Polarized skylight does not calibrate the compass system of a migratory bat

Lindecke, Oliver; Voigt, Christian C.; Pētersons, Gunārs; Holland, Richard A.

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2015.0525

Cited by 20 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Our results suggest P. pygmaeus from northern Europe behaves similar to long‐distance migratory P. nathusii during times of summer migration at the Baltic Sea coast (Lindecke et al ., , and this study). The observed orientations would lead bats southwards and back to the flyway along the dunes of the shoreline.…”

Section: Conclusion and Open Questionssupporting

confidence: 61%

“…In both species, DFOs matched with the geographical orientation of the local coastline, i.e., the migratory corridor and direction, respectively (Pētersons, ; Lindecke et al ., ). For P. nathusii , we observed a bimodal orientation of movements in southern and northern direction, whereas P. pygmaeus flew in the direction in which bat migration is directed at PBRS in late summer (Lindecke et al ., ). The observed orientations of P. pygmaeus would bring bats back to the flyway above the coastal dunes or 50–100 m parallel to it.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Yet, we recently used the direction of departure flights of bats tagged with radio transmitters to infer migratory orientation (Pipistrellus nathusii; Lindecke et al, 2015). These bats showed a consistent southern departure flight direction even when translocated 11 km far away from the migration corridor where they were captured (Lindecke et al, 2015). Based on that, we aimed to develop a method to study bat orientation and eventually migration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Orientation and flight behaviour identify the Soprano pipistrelle as a migratory bat species at the Baltic Sea coast

et al. 2019

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Migration routes of bats remain largely unknown, as previous orientation studies have been challenging even with newly developed techniques in tracking, genetic and stable isotope studies. However, a lack of knowledge about migrations poses problems for species conservation, especially in newly described species for which ecological information is not yet available. Here, we aimed to test flight orientation behaviour in the Soprano pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pygmaeus. This species has been described only 22 years ago but is now known to have a wide geographic distribution in Europe, yet virtually no information exists about seasonal movements of P. pygmaeus. In large parts of the continent, seasonal occurrence of P. pygmaeus matches with that of long‐distance migratory Nathusius' bats (Pipistrellus nathusii). To shed light on the migratory behaviour of both species, we investigated their orientation decisions at the Latvian Baltic Sea coast which is well‐known for summer bat migration along a north‐south axis. We developed an arena‐based assay designed to measure orientation of takeoffs. The arena was installed in the natural flight path of P. nathusii and P. pygmaeus, and after takeoff, bats chose the direction freely. We detected bearing fidelity between takeoff and departure flights, suggesting that bats used cues within the arena, putatively geomagnetic information, which allowed them to set a course prior to takeoff. Furthermore, our results show that P. pygmaeus orientates in a southerly, seasonally appropriate direction, similar to P. nathusii during ongoing migration. Therefore, our findings are consistent with true migratory behaviour of P. pygmaeus in the northern part of its range. Predicting flight directions of bats based on takeoff direction offers a simple test for orientation studies, and could further be used to test senses of bats under varying treatments, thereby facilitating a comparison of navigational skills across taxa, e.g., bats and birds.

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Section: Conclusion and Open Questionssupporting

confidence: 61%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Orientation and flight behaviour identify the Soprano pipistrelle as a migratory bat species at the Baltic Sea coast

et al. 2019

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“…We argue that this difference is not caused by methodological differences or different experimental designs, but rather by condition‐dependent effects of ALAN on bats before and during the migration period. It is noteworthy in this context that a context‐specific response to light cues has also been discussed for compass orientation of bats, that is, nonmigratory bats used solar cues for orientation, whereas migratory bats did not (Greif, Borissov, Yovel, & Holland, ; Lindecke, Voigt, Pētersons, & Holland, ). We speculate that migratory bats may be more susceptible to light sources of specific wave length spectra because vision may play a more dominant role than echolocation during migration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Migratory bats are attracted by red light but not by warm‐white light: Implications for the protection of nocturnal migrants

Voigt

Rehnig

Lindecke

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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The replacement of conventional lighting with energy‐saving light emitting diodes (LED) is a worldwide trend, yet its consequences for animals and ecosystems are poorly understood. Strictly nocturnal animals such as bats are particularly sensitive to artificial light at night (ALAN). Past studies have shown that bats, in general, respond to ALAN according to the emitted light color and that migratory bats, in particular, exhibit phototaxis in response to green light. As red and white light is frequently used in outdoor lighting, we asked how migratory bats respond to these wavelength spectra. At a major migration corridor, we recorded the presence of migrating bats based on ultrasonic recorders during 10‐min light‐on/light‐off intervals to red or warm‐white LED, interspersed with dark controls. When the red LED was switched on, we observed an increase in flight activity for Pipistrellus pygmaeus and a trend for a higher activity for Pipistrellus nathusii. As the higher flight activity of bats was not associated with increased feeding, we rule out the possibility that bats foraged at the red LED light. Instead, bats may have flown toward the red LED light source. When exposed to warm‐white LED, general flight activity at the light source did not increase, yet we observed an increased foraging activity directly at the light source compared to the dark control. Our findings highlight a response of migratory bats toward LED light that was dependent on light color. The most parsimonious explanation for the response to red LED is phototaxis and for the response to warm‐white LED foraging. Our findings call for caution in the application of red aviation lighting, particularly at wind turbines, as this light color might attract bats, leading eventually to an increased collision risk of migratory bats at wind turbines.

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“…Nevertheless, until recently, nothing was known about the sensory systems or environmental cues used in true navigation in bats (Holland 2007). However, a reemerging field of study of bat navigation has indicated that some species possess a magnetic compass sense (Holland et al 2006(Holland et al , 2010 and that this is calibrated by polarized light cues at sunset (Greif et al 2014; but see Lindecke et al 2015), an ability not shared by any other mammal taxon to our current knowledge. Further evidence suggests that the magnetic sense detects polarity (Wang et al 2007) and is detected by a magnetic particle-based sensory system (Holland et al 2008).…”

Section: Navigation Capacity Of Batsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Principles and Patterns of Bat Movements: From Aerodynamics to Ecology

Voigt

Frick²,

Holderied³

et al. 2017

The Quarterly Review of Biology

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Movement ecology as an integrative discipline has advanced associated fields because it presents not only a conceptual framework for understanding movement principles but also helps formulate predictions about the consequences of movements for animals and their environments. Here, we synthesize recent studies on principles and patterns of bat movements in context of the movement ecology paradigm. The motion capacity of bats is defined by their highly articulated, flexible wings. Power production during flight follows a U-shaped curve in relation to speed in bats yet, in contrast to birds, bats use mostly exogenous nutrients for sustained flight. The navigation capacity of most bats is dominated by the echolocation system, yet other sensory modalities, including an iron-based magnetic sense, may contribute to navigation depending on a bat’s familiarity with the terrain. Patterns derived from these capacities relate to antagonistic and mutualistic interactions with food items. The navigation capacity of bats may influence their sociality, in particular, the extent of group foraging based on eavesdropping on conspecifics’ echolocation calls. We infer that understanding the movement ecology of bats within the framework of the movement ecology paradigm provides new insights into ecological processes mediated by bats, from ecosystem services to diseases.

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Polarized skylight does not calibrate the compass system of a migratory bat

Cited by 20 publications

References 22 publications

Orientation and flight behaviour identify the Soprano pipistrelle as a migratory bat species at the Baltic Sea coast

Orientation and flight behaviour identify the Soprano pipistrelle as a migratory bat species at the Baltic Sea coast

Migratory bats are attracted by red light but not by warm‐white light: Implications for the protection of nocturnal migrants

Principles and Patterns of Bat Movements: From Aerodynamics to Ecology

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