Paniculate agave (Agave spp.) flower clusters are adapted to attract bats, and evidence suggests that this attraction leads the path for Mexican long-nosed bats (Leptonycteris nivalis) on their annual spring migration from central Mexico to the southern United States.
In this study, researchers use agave and L. nivalis occurrences primarily from the GBIF network to model the distribution of relevant species, and to determine the concordance between agave species richness and bat occurrences. The modelled distributions of agave show that richness is associated with elevation, and that more species occur at higher and narrower elevation ranges. Bats co-occur in areas with more than one species of agave in 77 per cent of cases.
The combined results of the study provide convincing evidence that L. nivalis occurrences are correlated with distribution of Agave species, which support the proposed migratory corridor hypothesis presented in the study.