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Russo D, Jones G, Polizzi M, Meola V, Cistrone L. Higher and bigger: How riparian bats react to climate change. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 913:169733. [PMID: 38171455 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
The altitudinal distribution of animals and changes in their body size are effective indicators of climate change. Bats are sensitive to climate change due to their dependence on temperature during critical life stages. However, long-term studies documenting responses over extended periods are rare. We present a 24-year investigation of Myotis daubentonii, a riparian bat known for altitudinal sexual segregation, along a river course in Central Italy. While males occupy the entire river course, females are confined to downstream warmer areas supporting successful reproduction due to improved foraging site productivity. In 2000, females were absent above 900 m a.s.l in our study area. We hypothesise that a) this altitude threshold is now higher, due to thermal gradient changes along the river course; and b) thermoregulatory costs for reproductive females have declined, leading to increased energy investment in offspring and subsequent generational growth in bat body size. Confirming our hypotheses, females exhibited a 175-m upward shift in altitude limit. Furthermore, we found a concurrent increase in body size (but not condition). Temperatures increased in the 24 years, likely allowing females to extend their range to higher elevations and favouring an increase in newborn body mass. Riparian vegetation remained unchanged, excluding habitat quality changes as the cause for the observed responses. The rapid female elevation rise might imply future disruption of established social structures, altering intra- and intersexual competition for roosts and food. Given the global decline in insect populations, larger bats might face future difficulties in finding food to sustain their body size, increasing mortality. However, the full impact of such changes on bat fitness remains unexplored and warrants further investigation, including other bat populations. This knowledge is crucial for informing conservation in the face of ongoing climate change and preserving the ecosystem services bats deliver in riparian ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danilo Russo
- Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Evolution (AnEcoEvo), Dipartimento di Agraria, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, via Università, 100, 80055 Portici, Napoli, Italy; University of Bristol, School of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK.
| | - Gareth Jones
- University of Bristol, School of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Marta Polizzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie Charles Darwin, Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", Piazzale Aldo Moro, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Meola
- Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Evolution (AnEcoEvo), Dipartimento di Agraria, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, via Università, 100, 80055 Portici, Napoli, Italy
| | - Luca Cistrone
- Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Evolution (AnEcoEvo), Dipartimento di Agraria, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, via Università, 100, 80055 Portici, Napoli, Italy
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True MC, Gorman KM, Taylor H, Reynolds RJ, Ford WM. Fall migration, oceanic movement, and site residency patterns of eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis) on the mid-Atlantic Coast. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:35. [PMID: 37316899 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00398-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States, eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis) are present during fall mating and migration, though little is currently known about most aspects of bat migration. To reveal migration patterns, and understand drivers of over-water flight, we captured and radio-tagged 115 eastern red bats using novel technology, and subsequently tracked and described their movements throughout the region. We compared over-water flight movements to randomly generated patterns using a use-availability framework, and subsequently used a generalized linear mixed effects model to assess the relationship of over-water flight to atmospheric variables. We used hidden Markov models to assess daily activity patterns and site residency. Most bats with long-distance movements traveled in a southwesterly direction, however path vectors were often oriented interior toward the continental landmass rather than along the coastline. We observed that some bats transited wide sections of the Chesapeake and Delaware bays, confirming their ability to travel across large water bodies. This over-water flight typically occurred in the early hours of the night and during favorable flying conditions. If flight over large water bodies is a proxy for over-ocean flight, then collision risk at offshore wind turbines - a major source of migratory bat fatalities - may be linked nightly to warm temperatures that occur early in the fall season. Risk, then, may be somewhat predictable and manageable with mitigation options linking wind-energy operation to weather conditions and seasonality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael C True
- Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc., 2121 Midpoint Drive, Suite 201, Fort Collins, CO, 80525, USA
| | - Katherine M Gorman
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 149 Cheatham Hall, 310 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061-0321, USA.
| | - Hila Taylor
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 149 Cheatham Hall, 310 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061-0321, USA
| | - Richard J Reynolds
- Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, 517 Lee Hwy, Verona, VA, 24482, USA
| | - W Mark Ford
- U.S. Geological Survey, Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 106 Cheatham Hall, 310 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061-0321, USA
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Fraser EE, McGuire LP. Prehibernation swarming in temperate bats: a critical transition between summer activity and hibernation. CAN J ZOOL 2023. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2022-0129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/04/2023]
Abstract
In this contribution to Dr. Brock Fenton's Festschrift, we briefly reflect on Dr. Fenton's seminal works examining bat swarming behaviour in Ontario and use these reflections as a launch pad to conduct a global review on autumn swarming in bats, and underlying hypotheses to explain this behaviour. Our review frames the swarming period as a time of critical transitions, during which bats must balance multiple life history trade-offs, and we consider how various intrinsic and extrinsic factors may contribute to inter- and intraspecific differences in autumn behaviour. We discuss the transition away from summer residency, including maternity colony breakup, day roosting, and migration during autumn. We review key life history elements of swarming, including mating behaviours and associated reproductive condition, genetic exchange during swarming, and variation among sexes, ages, and species. Finally, we discuss the behaviours and physiological states of bats transitioning from the swarming period to hibernation. Throughout, we identify common patterns and also exceptions. Over 50 years of research has yielded many insights into autumn swarming, but knowledge gaps remain. Future research focus on a greater diversity of species will reveal general principles underlying the transition from summer active season, through the swarming period, and into winter hibernation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin E. Fraser
- School of Science and the Environment, Memorial University of Newfoundland (Grenfell Campus), 20 University Drive, Corner Brook, NL A2H 5G4, Canada
| | - Liam P. McGuire
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
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Vasenkov D, Desmet JF, Popov I, Sidorchuk N. Bats can migrate farther than it was previously known: a new longest migration record by Nathusius’ pipistrelle Pipistrellus nathusii (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae). MAMMALIA 2022. [DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2021-0139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Bat migrations have been studied for a long time, but large areas remain poorly explored in this regard. This note reports a record migration distance of the Nathusius’ pipistrelle – 2486 km from Russia to the French Alps. This distance exceeds the previous record flight from Latvia to Spain by 260 km. Hibernating colonies of Nathusius’ pipistrelle are known in the Caucasus. However, our data show that Nathusius’ pipistrelle can fly much longer for hibernating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Vasenkov
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution , Russian Academy of Sciences , Leninsky Prospect, 33, 119071 Moscow , Russia
| | - Jean-François Desmet
- Groupe de Recherches et d’Information sur la Faune dans les Ecosystèmes de Montagne (G.R.I.F.E.M.) , Samoens , France
| | - Igor Popov
- Saint-Petersburg State University , Saint-Petersburg , Russia
| | - Natalia Sidorchuk
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution , Russian Academy of Sciences , Leninsky Prospect, 33, 119071 Moscow , Russia
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Wieringa JG, Carstens BC, Gibbs HL. Predicting migration routes for three species of migratory bats using species distribution models. PeerJ 2021; 9:e11177. [PMID: 33959415 PMCID: PMC8054759 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding seasonal variation in the distribution and movement patterns of migratory species is essential to monitoring and conservation efforts. While there are many species of migratory bats in North America, little is known about their seasonal movements. In terms of conservation, this is important because the bat fatalities from wind energy turbines are significant and may fluctuate seasonally. Here we describe seasonally resolved distributions for the three species that are most impacted by wind farms (Lasiurus borealis (eastern red bat), L. cinereus (hoary bat) and Lasionycteris noctivagans (silver-haired bat)) and use these distributions to infer their most likely migratory pathways. To accomplish this, we collected 2,880 occurrence points from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility over five decades in North America to model species distributions on a seasonal basis and used an ensemble approach for modeling distributions. This dataset included 1,129 data points for L. borealis, 917 for L. cinereus and 834 for L. noctivagans. The results suggest that all three species exhibit variation in distributions from north to south depending on season, with each species showing potential migratory pathways during the fall migration that follow linear features. Finally, we describe proposed migratory pathways for these three species that can be used to identify stop-over sites, assess small-scale migration and highlight areas that should be prioritized for actions to reduce the effects of wind farm mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamin G Wieringa
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.,Ohio Biodiversity Conservation Partnership, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Bryan C Carstens
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - H Lisle Gibbs
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.,Ohio Biodiversity Conservation Partnership, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
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