Bat activity over calm and turbulent water

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrix von Frenckell ◽  
Robert M. R. Barclay
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Frequency Analysis ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
Prey Abundance ◽  
Sticky Traps ◽  
Insect Abundance ◽  
Echolocation Calls ◽  
Bat Activity ◽  
Little Brown Bat ◽  
Turbulent Water

A comparison of the activity of the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) over calm pools and fast-flowing riffles was performed in southwestern Alberta. Bat activity was assessed by monitoring echolocation calls using ultrasonic detectors. Activity was higher over pools than riffles. This could be due to differences in prey abundance or accessibility in the two habitats. Alternatively, water noise at turbulent sites may interfere with the bats' echolocation abilities. Sticky traps were used to assess prey abundance, and water noise was recorded for intensity–frequency analysis. Insect abundance at the height where the bats flew (< 1 m above the water) did not differ between sites, but insects close to or at water level at calm pools may be more accessible than at fast-flowing riffles. Further, water noise at riffles may decrease the efficiency with which bats detect targets.

scholarly journals Going, going, gone: the impact of white-nose syndrome on the summer activity of the little brown bat ( Myotis lucifugus )

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 392-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Dzal ◽  
Liam P. McGuire ◽  
Nina Veselka ◽  
M. Brock Fenton
Keyword(s):  
Hudson River ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Echolocation Calls ◽  
Bat Activity ◽  
White Nose Syndrome ◽  
Little Brown Bat ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Little Brown Bats

Since its discovery in the winter of 2005–2006, white-nose syndrome (WNS) has killed over one million little brown bats ( Myotis lucifugus ) in the American northeast. Although many studies have reported die-offs of bats at winter hibernacula, it is important to understand how bat mortality linked to WNS at winter hibernacula affects bat activity levels in their summer ranges. In the summer (May–August) of 2007, 2008 and 2009, we recorded echolocation calls to determine bat activity at sites along the Hudson River, NY (within approx. 100 km of where WNS was first reported). We documented a 78 per cent decline in the summer activity of M. lucifugus , coinciding with the arrival and spread of WNS. We suggest that mortality of M. lucifugus in winter hibernacula is reflected by reduced levels of activity in the summer and that WNS affects the entire bat population of an area, and not only individual hibernacula.

Bats of Kootenay, Glacier, and Mount Revelstoke national parks in Canada: identification by echolocation calls, distribution, and biology

1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (11) ◽  
pp. 2503-2508 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. B. Fenton ◽  
H. G. Merriam ◽  
G. L. Holroyd
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
Glacier National Park ◽  
Lasiurus Cinereus ◽  
Echolocation Calls ◽  
Bat Activity ◽  
Lasionycteris Noctivagans ◽  
The Town

We studied the behaviour, echolocation calls, and distribution of bats in Kootenay, Glacier, and Mount Revelstoke national parks in British Columbia, Canada. Presented here are keys for identification of nine species of bats by their echolocation calls as rendered by two different bat-detecting systems. The species involved include Myotis lucifugus, M. evotis, M. volans, M. septentrionalis, M. californicus, Lasionycteris noctivagans, Eptesicus fuscus, Lasiurus cinereus, and L. borealis. The distribution of these species within the three parks was assessed by capturing bats in traps and mist nets and by monitoring of their echolocation calls. Most of the species exploited concentrations of insects around spotlights, providing convenient foci of activity for assessing distribution. Although most species of Myotis were commonly encountered away from the lights, Lasiurus cinereus in Kootenay National Park was only regularly encountered feeding on insects at lights. This species was not detected in Glacier National Park, and although we regularly encountered it in the town of Revelstoke, it was rarely encountered in Mount Revelstoke National Park. Another focus of bat activity was small pools in cedar forest in Mount Revelstoke National Park. This involved high levels of Myotis spp. activity at dusk as the bats came to the pools to drink.

scholarly journals Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs): impact on bat activity and foraging behaviour along the upper Hudson River, New York

2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-223
Author(s):  
L.A. Hooton ◽  
Y.A. Dzal ◽  
N. Veselka ◽  
M.B. Fenton
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Polychlorinated Biphenyls ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
Control Site ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
Lasiurus Cinereus ◽  
Insect Abundance ◽  
Insect Prey ◽  
Bat Activity

Sediments of the upper Hudson River, New York, USA, contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Consequently, elevated levels of PCBs have been found in the tissues of bats and their insect prey along this region. However, it is not clear whether bat activity and foraging behaviour have been affected. To assess possible effects of PCBs on bat activity and foraging behaviour, we measured the activity of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus (LeConte, 1831)) and hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus (Palisot de Beauvois, 1796)) along the upper Hudson River, as well as abundance of insect prey at the same locations. We also measured foraging duration and distances travelled by radio-tagged M. lucifugus. We found that bat activity and insect abundance did not differ with PCB concentration. We did, however, find that foraging behaviour along the Hudson River differed from a control site. Specifically, M. lucifugus foraging along PCB-contaminated areas of the Hudson River travelled shorter distances from their roosts and spent less time foraging than bats at an uncontaminated site. Our results show that while bats roost and forage in areas historically exposed to PCBs, this exposure has not adversely affected bat activity, foraging behaviour, or abundance of insect prey.

Can echolocation calls provide information about group identity in the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus)?

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (12) ◽  
pp. 2184-2192 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. Pearl ◽  
M. B. Fenton
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Group Identity ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Echolocation Calls ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Structural Differences ◽  
Little Brown Bat ◽  
Site Recognition ◽  
Little Brown Bats

We studied the potential for colony-specific echolocation calls at maternity colonies of little brown bats, Myotis lucifugus, in Chautauqua County, New York. By analyzing echolocation calls recorded from free-flying bats returning to their roosts before dawn and those of known individuals in a captive setting, we tested for structural differences in the echolocation calls among maternity colonies. There were significant differences in the structure of the echolocation calls among the maternity colonies in both data sets, but the nature of these differences may depend on the setting in which the echolocation calls were produced. The echolocation calls of volant juveniles differed from those of adult females. Colony-specific echolocation calls could facilitate group and site recognition in microchiropteran bats.

Spatial variation in the echolocation calls of the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus)

2013 ◽  
Vol 91 (11) ◽  
pp. 795-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Veselka ◽  
L.P. McGuire ◽  
Y.A. Dzal ◽  
L.A. Hooton ◽  
M.B. Fenton
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Spatial Variation ◽  
Spatial Scale ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
Echolocation Call ◽  
Echolocation Calls ◽  
Call Structure ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Little Brown Bat

We studied spatial variation in echolocation call structure of the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus (LeConte, 1831)) by analysing calls recorded from free-flying individuals at 1 site in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, 1 site in Chautaqua, New York, and 20 sites along the Hudson River, New York. We controlled for factors that are often thought to lead to interspecific variation in echolocation calls (habitat, ontogeny, presence of conspecifics, recording techniques, ambient conditions), which allowed us to focus on the effect of spatial scale on call structure. As predicted, we found that at small scales (up to 1 km), there was significant geographic variation, likely owing to roost-specific signatures and group foraging activities. At intermediate scales (2–500 km), we found no differences in call structure, suggesting that populations within this area are part of a single hibernating and breeding population. Finally, echolocation call structure differed at the continental scale (>1000 km) likely because of little genetic exchange among sampled populations. Our results highlight the importance of considering the magnitude of spatial scale when examining variation in echolocation call structure.

scholarly journals Consumption of spiders by the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) and the long-eared bat (Myotis evotis) in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique Maucieri ◽  
Robert M.R. Barclay
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Rocky Mountains ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
Sample Analysis ◽  
Insect Abundance ◽  
Variable Environments ◽  
Little Brown Bat ◽  
Aerial Insect

Intraspecific variation in diet and/or foraging behaviour is one way in which species are able to occupy wide geographical areas with variable environments. <i>Myotis lucifugus</i> (Le Conte, 1831), a primarily aerial insectivorous bat, consumes spiders in low temperatures at the start and end of summer in Northwest Territories, but in Alaska, it consumes spiders all summer, even during high aerial-insect abundance. There are no competitors of <i>M. lucifugus</i> in Alaska, but there are in Northwest Territories, suggesting that aerial insect abundance and competition from gleaning bats influences when <i>M. lucifugus</i> consumes spiders. In the Kananaskis area of the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, we investigated spider consumption by <i>M. lucifugus</i>, and <i>Myotis evotis</i> (H. Allen, 1864), a species more adept at gleaning, to better understand when bats consume spiders. Fecal sample analysis indicated that <i>Myotis evotis</i> consumed spiders all season long, with greater consumption when the bats were caught near water. <i>Myotis lucifugus</i> did not consume spiders at all. This suggests that <i>M. lucifugus</i> opportunistically consumes spiders when encountered, but does not encounter them in Kananaskis where it forages primarily over open water, unlike in Northwest Territories where it forages in the interior of forests and may encounter spiders more frequently.

The gleaning attacks of the northern long-eared bat, Myotis septentrionalis, are relatively inaudible to moths

1993 ◽  
Vol 178 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Faure ◽  
J. H. Fullard ◽  
J. W. Dawson
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Receptor Cell ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Myotis Septentrionalis ◽  
Insectivorous Bats ◽  
Echolocation Calls ◽  
Hearing Sensitivity ◽  
Little Brown Bat

This study empirically tests the prediction that the echolocation calls of gleaning insectivorous bats (short duration, high frequency, low intensity) are acoustically mismatched to the ears of noctuid moths and are less detectable than those of aerially hawking bats. We recorded auditory receptor cell action potentials elicited in underwing moths (Catocala spp.) by echolocation calls emitted during gleaning attacks by Myotis septentrionalis (the northern long-eared bat) and during flights by the aerial hawker Myotis lucifugus (the little brown bat). The moth ear responds inconsistently and with fewer action potentials to the echolocation calls emitted by the gleaner, a situation that worsened when the moth's ear was covered by its wing (mimicking a moth resting on a surface). Calls emitted by the aerial-hawking bat elicited a significantly stronger spiking response from the moth ear. Moths with their ears covered by their wings maintained their relative hearing sensitivity at their best frequency range, the range used by most aerial insectivorous bats, but showed a pronounced deafness in the frequency range typically employed by gleaning bats. Our results (1) support the prediction that the echolocation calls of gleaners are acoustically inconspicuous to the ears of moths (and presumably other nocturnal tympanate insects), leaving the moths particularly vulnerable to predation, and (2) suggest that gleaners gain a foraging advantage against eared prey.

The influence of wing morphology and echolocation on the gleaning ability of the insectivorous bat Myotis tricolor

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (12) ◽  
pp. 1854-1863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Stoffberg ◽  
David S Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Discriminant Analysis ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
The Other ◽  
Wing Morphology ◽  
Echolocation Calls ◽  
Narrow Bandwidth ◽  
Mole Crickets ◽  
Wing Tips ◽  
Wing Tip

On the basis of its external morphology, Myotis tricolor (Temminck, 1832) should be able to both aerial-feed and glean. Furthermore, this bat is known to use broadband calls of short duration, reinforcing the prediction that it gleans. However, results from this study indicate that M. tricolor does not commonly glean. This conclusion was reached after studying the foraging behaviour of M. tricolor in a flight room. We presented M. tricolor with mealworms, moths, mole crickets, beetles, and cicadas in a variety of ways that required either gleaning and (or) aerial feeding. Although M. tricolor readily took tethered prey, it did not take any of the variety of insects presented to it in a manner that required gleaning. We therefore compared its wing morphology and echolocation calls with those of several known gleaners, Nycteris thebaica E. Geoffroy, 1818, Myotis lucifugus (Le Conte, 1831), and Myotis septentrionalis (Trouessart, 1897), and an aerial forager, Neoromicia capensis (A. Smith, 1829). In a discriminant analysis wing-tip shape was the only variable to provide some degree of discrimination between species, with M. tricolor having more pointed wing tips than the known gleaners. Discriminant analysis of echolocation-call parameters grouped M. tricolor with the other Myotis species and separated it from N. capensis and N. thebaica. However, M. tricolor did not use harmonics as did the other Myotis species. The apparent failure of M. tricolor to glean might therefore be due to its relatively pointed wings and narrow-bandwidth echolocation calls, owing to the absence of harmonics in its calls.

scholarly journals Environmental correlates and energetics of winter flight by bats in southern Alberta, Canada

2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (12) ◽  
pp. 829-836 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.J. Klüg-Baerwald ◽  
L.E. Gower ◽  
C.L. Lausen ◽  
R.M. Brigham
Keyword(s):  
Heat Loss ◽  
Barometric Pressure ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
Energetic Cost ◽  
Cold Temperatures ◽  
Bat Activity ◽  
Environmental Correlates ◽  
Interspecific Differences ◽  
Winter Activity ◽  
Species Specific

Winter activity of bats is common, yet poorly understood. Other studies suggest a relationship between winter activity and ambient temperature, particularly temperature at sunset. We recorded echolocation calls to determine correlates of hourly bat activity in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada. We documented bat activity in temperatures as low as −10.4 °C. We observed big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus (Palisot de Beauvois, 1796)) flying at colder temperatures than species of Myotis bats (genus Myotis Kaup, 1829). We show that temperature and wind are important predictors of winter activity by E. fuscus and Myotis, and that Myotis may also use changes in barometric pressure to cue activity. In the absence of foraging opportunity, we suggest these environmental factors relate to heat loss and thus the energetic cost of flight. To understand the energetic consequences of bat flight in cold temperatures, we estimated energy expenditure during winter flights of E. fuscus and little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus (Le Conte, 1831)) using species-specific parameters. We estimated that winter flight uses considerable fat stores and that flight thermogenesis could mitigate energetic costs by 20% or more. We also show that temperature-dependent interspecific differences in winter activity likely stem from differences between species in heat loss and potential for activity–thermoregulatory heat substitution.

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