Movement seasonality in a desert-dwelling bat revealed by miniature GPS loggers

Abstract

Background Bats are among the most successful desert mammals. Yet, our understanding of their spatio-temporal dynamics in habitat use associated with the seasonal oscillation of resources is still limited. In this study, we have employed state-of-the-art lightweight GPS loggers to track the yellow-winged bat Lavia frons in a desert in northern Kenya to investigate how seasonality in a desert affects the a) spatial and b) temporal dimensions of movements in a low-mobility bat. Methods Bats were tracked during April–May 2017 (rainy season) and January–February 2018 (dry season) using 1-g GPS loggers. Spatial and temporal dimensions of movements were quantified, respectively, as the home range and nightly activity patterns. We tested for differences between seasons to assess responses to seasonal drought. In addition, we quantified home range overlap between neighbouring individuals to investigate whether tracking data will be in accordance with previous reports on territoriality and social monogamy in L. frons . Results We obtained data for 22 bats, 13 during the rainy and 9 during the dry season. Home ranges averaged 5.46 ± 11.04 ha and bats travelled a minimum distance of 99.69 ± 123.42 m/hour. During the dry season, home ranges were larger than in the rainy season, and bats exhibited high activity during most of the night. No apparent association with free water was identified during the dry season. The observed spatial organisation of home ranges supports previous observations that L. frons partitions the space into territories throughout the year. Conclusions Our results suggest that, in low-mobility bats, a potential way to cope with seasonally harsh conditions and resource scarcity in deserts is to cover larger areas and increase time active, suggesting lower cost-efficiency of the foraging activity. Climate change may pose additional pressures on L. frons and other low-mobility species by further reducing food abundances. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40462-019-0170-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Common insectivorous bats may serve as a natural solution for suppressing pests, with implications for managing apple orchards in China

“…Several radio-tracking studies conducted in other habitats have disproven the first argument. 64,65 We found that bat activity was positively correlated with vegetation cover metrics (mean NDVI and mean FVC), which is consistent with the findings of other studies, [66][67][68] whereas a negative correlation with landscape diversity contrasted with earlier findings. 21,24,69 Higher vegetation cover can provide more food, shelter, and breeding habitats for herbivorous insects, thus increasing the abundance of these insects.…”

“…However, further investigation is needed to determine whether the adjustment made by bats in response to a decrease in moth availability is due to an increase in the foraging range of bats or a reduction in foraging allocation in resource‐poor habitats. Several radio‐tracking studies conducted in other habitats have disproven the first argument 64,65 …”

Common insectivorous bats may serve as a natural solution for suppressing pests, with implications for managing apple orchards in China

“…Several radio-tracking studies conducted in other habitats have disproven the first argument. 64,65 We found that bat activity was positively correlated with vegetation cover metrics (mean NDVI and mean FVC), which is consistent with the findings of other studies, [66][67][68] whereas a negative correlation with landscape diversity contrasted with earlier findings. 21,24,69 Higher vegetation cover can provide more food, shelter, and breeding habitats for herbivorous insects, thus increasing the abundance of these insects.…”

“…However, further investigation is needed to determine whether the adjustment made by bats in response to a decrease in moth availability is due to an increase in the foraging range of bats or a reduction in foraging allocation in resource‐poor habitats. Several radio‐tracking studies conducted in other habitats have disproven the first argument 64,65 …”

Thinking small: next-generation sensor networks close the size gap in vertebrate biologging

“…Remote downlinks, e.g., per GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), add considerable weight in the form of circuitry and battery 1 . Many light-weight trackers must therefore be retrieved, or energy harvesting must be used to counter-balance the expenses for remote data download 7, 18–20 , again adding weight for the required hardware components. When tagged animals move on predictable scales, energy-saving methods like transfer via VHF (Very High Frequency) or radio modems may be an option to receive data over distances of hundreds of meters to few kilometers 21 .…”

Untitled

“…Moreover, the use of animal-tracking techniques can explore spatial ecology and habitat use by bats in finer detail, providing an excellent baseline for evidence-based conservation (Hays et al 2019, Katzner & Arlettaz 2020. Many studies of this kind have been carried out on bats in other parts of the world (Arlettaz 1999, Ashrafi et al 2013, Dekeukeleire et al 2016, Conenna et al 2019). However, few tracking studies have focused on species in Mediterranean ecosystems (Popa-Lisseanu et al 2009, Napal et al 2010, Goiti et al 2011, López-Baucells et al 2021, Tena & Tellería 2021.…”

Common insectivorous bats may serve as a natural solution for suppressing pests, with implications for managing apple orchards in China

“…Several radio-tracking studies conducted in other habitats have disproven the first argument. 64,65 We found that bat activity was positively correlated with vegetation cover metrics (mean NDVI and mean FVC), which is consistent with the findings of other studies, [66][67][68] whereas a negative correlation with landscape diversity contrasted with earlier findings. 21,24,69 Higher vegetation cover can provide more food, shelter, and breeding habitats for herbivorous insects, thus increasing the abundance of these insects.…”

“…However, further investigation is needed to determine whether the adjustment made by bats in response to a decrease in moth availability is due to an increase in the foraging range of bats or a reduction in foraging allocation in resource‐poor habitats. Several radio‐tracking studies conducted in other habitats have disproven the first argument 64,65 …”

Thinking small: next-generation sensor networks close the size gap in vertebrate biologging

“…Remote downlinks, e.g., per GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), add considerable weight in the form of circuitry and battery 1 . Many light-weight trackers must therefore be retrieved, or energy harvesting must be used to counter-balance the expenses for remote data download 7, 18–20 , again adding weight for the required hardware components. When tagged animals move on predictable scales, energy-saving methods like transfer via VHF (Very High Frequency) or radio modems may be an option to receive data over distances of hundreds of meters to few kilometers 21 .…”

Untitled

“…Moreover, the use of animal-tracking techniques can explore spatial ecology and habitat use by bats in finer detail, providing an excellent baseline for evidence-based conservation (Hays et al 2019, Katzner & Arlettaz 2020. Many studies of this kind have been carried out on bats in other parts of the world (Arlettaz 1999, Ashrafi et al 2013, Dekeukeleire et al 2016, Conenna et al 2019). However, few tracking studies have focused on species in Mediterranean ecosystems (Popa-Lisseanu et al 2009, Napal et al 2010, Goiti et al 2011, López-Baucells et al 2021, Tena & Tellería 2021.…”

Common insectivorous bats may serve as a natural solution for suppressing pests, with implications for managing apple orchards in China

“…Several radio-tracking studies conducted in other habitats have disproven the first argument. 64,65 We found that bat activity was positively correlated with vegetation cover metrics (mean NDVI and mean FVC), which is consistent with the findings of other studies, [66][67][68] whereas a negative correlation with landscape diversity contrasted with earlier findings. 21,24,69 Higher vegetation cover can provide more food, shelter, and breeding habitats for herbivorous insects, thus increasing the abundance of these insects.…”

“…However, further investigation is needed to determine whether the adjustment made by bats in response to a decrease in moth availability is due to an increase in the foraging range of bats or a reduction in foraging allocation in resource‐poor habitats. Several radio‐tracking studies conducted in other habitats have disproven the first argument 64,65 …”

Thinking small: next-generation sensor networks close the size gap in vertebrate biologging

“…Remote downlinks, e.g., per GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), add considerable weight in the form of circuitry and battery 1 . Many light-weight trackers must therefore be retrieved, or energy harvesting must be used to counter-balance the expenses for remote data download 7, 18–20 , again adding weight for the required hardware components. When tagged animals move on predictable scales, energy-saving methods like transfer via VHF (Very High Frequency) or radio modems may be an option to receive data over distances of hundreds of meters to few kilometers 21 .…”

Untitled

“…Moreover, the use of animal-tracking techniques can explore spatial ecology and habitat use by bats in finer detail, providing an excellent baseline for evidence-based conservation (Hays et al 2019, Katzner & Arlettaz 2020. Many studies of this kind have been carried out on bats in other parts of the world (Arlettaz 1999, Ashrafi et al 2013, Dekeukeleire et al 2016, Conenna et al 2019). However, few tracking studies have focused on species in Mediterranean ecosystems (Popa-Lisseanu et al 2009, Napal et al 2010, Goiti et al 2011, López-Baucells et al 2021, Tena & Tellería 2021.…”