Effects of Range, Habitat and Roosting Ecology in Patterns of Group Association in Bats

Tests of hypotheses for group formation in the subtropical leaf‐dwelling bat, Kerivoula furva

“…The subtropical K. furva formed distinct social groups, and those groups were relatively stable year-round. The stable social groups have been reported for some tropical bats (e.g., Chaverri, 2010;Kerth, 2008;Sagot, 2016;. In contrast to other social bats, the average SRI values of K. furva (0.04-0.07) are similar to that of Phyllostomus hastatus (0.059), Desmodus rotundus (0.021-0.061), and Myotis septentrionalis (0.057), but are lower than that of S. bilineata (0.107-0.112), T. tricolor (0.099-0.136), Rhynchonycteris naso (0.126-0.167), and Myotis bechsteinii (0.262) (reviewed by .…”

“…The majority of bat species live in groups that range from a few individuals to millions (Kunz & Lumsden, 2003). The stability of groups in bats differs according to environmental conditions and roost characteristics (Sagot, 2016). For example, temperate bats generally exhibit mixed-sex aggregations during hibernation and the mating season but usually demonstrate sexual segregation at parturition, in which reproductive females and pups form maternity colonies and males live solitarily or form bachelor groups (Bradbury, 1977;McCracken & Wilkinson, 2000;Sagot, 2016).…”

“…The stability of groups in bats differs according to environmental conditions and roost characteristics (Sagot, 2016). For example, temperate bats generally exhibit mixed-sex aggregations during hibernation and the mating season but usually demonstrate sexual segregation at parturition, in which reproductive females and pups form maternity colonies and males live solitarily or form bachelor groups (Bradbury, 1977;McCracken & Wilkinson, 2000;Sagot, 2016). In contrast, group stability was more flexible in tropical bats; some tropical species exhibited seasonally unstable groups, whereas some others, such as Spix's disk-winged bats (Thyroptera tricolor) and greater sac-winged bats (Saccopteryx bilineata), maintained stable social groups throughout the year (Kerth, 2008;McCracken & Wilkinson, 2000;Sagot, 2016).…”

Re-examining extreme sleep duration in bats: implications for sleep phylogeny, ecology and function

“…Furthermore, many groups of bats contain complex social systems in which animals engage in a diversity of social behaviours (Kerth, 2008;Harten et al, 2019;Carter and Wilkinson, 2013;Knörnschild et al, 2012). Little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) form stable colonies (i.e., that persist throughout the reproductive season) of many thousands of individuals usually in permanent roosts such as caves and mines (Fenton and Barclay, 1980;Langwig et al, 2012;Sagot, 2016). Although it has been suggested that social systems of little brown bat colonies are relatively simple in comparison to some bat species, evidence of social behaviours such as vocal communication during interactions, swarming and even social learning indicate that the social environment plays an important role in the lives of these animals (Barclay et al, 1979;Schowalter, 1980;Gaudet and Brock fenton, 1984).…”