Seasonal reproductive synchrony in colonies of the Jamaican fruit–eating bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) in southeast Mexico

In tropical ecosystems, environmental conditions are often less constraining, leading to an increase in the reproductive potential of several species of mammals. One of the strategies to enhance this reproductive potential is to exhibit postpartum oestrus, which is common among different bat families. In the Yucatan Peninsula, we observed for over 2 years two colonies of marked individuals of the Jamaican fruit–eating bat, Artibeus jamaicensis to determine their reproductive activity. Females presented postpartum oestrus that allows them to have a second annual parturition. During the peak period of parturition, a marked increase in attempts and successful mating events were observed among the bats roosting within the caves. Births were recorded but in lower proportion in the remaining months of the year; however, no copulation attempts or matings were recorded from October to January in both caves and in both years. A delayed embryonic development after the second birth might explain the continuous parturition events recorded for A. jamaicensis in Yucatan.