" euryphagous="" species="" such="" as="" the="" rat.="" hence,="" taste="" is="" probably="" not="" a="" factor="" in="" host="" selection="" by="" the="">
Key words Taste - taste preference -
Desmodus rotundus
- citric acid - sucrose - sodium chloride - quinine - vampire bat
This research was conducted, in part, with funds provided to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by the U.S. Agency for International Development under PASA RA (ID) 1–67.