Dietary protein and reproductive condition influence wound healing in the Jamaican fruit bat, <i>Artibeus jamaicensis</i>

Dietary protein is essential for successful wound healing. When animals that feed primarily on fruits that are poor in protein and micronutrients encounter periods—during migration, reproduction, and wound healing—they require more protein than their sugar-rich diets typically provide. We hypothesize that increased consumption of insects (protein) may be especially important during metabolically intensive periods, supporting faster healing rates. We examined flight membrane wound healing in Jamaican fruit bats, Artibeus jamaicensis (Leach, 1821). We separated populations of intact and castrated males, and nonreproductive females into control and protein-enriched diet groups, then took a 3 mm diameter biopsy of the wing membrane. Wounds were photographically monitored, and wound area data were fitted to a sigmoidal function estimating the halfpoint (inflection point of sigmoid), rate of healing (slope of sigmoid). Across groups those individuals that fully healed during our 32-day observation period did so in 20.91 ± 4.81 days. We found that females reached the halfpoint faster in the protein-enriched group than the control group. Wound expansion occurred less frequently in bats fed the protein-enriched diet. Diet also impacted the shape of the wound healing relationship; we found no other significant effects of diet or male reproductive status on wound healing.