Nathusius' pipistrelles Pipistrellus nathusii (Chiroptera) reveal different temporal activity patterns in wooded and open riparian sites

Ciechanowski, Mateusz; Zajac, T; Biłas, A.; Dunajski, Robert

doi:10.1515/mamm.2009.027

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Similarly, Ciechanowski et al . () and Rydell et al . () report that Pipistrellus bats avoid feeding over open water (staying in open woodland) until well after sunset, and in so doing they miss the greater insect abundance over water during the twilight period (Rydell et al ., ; see Ekman & de Jong, for a related example).…”

Section: Predator Avoidance In An Ecological Contextmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…For instance, early-feeding soprano pipistrelles feed only under the canopy in forested areas until well after sunset (Russo et al, 2011). Similarly, Ciechanowski et al (2009) andRydell et al (1996) report that Pipistrellus bats avoid feeding over open water (staying in open woodland) until well after sunset, and in so doing they miss the greater insect abundance over water during the twilight period (Rydell et al, 1996;see Ekman & de Jong, 1996 for a related example). Frugivorous phyllostomid bats also avoid feeding in relatively open habitats until about an hour after sunset (Fig.…”

Section: (5) Use Of Space While Foragingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Do predators influence the behaviour of bats?

2013

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Many aspects of animal behaviour are affected by real-time changes in the risk of predation. This conclusion holds for virtually all taxa and ecological systems studied, but does it hold for bats? Bats are poorly represented in the literature on anti-predator behaviour, which may reflect a lack of nocturnal predators specialized on bats. If bats actually experience a world with minimal anti-predator concerns, then they will provide a unique contrast within the realm of vertebrate ecology. Alternatively, such predator-driven behaviour in bats may not yet be fully understood, given the difficulties in working with these highly mobile and nocturnal animals. We provide a wide-ranging exploration of these issues in bat behaviour. We first cover the basic predator-prey information available on bats, both on potential predators and the ways in which bats might perceive predators and respond to attacks. We then cover work relevant to key aspects of bat behaviour, such as choice of daytime roosts, the nature of sleep and torpor, evening roost departures, moonlight avoidance, landscape-related movement patterns, and habitat selection. Overall, the evidence in favour of a strong influence of predators on bat behaviour is equivocal, with the picture clouded by contradictory results and a lack of information on potential predators and the perception of risk by bats. It seems clear that day-active bats run a considerable risk of being killed by diurnal raptors, which are able to capture bats with relative ease. Thus, bats taking advantage of a pulse of insects just prior to sunset are likely taking risks to gain much-needed energy. Further, the choice of daytime roosts by bats is probably strongly influenced by roost safety. Few studies, however, have directly addressed either of these topics. As a group, insectivorous temperate-zone bats show no clear tendency to avoid apparently risky situations, such as activity on moonlit nights. However, some observations are consistent with the idea that predation risk affects choice of movement paths and feeding areas by temperate-zone bats, as well as the timing of roost departures. The behaviour of tropical bats, on the other hand, seems more generally influenced by predators; this is especially true for tropical nectarivores and frugivores, but also for insectivorous bats. Presumably there are more serious predators on bats in the tropics (e.g. specialized raptors or carnivorous bats), but the identity of these predators is unclear. More information is needed to assess fully the influence of predators on bat behaviour. There is much need for work on the ways in which bats perceive predators via auditory, visual, and olfactory cues, and whether bats have some knowledge of the risks posed by different predators. Also needed is information on how predators attack bats and how bats react to attacking predators. Difficult to obtain, but of critical value, will be information on the nature of the predation risk experienced by bats while away from roosts and during the full darkness of night.

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Section: Predator Avoidance In An Ecological Contextmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: (5) Use Of Space While Foragingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do predators influence the behaviour of bats?

2013

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“…Seasonal variations in nocturnal activity, foraging time per night, and time of departure and return to the roost have been reported elsewhere as well (Encarnação, Becker, & Ekschmitt, ). For example, P. nathusii has been reported to show bimodal activity patterns when hunting over wooded sites, while it had unimodal postmidnight activity when hunting in open areas to avoid predators (Ciechanowski, Zajac, Bilas, & Dunajski, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal bat activity related to insect emergence at three temperate lakes

Salvarina

Gravier

Rothhaupt

2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Knowledge of aquatic food resources entering terrestrial systems is important for food web studies and conservation planning. Bats, among other terrestrial consumers, often profit from aquatic insect emergence and their activity might be closely related to such events. However, there is a lack of studies which monitor bat activity simultaneously with aquatic insect emergence, especially from lakes. Thus, our aim was to understand the relationship between insect emergence and bat activity, and investigate whether there is a general spatial or seasonal pattern at lakeshores. We assessed whole‐night bat activity using acoustic monitoring and caught emerging and aerial flying insects at three different lakes through three seasons. We predicted that insect availability and seasonality explain the variation in bat activity, independent of the lake size and characteristics. Spatial (between lakes) differences of bat activity were stronger than temporal (seasonal) differences. Bat activity did not always correlate to insect emergence, probably because other factors, such as habitat characteristics, or bats’ energy requirements, play an important role as well. Aerial flying insects explained bat activity better than the emerged aquatic insects in the lake with lowest insect emergence. Bats were active throughout the night with some activity peaks, and the pattern of their activity also differed among lakes and seasons. Lakes are important habitats for bats, as they support diverse bat communities and activity throughout the night and the year when bats are active. Our study highlights that there are spatial and temporal differences in bat activity and its hourly nocturnal pattern, that should be considered when investigating aquatic–terrestrial interactions or designing conservation and monitoring plans.

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“…where population numbers tend to be reduced in years with relatively poor weather conditions (Arlettaz, Christe, Lugon, Perrin, & Vogel, 2001;Frick, Reynolds, & Kunz, 2010;Jan et al, 2017;Locatelli, Ciuti, Presetnik, Toffoli, & Teeling, 2019;O'Shea, Ellison, & Stanley, 2011;Ransome & McOwat, 1994). Weather and food availability are inextricably linked (Arlettaz et al, 2001), with poor weather conditions indirectly impacting bats by exerting a negative influence on the availability of prey insects (Locatelli et al, 2019;Rodenhouse, Christenson, Parry, & Green, 2009) and directly by negatively affecting foraging activity, where bats are less likely to emerge to forage in rain and high winds (Anthony, Stack, & Kunz, 1981;Ciechanowski, Zając, Biłas, & Dunajski, 2007). More specifically, recent results from a long-term study of M. myotis in Switzerland have demonstrated that yearly survival of both adults and juveniles is linked to weather-mediated food availability (Arlettaz, Christe, & Schaub, 2017).…”

Section: Implications For Myotis Myotismentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of longitudinal telomere dynamics in a long‐lived bat species, Myotis myotis

et al. 2020

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Age‐related telomere shortening is considered a hallmark of the ageing process. However, a recent cross‐sectional ageing study of relative telomere length (rTL) in bats failed to detect a relationship between rTL and age in the long‐lived genus Myotis (M. myotis and M. bechsteinii), suggesting some other factors are responsible for driving telomere dynamics in these species. Here, we test if longitudinal rTL data show signatures of age‐associated telomere attrition in M. myotis and differentiate which intrinsic or extrinsic factors are likely to drive telomere length dynamics. Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction, rTL was measured in 504 samples from a marked population, from Brittany, France, captured between 2013 and 2016. These represent 174 individuals with an age range of 0 to 7+ years. We find no significant relationship between rTL and age (p = .762), but demonstrate that within‐individual rTL is highly variable from year to year. To investigate the heritability of rTL, a population pedigree (n = 1744) was constructed from genotype data generated from a 16‐microsatellite multiplex, designed from an initial, low‐coverage, Illumina genome for M. myotis. Heritability was estimated in a Bayesian, mixed model framework, and showed that little of the observed variance in rTL is heritable (h2 = 0.01–0.06). Rather, correlations of first differences, correlating yearly changes in telomere length and weather variables, demonstrate that, during the spring transition, average temperature, minimum temperature, rainfall and windspeed correlate with changes in longitudinal telomere dynamics. As such, rTL may represent a useful biomarker to quantify the physiological impact of various environmental stressors in bats.

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Nathusius' pipistrelles Pipistrellus nathusii (Chiroptera) reveal different temporal activity patterns in wooded and open riparian sites

Cited by 10 publications

References 22 publications

Do predators influence the behaviour of bats?

Do predators influence the behaviour of bats?

Seasonal bat activity related to insect emergence at three temperate lakes

Drivers of longitudinal telomere dynamics in a long‐lived bat species, Myotis myotis

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