Echolocation Performance of the Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus)

The neotropical vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) echolocate using ultrasonic pulses like those of the Latin American phyllostomatid bats. In this paper the orally produced echolocation sounds of Desmodus are analysed and the performance of the echolocation system is studied in two-choice training experiments on two vampire bats. Ability to detect objects is relatively limited; both animals were capable of discerning the presence of a 1 cm wide metal strip at a distance of 50 cm, but they failed with 0.5 cm wide strips. The ultrasonic pulses produced at a distance of 50 cm appear to sample an area with a diameter of 2.5 to 3.0 cm (i. e., the solid angle tested with each pulse is 3° to 3° 40′ in extent).     

Bat casualties by road traffic (Brno-Vienna)

We studied the impact of road E461, Brno-Vienna, on bat mortality, with the goal to predict this impact after the road has been reconstructed and turned into highway, R52. In the Czech territory, two proposed road sections of E461 were selected, 3.5 and 4.5 km long, and divided into segments 100 m in length. Bat carcasses were picked up from emergency stopping lanes, and bat activity was recorded by ultrasound detectors along the road and 100 m away on both sides from the central strip. From May to October 2007, 25 checks of bat mortality performed at weekly intervals revealed 119 bat carcasses representing 11 or 12 species.Pipistrellus nathusii, P. pygmaeus andMyotis daubentonii were the most frequent traffic casualties. The greatest mortality was documented from early July to mid-October, with a peak in September. Monitoring bat activity by ultrasound detectors (one night per month in May, June and September) yielded 12 bat species and 3 species couples (Myotis mystacinus/brandtii, M. emarginatus/alcathoe, Plecotus auritus/austriacus), mostly the same taxa as found dead on the road. Significantly greater bat numbers were revealed in the section where the road was situated between two artificial lakes, as compared to a road section without any lakes directly adjacent to the road. In the former section, significant correlation was found between the number of carcasses found and the activity detected, according to road segments.     

Population Genetic Structure Within and among Seasonal Site Types in the Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus) and the Northern Long-Eared Bat (M. septentrionalis)

During late summer and early autumn, temperate bats migrate from their summering sites to swarming sites, where mating likely occurs. However, the extent to which individuals of a single summering site migrate to the same swarming site, and vice versa, is not known. We examined the migratory connectivity between summering and swarming sites in two temperate, North American, bat species, the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) and the northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis). Using mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA markers, we examined population structuring within and among summering and swarming sites. Both species exhibited moderate degrees of mitochondrial DNA differentiation (little brown bat: F_ST(SWARMING)= 0.093, F_ST(SWARMING)= 0.052; northern long-eared bat: F_ST(SWARMING)= 0.117, F_ST(SWARMING)= 0.043) and little microsatellite DNA differentiation among summering and among swarming sites. Haplotype diversity was significantly higher at swarming sites than summering sites, supporting the idea that swarming sites are comprised of individuals from various summering sites. Further, pairwise analyses suggest that swarming sites are not necessarily comprised of only individuals from the most proximal summering colonies.     

Variation in the Sonar of an Aerial-hawking Bat (Eptesicus nilssonii)

Echolocation calls from 10 individually marked female northern bats (Eptesicus nilssonii) were recorded as the bats foraged at three distinct feeding sites (territories) near their maternity roost in southern Sweden (57° N). In addition, recordings of unmarked bats were made in northern Sweden (65° N). The frequency at maximum amplitude of “search phase” echolocation pulses was bimodally distributed, with peaks around 29–30 kHz and 31–32 kHz and was negatively correlated with pulse duration. The frequency at maximum amplitude was related to flight altitude (bats used higher frequencies when they flew near the ground) and also differed among the feeding sites. Hence, much of the variation, probably including regional differences, was behavioural and is interpreted as short term (in the order of s or min) adaptation to current foraging situations. Variation among individual bats, caused by age and size, seemed to be of less importance. Individuals did not use exclusive frequency bands.     

Roosting and Foraging Social Structure of the Endangered Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis)

Social dynamics are an important but poorly understood aspect of bat ecology. Herein we use a combination of graph theoretic and spatial approaches to describe the roost and social network characteristics and foraging associations of an Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) maternity colony in an agricultural landscape in Ohio, USA. We tracked 46 bats to 50 roosts (423 total relocations) and collected 2,306 foraging locations for 40 bats during the summers of 2009 and 2010. We found the colony roosting network was highly centralized in both years and that roost and social networks differed significantly from random networks. Roost and social network structure also differed substantially between years. Social network structure appeared to be unrelated to segregation of roosts between age classes. For bats whose individual foraging ranges were calculated, many shared foraging space with at least one other bat. Compared across all possible bat dyads, 47% and 43% of the dyads showed more than expected overlap of foraging areas in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Colony roosting area differed between years, but the roosting area centroid shifted only 332 m. In contrast, whole colony foraging area use was similar between years. Random roost removal simulations suggest that Indiana bat colonies may be robust to loss of a limited number of roosts but may respond differently from year to year. Our study emphasizes the utility of graphic theoretic and spatial approaches for examining the sociality and roosting behavior of bats. Detailed knowledge of the relationships between social and spatial aspects of bat ecology could greatly increase conservation effectiveness by allowing more structured approaches to roost and habitat retention for tree-roosting, socially-aggregating bat species.     

Social Organization of the Bat,Carollia perspicillata (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)

The social organization of the frugivorous bat, Carollia perspicillata, was studied by frequent visual censuses of a population in northwestern Costa Rica. A pattern of resource defense polygyny was found, based on male defense of roosting sites in caves and hollow trees. Protected roost sites were apparently limited. Harem compositions were relatively labile and female groups did not appear to be cooperative. Harem males were among the oldest and heaviest members of the population and these attributes were also correlated with the size of the harems they defended.     

Handedness in the echolocating Schreiber's Long-Fingered Bat (Miniopterus schreibersii)

Bats, in terms of variety of species and their absolute numbers, are the most successful mammals on earth. The anatomical and functional peculiarities of Microchiroptera are not confined only to the auditory system; the wings (hands) of bats are unique both from an anatomical point of view as from a sensorial one. They are much thinner than those of birds and their bony structure is much more similar to a primate hand than to the forelimb of other mammals of the bat's size; the thumb, is very small and on its distal end there is a little claw that bats use for crawling and manipulating food. However, despite this very frequent use of the hands for food catching and for walking, nothing is known about the existence of a preferential use of the hands in Microchiroptera. The present study investigates the existence of handedness in the Schreiber's Long-Fingered Bat by recording the preferential use of the hand while climbing the walls of a plastic cylinder. This bat species is lateralized at population level and shows a left forelimb bias when using hands for climbing/grasping. This result is the first evidence of population-level handedness in an echolocating bat species.     

南蝠回声定位叫声的分析

蝙蝠科是翼手目中种类最繁多、分布最广泛、进化最成功的科之一 ,全球共有 42属 35 5种(Ｎｏｗａｋ ,1991)。该类群的大多数物种都以超声波回声定位来进行捕食 ,其回声定位行为的多样性以及捕食策略的多样性 ,一直都是动物生态学中的研究热点。南蝠 (Ｉａｉｏ)属蝙蝠科南蝠属 ,为单型种 ,主要分布于我国 (罗蓉等 ,1993)。它是蝙蝠科中体形最大者 ,以前对其生态学方面的研究非常少 ,而对其回声定位的研究则未见报道。南蝠捕食时的叫声与飞行及悬挂状态下的叫声的基本特征一致 (声谱图及谐波等 ) ,仅在叫声次数上有一定差异。因此本文将录制南…     

辽宁省翼手目分布新记录种大耳菊头蝠

翼手目(蝙蝠)物种独特的飞行能力、夜间活动模式及相近的形态学特征,增大了科研人员在野外对其进行准确鉴别和调查的难度,因此翼手目物种的多样性和分布信息亟需综合多种调查技术开展广泛深入研究。2019年8月,作者在辽宁省朝阳市野外调查发现1种蝙蝠,经分子标记比对、系统发育关系重建及形态学数据鉴定为大耳菊头蝠(Rhinolophus macrotis),是辽宁省翼手目物种新记录。     

Lineage Divergence and Historical Gene Flow in the Chinese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus sinicus)

Closely related taxa living in sympatry provide good opportunities to investigate the origin of barriers to gene flow as well as the extent of reproductive isolation. The only two recognized subspecies of the Chinese rufous horseshoe bat Rhinolophus sinicus are characterized by unusual relative distributions in which R. s. septentrionalis is restricted to a small area within the much wider range of its sister taxon R. s. sinicus. To determine the history of lineage divergence and gene flow between these taxa, we applied phylogenetic, demographic and coalescent analyses to multi-locus datasets. MtDNA gene genealogies and microsatellite-based clustering together revealed three divergent lineages of sinicus, corresponding to Central China, East China and the offshore Hainan Island. However, the central lineage of sinicus showed a closer relationship with septentrionalis than with other lineages of R. s. sinicus, in contrary to morphological data. Paraphyly of sinicus could result from either past asymmetric mtDNA introgression between these two taxa, or could suggest septentrionalis evolved in situ from its more widespread sister subspecies. To test between these hypotheses, we applied coalescent-based phylogenetic reconstruction and Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC). We found that septentrionalis is likely to be the ancestral taxon and therefore a recent origin of this subspecies can be ruled out. On the other hand, we found a clear signature of asymmetric mtDNA gene flow from septentrionalis into central populations of sinicus yet no nuclear gene flow, thus strongly pointing to historical mtDNA introgression. We suggest that the observed deeply divergent lineages within R. sinicus probably evolved in isolation in separate Pleistocene refugia, although their close phylogeographic correspondence with distinct eco-environmental zones suggests that divergent selection might also have promoted broad patterns of population genetic structure.     

Histological and Histochemical Analysis of the Gastrointestinal Tract of the Common Pipistrelle Bat (Pipistrellus Pipistrellus)

Bats have a very high mass-specific energy demand due to small size and active flight. European bat species are mostly insectivorous and the morphology of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract should be adapted accordingly. This study investigated the general anatomy by histology and the function by analysing carbohydrate distribution in particular of the mucus of the GI tract of the insectivorous bat Pipistrellus pipistrellus. The GI tracts of three individuals were dissected, fixed in formaldehyde, and embedded in paraffin wax. The tissues and cells of the GI tract of P. pipistrellus were analysed by classical (acid alizarin blue, haematoxylin-eosin, and Masson Goldner Trichrome), histochemical (periodic acid-Schiff, Alcian blue at pH 2.5) and lectin histochemical (lectins WGA and HPA) staining procedures. The GI tract of P. pipistrellus is organised into the typical mammalian layers. The short, narrow, and thin-walled esophagus is simple with a folded stratified squamous epithelium without glands but mucous surface cells secreting neutral mucus. The stomach is globular shaped without specialisation. Mucous surface cells produced neutral mucus whereas neck and parietal cells secreted a mixture of neutral and acid mucus. Chief cell surface was positive for N-acetylglucosamine and the cytoplasm for N-acetylgalactosamine residues. The intestine lacked a caecum and appendix. The small intestine was divided into duodenum, jejunum-ileum and ileum-colon. The epithelium consisted of columnar enterocytes and goblet cells. The large intestine is short, only represented by the descending colon-rectum. It lacked villi and the mucosa had only crypts of Lieberkühn. Towards the colon-rectum, goblet cells produced mucus with N-acetylglucosamine residues increasing in acidity except in colon-rectum where acidity was highest in the base of crypts. Along the tube the surface of enterocytes was positive for N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylgalactosamine. All over the mucus filling the lumen of the GI tract was positive for N-acetylglucosamine and increased in acidity in all parts except of the stomach.In conclusion, the simple GI tract showed an anatomical reduction of tissue enabling for a short retention time and a reduction of the load carried during flight: short GI tract, lack of lymphoid tissue, missing of glands in certain regions, and a distinct pattern of mucus distribution, indicating different physiological functions of these areas. The GI tract of P. pipistrellus was typical for an insectivorous species probably representing the ancestral condition.Key words: Chiroptera, esophagus, glycoconjugates, intestine, lectins, stomach     

Isolation of Salmonella Virchow from a Fruit Bat (Pteropus giganteus)

Detection of zoonotic pathogens carried by bats is important both for understanding disease ecology and for developing preventive measures. Pteropus fruit bats have been identified as potential carriers of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Salmonella Typhi and other Salmonella serotypes in Pteropus giganteus fruit bats in Bangladesh. Rectal swabs were collected from 302 bats and cultured for Salmonella species. The bats were trapped in three districts (Faridpur, Rajbari, and Cox’s Bazar). Salmonella Typhi was not found but one juvenile female bat from Faridpur district was positive for Salmonella Virchow. Close associations between frugivorous bats, humans, and livestock in rural Bangladesh make it likely that the bat was infected by consuming contaminated water.     

湖南发现的中蹄蝠形态结构及系统发育研究

2015年7月26日在湖南省衡东县四方山国有林场仙妃洞(26°58′25″N,113°3′23″E,海拔463 m)进行哺乳动物多样性调查时通过雾网采集到一只蹄蝠标本(HUNNU15SF42,雌性),2016年7月28日在该处调查时通过同样的方法又采集到一只蹄蝠标本(HUNNU16SF21,雄性),两只蝙蝠体型中等,头体长分别为66.46 mm和69.19 mm,颅全长分别为22.14 mm和21.88 mm,齿式为1.1.2.3/2.1.2.3=30。带回实验室经过形态对比和Cyt b基因序列鉴定,确认这两只蹄蝠为蹄蝠科(Hipposideridae)蹄蝠属(Hipposideros)中蹄蝠(Hipposideros larvatus),属于湖南省翼手目新纪录,标本保存于湖南师范大学脊椎动物标本馆。     

Social Organisation of the Bat Tadarida (Chaerephon) pumila (Chiroptera: Molossidae) in Ghana,West Africa

The social organisation of the polyoestrous bat, Tadarida pumila, was studied in northern Ghana (W. Africa). Although this small (8.5 g) free-tailed bat is not sexually dimorphic in size, adult males develop an odorous inter-aural crest of long hairs. A social system based on female defense polygyny was found which, however, also involved elements of resource defense. Harems, each generally established in the roof space of separate dwelling houses with restricted access, consisted of an adult male and up to 21 females, with their young, and the larger harems were held by heavier males. Harem composition was stable and both harem males and females showed high site fidelity over the study span of 16 months. Some female young were recruited to their natal harems, at a sufficient rate to replace the annual loss of harem females. However, most young, which were born in three successive cohorts during the rainy season, apparently dispersed over the dry season, following early sexual maturation. The potential causes and benefits of female associations are discussed.     

Social Organization and Foraging Behaviour of the Fishing Bat,Noctilio leporinus (Chiroptera:Noctilionidae)

Female Noctilio leporinus roost in groups that remain together, associated with the same individuals and in the same location, for several years regardless of turnover in resident males and movements of the group to alternate roosts. Females scent marked themselves with the sub-axial secretions of other females by rubbing their heads beneath other bats' wings. Males residing with female groups retain their tenure for two or more reproductive seasons. Bachelor males roost solitarily or in small groups apart from females. Together, these characteristics appear to form the basis of a polygynous social organization. Female N. leporinus foraged solitarily or in small groups with other females from the same roost group. Stable female roost groups forage together and return to the same foraging areas over long periods of time. Bats assembled into small groups outside of the roost and flew together to foraging areas. Females from one roost group were monitored using the same foraging area for over a year. Bats foraged close enough to each other to communicate the location of prey either passively or actively. Roosts were not used as information centres, as bats rarely followed each other from the roost to forage. Males foraged solitarily, utilizing areas that were different from, and larger than, those of the females.