Data from: Female dietary bias towards large migratory moths in the European free-tailed bat (Tadarida teniotis)

In bats, sexual segregation has been described in relation to differential
use of roosting and foraging habitats. It is possible that variation may
also exist between genders in the use of different prey types. However,
until recently this idea was difficult to test owing to poorly resolved
taxonomy of dietary studies. Here, we use high-throughput sequencing to
describe gender-related variation in diet composition of the European
free-tailed bat (Tadarida teniotis), while controlling for effects of age
and season. We analysed guano pellets collected from 143 individuals
mist-netted from April to October 2012 and 2013, in northeast Portugal.
Moths (Lepidoptera; mainly Noctuidae and Geometridae) were by far the most
frequently recorded prey, occurring in nearly all samples and accounting
for 96 out of 115 prey taxa. There were significant dietary differences
between males and females, irrespective of age and season. Compared to
males, females tended to consume larger moths and more moths of migratory
behaviour (e.g. Autographa gamma). Our study provides the first example of
gender-related dietary variation in bats, illustrating the value of novel
molecular tools for revealing intraspecific variation in food resource use
in bats and other insectivores.