RESOURCE PARTITIONING BY 2 SPECIES OF VESPERTILIONID BATS (LASIURUS-CINEREUS AND LASIURUS-BOREALIS) FEEDING AROUND STREET LIGHTS

Partitioning of resources between Lasiurus cinereus and L. borealis wa s studied at a site where these species feed on insects (mostly moths) that fly around street lights. No consistent evidence of temporal res ource partitioning was found in 4 years of observation. For 3 years of analysis of diets, the food-niche breadth of L. cinereus (25-35 g) wa s consistently larger than that of L. borealis (7-13 g). Niche overlap varied among years and was highest in a year when availability of ins ects was unusually low.