Annual Activity and Weight Cycles of Bats in South-Eastern Tasmania

Taylor, R. J.; Savva, NM

doi:10.1071/wr9900181

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 15 publications

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“…Other studies from northern temperate regions suggest that foraging is curtailed at temperatures below 10-12°C (Anthony et al 1981;Wilkinson & Barclay 1997); in southern Australia, c. 5°C has been the threshold below which activity ceases (Taylor & Savva 1990;Lumsden 1993;Lumsden & Bennett 1995). Chalinolobus morio was more active than other bats in colder weather in southern Australia, perhaps because reduced competition at these times allows them to build up fat reserves (Taylor & Sawa 1990). Both bat and invertebrate activity were reduced in the Eglinton Valley below 10°C, and especially below 5°C.…”

Section: Temporal Changes In Habitat Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of season, habitat, temperature, and invertebrate availability on nocturnal activity of the New Zealand long‐tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus)

O’Donnell

2000

New Zealand Journal of Zoology

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Nocturnal patterns of activity by the New Zealand long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) varied significantly in relation to habitat, season, time of night, temperature, and invertebrate activity. Automatic bat detection units recorded 12072 bat passes containing 593 feeding buzzes during 580 nights of sampling. Overall, 46.3% of passes were along roads within forest, 42.7% along forest edges, 8.1% in open grassland and 2.9% within forest. Pass rates averaged 30.8/night (95% confidence interval (CI) = 23.3-38.4) during spring, 31.7 (CI = 21.3-42.1) during summer, 6.7 (CI = 4.4-9.0) during autumn and 1.6 (CI = 0.2-3.0) during winter. Bats were active throughout the night in all habitats, but the patterns of their activity were different in each. During spring and summer a significantly higher proportion of bat passes in edge and open habitats were recorded in the first 2 h after sunset, and activity then declined steadily towards dawn. In road habitats activity peaked in the second hour but was more consistent during the remaining hours of the night. Activity in forest did not vary through the night. Patterns were similar, though less pronounced, in autumn but in winter there was little activity during the first three hours after sunset or in the 5 h before dawn. Analysis of deviance models indicated that habitat, season, minimum overnight temperature, and invertebrate activity contributed to explaining the activities of bats. Overnight temperature was more important than invertebrate activity in explaining total bat activity in a night. Invertebrate activity was more significant than minimum temperature in the model explaining the amount of foraging activity per night, inferring that minimum temperature determines whether bats fly at night, while invertebrate activity determines how long bats feed. Techniques for indexing bat activity that are designed to survey distribution or monitor population trends should control for temporal variation and temperature to enable valid comparisons between counts.

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Section: Temporal Changes In Habitat Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of season, habitat, temperature, and invertebrate availability on nocturnal activity of the New Zealand long‐tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus)

O’Donnell

2000

New Zealand Journal of Zoology

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Bats of a semi-arid environment in south-eastern Australia: biogeography, ecology and conservation

Lumsden¹,

Bennet²

1995

Wildl. Res.

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A total of 2075 captures of 11 taxa of bats was recorded during an extensive survey of the vertebrate fauna of the semi-arid Mallee region of Victoria. A further two species, Pteropus scapulatus and Saccolaimus flaviventris, are known from previous records, thus bringing the total to 13 taxa known from the region. There was a marked seasonality in activity patterns and in reproduction. Activity, as revealed by trap captures, peaked over the spring to early autumn months when daytime temperatures are high and nights are mild. Births occurred from October to December, lactating females were recorded from November to February, and juveniles were trapped between December and late February, with minor variation in timing between species. Morphometric measurements revealed that females were generally larger and heavier than males. There was a high level of overlap of species between broad vegetation types. Woodland habitats, especially Riverine Woodland, tended to have a higher frequency of capture and a greater species richness of bats per trapping event than did Mallee Shrubland. The assemblage of bats in the Mallee region, Victoria, like those in other semi-arid regions of southern Australia, includes species that are widespread in Australia (e.g. Chalinolobus gouldii and Nyctophilus geoffroyi), together with species that primarily occur in semi-arid and arid environments (e.g. N. timoriensis, Scotorepens balstoni and Vespadelus baverstocki). This region, which includes mesic riverine habitats, also supports a group of species that are characteristic of temperate south-eastern Australia (e.g. C. morio, V. regulus and V. vulturnus). In comparison with assemblages from temperate and tropical environmental regions, those from the semi-arid region tend to have a lower species richness with fewer families represented, a higher level of insectivory, and a smaller modal body size. The conservation status of bats from the Mallee region, Victoria, is believed to be secure, although the status of N. timoriensis warrants further attention.

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Roosting activity budget of the southern bent-wing bat (Miniopterus schreibersii bassanii)

Codd¹,

Sanderson²,

Branford³

2003

Aust. J. Zool.

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The roosting activity budget of the southern bent-wing bat (Miniopterus schreibersii bassanii) was observed using remote-controlled infrared-illuminated video-cameras. Bat activity was assessed using scan sampling, conducted in 98 two-hour observation blocks, with 605 scan samples (each of ~2.5-min duration) being collected. Activity was divided into three categories: 'at rest', 'grooming', and 'active' (including flying off). Bats spent an average of 62% of their time 'at rest', 16% 'grooming', and 22% 'active'. Bat activity was significantly influenced by time of day, the cave chamber that was occupied, the vertical location of the bats on the cave wall, and the type of cluster formed by the bats. During the day bats spent most time 'at rest' (overall mean 78%) compared with other times (overall means 43–54%). Levels of flight and 'activity' (relative to 'at rest') were significantly lower during the day than at other times. Bats on the walls of the maternity chamber, where the temperature was highest, spent less time 'at rest' (overall mean 51%) than did bats on the walls of cooler chambers (overall means 73–86% of time). Bats in the maternity chamber spent significantly more time 'active' and 'grooming' (relative to 'at rest') than did bats in other chambers. Microclimatic conditions within the cave environment appear to significantly affect the activity of bats whilst at roost.

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Annual Activity and Weight Cycles of Bats in South-Eastern Tasmania

Cited by 3 publications

References 15 publications

Influence of season, habitat, temperature, and invertebrate availability on nocturnal activity of the New Zealand long‐tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus)

Influence of season, habitat, temperature, and invertebrate availability on nocturnal activity of the New Zealand long‐tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus)

Bats of a semi-arid environment in south-eastern Australia: biogeography, ecology and conservation

Roosting activity budget of the southern bent-wing bat (Miniopterus schreibersii bassanii)

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