The team found Piper fruit scent bouquets were complex and diverse. The authors identified and quantified 249 VOCs [volatile organic compounds] in ripe fruit scents across 22 Piper species. Some compounds were found in the fruit scent of most species—like alpha-caryophyllene, which has a spicy scent like cinnamon or cloves. Others, like 2-heptanol, were only found in a few Piper species.

The diet experiments showed that, while the three Carollia fruit bat species varied in their reliance on Piper as a food source, all consumed a lot of a few Piper species, and a little of many others.

— Read more in Scent Is Key to How Bats and Peppers Co-evolved to Survive: New research details how bats and pepper plants in Central America have co-evolved to help each other survive at Futurity.