Ecology Of Bats

Among living vertebrates bats and birds are unique in their ability to fly, and it is this common feature that sets them apart ecologically from other groups. Bats are in some ways the noctumal equivalents of birds, having evolved and radiated into a diversity of forms to fill many of the same niches. The evolution of flight and echolocation in bats was undoubtedly a prime mover in the diversification of feeding and roosting habits, reproductive strategies, and social behaviors. Bats have successfully colonized almost every continential region on earth (except Antarctica), as weIl as many oceanic islands and archipelagos. They comprise the second largest order of mammals (next to rodents) in number of species and probably exceed all other such groups in overall abundance. Bats exhibit a dietary diversity (including insects, fruits, leaves, flowers, nectar and pollen, fish. other vertebrates, and blood) unparalleled among other living mammals. Their reproductive pattems range from seasonal monestry to polyestry, and mating systems inelude promiscuity, monogamy, and polygyny. The vast majority of what we know about the ecology of bats is derived from studies of only a few of the approximately 850 species, yet in the past two decades studies on bats have escalated to a level where many important empirical pattems and processes have been identified. This knowledge has strengthened our understanding of ecological relationships and encouraged hypothesis testing rather than perpetuated a catalog of miscellaneous observations.

In recent years researchers have discovered that bats play key roles in many ecosystems as insect predators, seed dispersers, and pollinators. Bats also display astonishing ecological and evolutionary diversity and serve as important models for studies of a wide variety of topics, including food webs, biogeography, and emerging diseases. In Bat Ecology, world-renowned bat scholars present an up-to-date, comprehensive, and authoritative review of this ongoing research. The first part of the book covers the life history and behavioral ecology of bats, from migration to sperm competition and natural selection. The next section focuses on functional ecology, including ecomorphology, feeding, and physiology. In the third section, contributors explore macroecological issues such as the evolution of ecological diversity, range size, and infectious diseases (including rabies) in bats. A final chapter discusses conservation challenges facing these fascinating flying mammals. Bat Ecology is the most comprehensive state-of-the-field collection for scientists and researchers. Contributors: John D. Altringham, Robert M. R. Barclay, Tenley M. Conway, Elizabeth R. Dumont, Peggy Eby, Abigail C. Entwistle, Theodore H. Fleming, Patricia W. Freeman, Lawrence D. Harder, Gareth Jones, Linda F. Lumsden, Gary F. McCracken, Sharon L. Messenger, Bruce D. Patterson, Paul A. Racey, Jens Rydell, Charles E. Rupprecht, Nancy B. Simmons, Jean S. Smith, John R. Speakman, Richard D. Stevens, Elizabeth F. Stockwell, Sharon M. Swartz, Donald W. Thomas, Otto von Helversen, Gerald S. Wilkinson, Michael R. Willig, York Winter

Recent advances in the study of bats have changed the way we understand this illusive group of mammals. This volume consist of 25 chapters and 57 authors from around the globe all writing on the most recent finding on the evolution, ecology and conservation of bats. The chapters in this book are not intended to be exhaustive literature reviews, but instead extended manuscripts that bring new and fresh perspectives. Many chapters consist of previously unpublished data and are repetitive of new insights and understanding in bat evolution, ecology and conservation. All chapters were peer-reviewed and revised by the authors. Many of the chapters are multi-authored to provide comprehensive and authoritative coverage of the topics.

Bats, being nocturnal flying mammals, have developed a special and very efficient means of navigating in the dark: the sonar. Although the acoustic signals they emit are inaudible to the human ear, they can be perceived, recorded and analysed with appropriate equipment and software. This book is a product of the knowledge and skill acquired by its author over more than two decades of constant research on the subject of ultrasound detection. The initial, purely auditory, approach is complemented by the computed-assisted analysis of the ultrasonic signals. With the method described in this book, a bat detector and a computer, the reader will be able to identify about 85% of bat acoustic records in Europe, carry out bat inventories and other more in-depth surveys without disturbing the animals. Thirty-five of the 42 European bat species, including all the most widespread species, are covered.

The second largest order of mammals, Chiroptera comprises more than one thousand species of bats. Because of their mobility, bats are often the only native mammals on isolated oceanic islands, where more than half of all bat species live. These island bats represent an evolutionarily distinctive and ecologically significant part of the earth’s biological diversity. Island Bats is the first book to focus solely on the evolution, ecology, and conservation of bats living in the world’s island ecosystems. Among other topics, the contributors to this volume examine how the earth’s history has affected the evolution of island bats, investigate how bat populations are affected by volcanic eruptions and hurricanes, and explore the threat of extinction from human disturbance. Geographically diverse, the volume includes studies of the islands of the Caribbean, the Western Indian Ocean, Micronesia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and New Zealand. With its wealth of information from long-term studies, Island Bats provides timely and valuable information about how this fauna has evolved and how it can be conserved.

This book explores the importance of understanding developmental processes in analyses of bat ecology and evolution.

Extensive scientific study of bats suggests that they are long-lived, slowly reproducing animals adapted to relatively stable environments. As such they might be expected to exist in communities heavily influenced by biotic interactions. This book begins with an overview of bat biology, including their systematic diversity and methodological problems in bat research. This is followed by examples of local bat community surveys from the major biogeographic regions. The evidence bearing upon resource limitation and competition in bats is reviewed. Then patterns in species richness, taxonomic, packing, biomass, numerical density, trophic and morphological diversity are described. The relevance of these to the nature of bat communities is examined. Major habitats and their histories are shown to be powerful predictors of important aspects of bat community structure.

Thomas H. Kunz is a professor of biology and director of the Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology at Boston University. He is the editor of Bat Biology and Conservation and Bat Ecology. Stuart Parsons is a senior lecturer in biological sciences at the University of Auckland, New Zealand -- Jacket.