Vulnerability of Australian bats to white-nose syndrome
Investigators: Dr Christopher Turbill, Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr John Martin, Dr Lindy Lumsden, Prof Fritz Geiser, Dr Jasmin Hufschmid, Prof Craig Willis
Collaborating organisations: Australasian Bat Society Inc; Wildlife Health Australia Incorporated; Taronga Conservation Society Australia; Zoos Victoria, Australian Speleological Federation Incorporated; Department of Environment Land Water and Planning; Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment; Department of Planning Industry and Environment, University of Winnipeg
Collaborating organisations: Australasian Bat Society Inc; Wildlife Health Australia Incorporated; Taronga Conservation Society Australia; Zoos Victoria, Australian Speleological Federation Incorporated; Department of Environment Land Water and Planning; Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment; Department of Planning Industry and Environment, University of Winnipeg
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a devastating wildlife disease that has killed millions of insectivorous bats in North America since 2006, when the causal fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) was first detected. Australian bats might soon face exposure to this potentially catastrophic fungal disease. Limited initial screening indicates the fungus is not currently in Australia. However, a Commonwealth-initiated expert risk assessment has concluded it is ‘almost certain’ that Pd will be inadvertently introduced into an Australian cave within the next ten years . In agreement with this worrying assessment, Australia’s Chief Environmental Biosecurity Officer has placed WNS in the top-five ‘priority native animal diseases and their pathogens’ of the interim priority list of exotic environmental pests and diseases . Similarly, the Animal Health Committee has recently added WNS to Australia’s national list of notifiable animal diseases . Yet, assessment of the probable impact of WNS is difficult because we know so little about the winter biology of Australia’s bats. Research has been identified as urgently needed to understand, prepare for, and respond to the imminent threat posed by WNS to Australia’s bat fauna.
This ARC Linkage-funded project aims to develop predictive models of vulnerability to WNS for populations of Australian bats by gaining critical information about their risk of exposure to the Pd pathogen and likely sensitivity to mortality from developing WNS. Expected outcomes include spatially explicit, species-specific models of vulnerability to white-nose syndrome for bat populations across south-eastern Australia, essential for directing actions to prevent, detect and mitigate the impacts of this potentially catastrophic wildlife disease.
This ARC Linkage-funded project aims to develop predictive models of vulnerability to WNS for populations of Australian bats by gaining critical information about their risk of exposure to the Pd pathogen and likely sensitivity to mortality from developing WNS. Expected outcomes include spatially explicit, species-specific models of vulnerability to white-nose syndrome for bat populations across south-eastern Australia, essential for directing actions to prevent, detect and mitigate the impacts of this potentially catastrophic wildlife disease.
Fire impacts on golden-tipped bats and other microbats
Investigators: Dr Christopher Turbill, Dr Brad Law, Anna Loyd, George Madani
Collaborating organisations: Western Sydney University, Department of Primary Industries NSW, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment NSW
This project aims to assess the impacts of the extreme wildfires on habitat occupancy and use by forest microbats, with a focus on the golden-tipped bat. This species is poorly studied and might be severely impacted by hot fires that penetrate into its rainforest habitat. We will survey for golden-tipped bats and the broader microbat community across different levels of fire severity in southern and northern NSW, use radio-tracking to investigate how impacts of fire might affect use of foraging and roosting habitat features, and test the benefits of roost supplementation. By examining the impacts of fire on occupancy and habitat requirements of threatened microbats, our research will guide management actions for understanding and reducing their risk of extinction.
Collaborating organisations: Western Sydney University, Department of Primary Industries NSW, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment NSW
This project aims to assess the impacts of the extreme wildfires on habitat occupancy and use by forest microbats, with a focus on the golden-tipped bat. This species is poorly studied and might be severely impacted by hot fires that penetrate into its rainforest habitat. We will survey for golden-tipped bats and the broader microbat community across different levels of fire severity in southern and northern NSW, use radio-tracking to investigate how impacts of fire might affect use of foraging and roosting habitat features, and test the benefits of roost supplementation. By examining the impacts of fire on occupancy and habitat requirements of threatened microbats, our research will guide management actions for understanding and reducing their risk of extinction.
The movement ecology of flying-foxes: Integrating mechanisms and patterns across multiple spatiotemporal scales
Investigators: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Christopher Turbill, Dr Jessica Meade, Dr David Westcott, Adam McKeown, Dr John Martin
Collaborating organisations: Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment (Western Sydney University), CSIRO, Taronga Zoo.
Collaborating organisations: Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment (Western Sydney University), CSIRO, Taronga Zoo.
The overarching aim of this research is to develop a mechanistic understanding of the movement ecology of flying-foxes, from local to continental scales. How and why animals move across the planet has fascinated humankind since time immemorial. However, until recently, progress in movement research has been slow due to technological limitations and a lack of consistent methodology. Current research focuses on understanding the underlying causes of movement patterns and their ecological and evolutionary consequence; however, a key challenge is to integrate our understanding of movement across different spatiotemporal scales in single systems. Multi-scale investigations are crucial for a fundamental understanding of the causes and consequences of animal movement, and are key for managing our biodiversity under anthropogenic environmental change. Understanding how and why flying-foxes move across different spatiotemporal scales is crucial for the management of the species, the habitats in which they live, and the trajectory of new emerging diseases. Recent advances in tracking technology and remote-sensing, combined with detailed long-term monitoring of flying-foxes colonies across their distribution, makes it possible - for the first time - to investigate movement from local to continental scales in a single animal system.
Flying-fox physiology and energetics
PhD Student: Melissa Walker
Supervisors: Dr Christopher Turbill, Dr Jessica Meade, Prof Justin Welbergen,
Supervisors: Dr Christopher Turbill, Dr Jessica Meade, Prof Justin Welbergen,
Energetics is fundamental to animal ecology, and maintenance of a positive energy balance is presumed to be important to the behavior of flying-foxes. Current bio-logging technology allows researchers to monitor the energy costs of wild flying-foxes during resting and activity under natural environmental conditions. Thermoregulatory metabolism will be a large component of the daily energy budget of flying foxes, and its cost is determined by body mass, roosting behavior and environmental conditions. A reduction in body temperature while resting (i.e. torpor) is an important mechanism employed by smaller bats and many other mammals to reduce their daily energy requirements (e.g. when food is unavailable or foraging costs are high). Flying-foxes must also cope with exposure to extremely hot conditions, which can result in severe heat stress and even large-scale die-off events. The energy costs of activity are also important and recent advances in body acceleration sensing allow the annotation of spatial movement traces with energy costs associated with different behaviours in wild animals. This project will use these bio-logging methods to understand and predict how energetics affect the behavior and movements of flying-foxes over space and time. My PhD is supported by an ARC Discovery Project awarded to Dr Justin Welbergen, Dr Christopher Turbill and Dr David Westcott to develop a mechanistic understanding of the movement ecology of flying foxes.
The accoustic ecology of the Ghost Bat, Macroderma gigas
PhD Student: Nicola Hanrahan
Supervisors: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Christopher Turbill, Dr Kyle Armstrong
Collaborating organisations: Western Sydney University, University of Adelaide
Supervisors: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Christopher Turbill, Dr Kyle Armstrong
Collaborating organisations: Western Sydney University, University of Adelaide
The Ghost Bat (Macroderma gigas) is a large, predominantly carnivorous microbat of the family Megadermatidae found in tropical and sub-tropical Australia. The species has experienced a northward contraction since European settlement from locations in arid Australia, and is undergoing a continuing decline likely due to mining activities and cave disturbance. Much of the recommended conservation management of the species focuses on ameliorating threats posed to cave roosts; however, the ecophysiology and behavioural ecology of this species are poorly known, hampering the development of sound conservation action and decision making, particularly in the face of ongoing environmental change. This lack of knowledge is due, in part, to the nocturnal and cryptic habits of the Ghost Bats making it difficult to study the species in the wild, a problem commonly encountered in the study of bats. However, owing to recent technological developments in wildlife telemetry, acoustic monitoring, and infrared thermography we are now in a position to examine in great detail the roosting and foraging behaviour of bats in the wild, and link these activities directly to physiological measurements. By linking the behaviour and physiology of Ghost Bats at roost sites and feeding areas, this project aims to understand what is driving the species’ observed decline and what can be done about it.
The ecology and conservation of the Critically Endangered Christmas Island flying-fox
PhD Student: Christopher Todd
Supervisors: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr David Westcott, Dr John Martin, Dr Karrie Rose
Collaborating organisations: Western Sydney University, Taronga Conservation Society, CSRIO, Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, University of Sydney, ANSTO, EcoHealth Alliance, Parks Australia, Christmas Island National Park
Supervisors: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr David Westcott, Dr John Martin, Dr Karrie Rose
Collaborating organisations: Western Sydney University, Taronga Conservation Society, CSRIO, Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, University of Sydney, ANSTO, EcoHealth Alliance, Parks Australia, Christmas Island National Park
The Christmas Island flying-fox (CIFF) is the last remaining indigenous mammal on Christmas Island, a remote, beautiful, and ecologically unique part of Australia. However, Christmas Island’s biodiversity is under threat from anthropogenic change. This is evidenced by the extinction of two native rat species, and the only two mammal extinctions in Australia in the last 50 years: the Christmas Island shrew (Crocidura trichura), and the Christmas Island pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus murrayi). In addition, there have been significant population declines in most endemic birds, and all but one endemic reptile have been lost from the wild. The CIFF was listed in January 2014 as Critically Endangered under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999. The latest population estimates suggest there are no more than 900 individuals and population trends show that if the causes of decline are not identified and remedied, it too will become extinct. The overarching mission of this collaborative research program is to identify why the CIFF is declining and to develop a plan for its recovery. Specifically, we aim to:
- Determine the population size and trends of the CIFF
- Determine the critical elements of the autecology of the CIFF
- Identify the key processes threatening the CIFF
- Develop adaptive recovery planning and management actions of the CIFF
The social organisation of the Christmas Island flying-fox
PhD Student: Annabel Dorrestein
Supervisors: Prof Justin Welbergen, Prof David Phalen, Dr John Martin, Dr Karrie Rose, Dr David Westcott
Collaborating organisations: Western Sydney University, Taronga Conservation Society, CSRIO, Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, University of Sydney, Parks Australia, Christmas Island National Park
Supervisors: Prof Justin Welbergen, Prof David Phalen, Dr John Martin, Dr Karrie Rose, Dr David Westcott
Collaborating organisations: Western Sydney University, Taronga Conservation Society, CSRIO, Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, University of Sydney, Parks Australia, Christmas Island National Park
In animal societies, conflicts arise because different individuals face different trade-offs concerning reproduction and survival, and these conflicts are what drives the social organisation within and between groups. Bats are of particular interest for studies of social organisation because they are highly social animals that form some of the largest known mammalian aggregations, and they exhibit a greater diversity in social organisation than any other mammalian order. However, little is known about social organisation of flying-foxes, mainly because their extreme mobility complicates studying individuals in the wild. The Christmas Island flying-fox (CIFF; Pteropus melanotus natalis) is a medium-sized fruit bat confined to Christmas Island. It provides important seed disperser and pollinator services to the island’s flora and is therefore considered a keystone species. However, the CIFF became listed as Critically Endangered in 2014, and with the recent extinction of the Christmas Island pipistrelle, the species is now the only indigenous mammal remaining on the island. Recently, a lack of understanding of the social organisation was identified as a key knowledge gap preventing sound conservation management of the CIFF. Social organisation is important for the CIFFs conservation because of its effects on the size of the effective breeding population (Ne), patterns of seed/pollen disperser behaviours, and disease dynamics, issues that are particularly relevant in small populations of keystone species on islands. Therefore, by increasing our understanding of the social organisation of the CIFF, the research will contribute to the conservation of this Critically Endangered species. The aims of this study are two-fold:
- To increase our fundamental understanding of social organisation in terms of underlying social and ecological pressures and individual selective benefits
- To provide management-relevant information to help secure the long-term persistence of the CIFF
The roles of infectious, nutritional and toxicological disease in the decline of the Critically Endangered Christmas Island flying-fox
PhD Student (University of Sydney): Laura Pulscher
Supervisors: Prof David Phalen, Dr Karrie Rose, Prof Justin Welbergen
Collaborating organisations: University of Sydney, Taronga Conservation Society, Western Sydney University, CSRIO, Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Parks Australia, Christmas Island National Park
Supervisors: Prof David Phalen, Dr Karrie Rose, Prof Justin Welbergen
Collaborating organisations: University of Sydney, Taronga Conservation Society, Western Sydney University, CSRIO, Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Parks Australia, Christmas Island National Park
Once considered a biodiversity hotspot, Christmas Island has been impacted by anthropogenic disturbances including land use change and introduction of non-native species. These disturbances pose considerable threats to species diversity on the island and are thought to have led to the extinction or probable extinctions of four native mammals. The Christmas Island flying-fox (CIFF, Pteropus malnotus natalis) is the last remaining mammal on Christmas Island and its numbers have declined significantly in the past three decades. As a keystone species the loss of the CIFF would prove catastrophic to the Christmas Island ecosystem. While threats to the population are unknown, potential theories for the populations decline include exposure to heavy metals, inadequate nutrition, and infectious disease. The second largest phosphorous mine in Australia is located on Christmas Island. Due to mining and settlement, nearly 30% of Christmas Island has been cleared. While re-vegetation programs are in place, non-native vegetation was historically planted in re-vegetated areas leading to a large proportion of non-native vegetation across the island. While heavy metals and introduced vegetation remain a threat to the CIFF the impact of these threats to the population remain unknown. The introduction of invasive species on the island has also taken a toll on the endemic flora and fauna on Christmas Island and infectious disease introduced by invasive species is theorized to have led to the extinction of two native rat species on the island. Infectious diseases introduced by invasive species can be detrimental to a naive population such as the CIFF. Little is known regarding pathogens that could impact the CIFF population or zoonotic infectious diseases in the population that may pose biosecurity threats. Therefore, my project aims to address the role of infectious, nutritional, and toxicological diseases impacting the CIFF population and the potential for zoonotic infectious diseases harbored by the CIFF.
The roles of behaviour, physiology and morphology on the heat budgets of the Australian flying-foxes
PhD Student: Himali Ratnyake
Supervisors: Prof Michael Kearney, Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Christopher Turbill, A/Prof Rodney van der Ree
Collaborating organisations: University of Melbourne, Western Sydney University
Supervisors: Prof Michael Kearney, Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Christopher Turbill, A/Prof Rodney van der Ree
Collaborating organisations: University of Melbourne, Western Sydney University
Flying-foxes (Pteropus spp.) have been witnessed to undergo large scale die-offs in recent times during high temperature days of summer (Welbergen et al 2008). However, at present we have no clear understanding of how flying-fox heat stress and mortality relate to environmental conditions, and thus we lack the information necessary for developing the tools for predicting and managing the impacts of extreme heat events on the species. Due to our relative inability to accurately predict flying-fox heat stress events, allocation of resources to actions that protect flying-foxes from the direct impacts of such events is inefficient so that management authorities and bat carers often struggle with unexpected large numbers of casualties and orphaned pups. Furthermore, due to our lack of understanding of how flying-fox heat stress and mortality relate to environmental conditions, management actions are applied willy-nilly and their effectiveness is hotly debated. Our current project combines i) detailed behavioural observations and mortality assessments around heat-stress events with ii) direct measurements of physiological responses under controlled conditions to:
WELBERGEN, J.A., KLOSE, S.M., MARKUS, N., & EBY, P. (2008) Climate change and the effects of temperature extremes on Australian flying-foxes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 275, 419-425
- Understand how heat stress and mortality of Australian flying-foxes relate to extreme environmental heat conditions
- Construct predictive models to quantify the contemporary and future vulnerability of flying-foxes to extreme temperature events
- Enable efficient allocation of resources to actions that protect flying-foxes from the direct impacts of heat stress events; provide an evidence base for current management practices; and inform long-term management on flying-fox camps
WELBERGEN, J.A., KLOSE, S.M., MARKUS, N., & EBY, P. (2008) Climate change and the effects of temperature extremes on Australian flying-foxes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 275, 419-425
Climatic and seasonal drivers of bat activity in a eucalypt woodland
This long-term monitoring project aims to quantify the effects of season, climatic variables and primary productivity (i.e. longer term growth responses to weather and soil variables) on the activity of an insectivorous bat community in a eucalypt woodland. The project is located at the EucFACE (Eucalypt Free Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment) site on the Hawkesbury Campus of Western Sydney University. This unique experimental facility is designed to measure the effects of elevated CO2 levels on the physiology and ecology of a mature eucalypt woodland. At the EucFACE site, we monitor bat activity at enriched CO2 and ambient control sites by recording echolocation calls throughout the night, every night of the year. We have bat detectors placed above and within the canopy, which enables us to monitor the full suite of echolocating bats. We already know that bat activity is predicted by insect activity, temperature and other climatic variables, and that responses are influenced by season. For example, Turbill (2008) found that winter activity of forest dwelling bats could be predicted by continent-scale weather events: approaching cold frontal systems cause transient unseasonally warm conditions in south-eastern Australia, and bats arouse from torpor and are active on these mild nights. These weather events seem important in facilitating and reducing the energetic cost of autumn mating activity by male bats (Turbill 2008). The aim of this research is to examine in unprecedented detail what explains bat activity by taking advantage of the intensive monitoring of environmental conditions at the EucFACE site. By combining prolonged, high-resolution databases of bat activity and environmental variables, we will have an opportunity to tease apart the interacting drivers influencing hourly, nightly and seasonal variation in activity by woodland bats.
TURBILL, C. (2008) Winter activity of Australian woodland bats: influence of temperature and climatic patterns. Journal of Zoology 276, 285-90
TURBILL, C. (2008) Winter activity of Australian woodland bats: influence of temperature and climatic patterns. Journal of Zoology 276, 285-90
Seasonal energetics and thermal ecology of Australia's only fishing bat
MRes Student: Alice Barratt
Supervisors: Dr Christopher Turbill, Dr Leroy Gonsalves, Dr Brad Law
Collaborating organisations: Western Sydney University, NSW Department of Primary Industries
Supervisors: Dr Christopher Turbill, Dr Leroy Gonsalves, Dr Brad Law
Collaborating organisations: Western Sydney University, NSW Department of Primary Industries
The Large-footed Myotis (Myotis macropus) is unique among Australian microbats for foraging over water surfaces for aquatic-based invertebrates and small fish, and also roosting over or near to water bodies (e.g. underneath bridges). We hypothesise that the aquatic food source of fishing bats could cause important differences in their activity patterns and energy budgets compared to other microbats with a terrestrial-based food supply. All microbats face a duel energetic challenge posed by their high mass-specific daily energy requirement (they regularly eat 20% of their body mass each day!) and large day-to-day and seasonal variability their invertebrate food (energy) supply. The physiological 'solution' employed by many microbats to solve this energetic problem is torpor - defined as a controlled reduction in resting metabolic rate and body temperature below normal levels. We know that some tree-roosting Australian microbats regularly employ torpor during resting both in summer and winter (e.g. Turbill et al. 2003a, 2003b; Turbill 2006a, 2006b; Turbill et al. 2008). However, we think the energetic challenges faced by fishing bats could differ from those of 'forest' microbats because the availability of their aquatic-based invertebrate food (energy) supply will be determined by the water not air temperature. The temperature of a body of water is far more stable than air temperature and consequently the food of fishing bats might be less dependent on day-to-day variation in weather conditions, as it is for other microbats who rely on terrestrial-based invertebrate food.
In this project we seek to understand how fishing bats manage their energy budget, both on a daily basis and among the different seasons. We aim to test the general hypothesis that differences in factors affecting the food supply of fishing bats (and possibly also their roost microclimate) compared to other microbats will cause related differences in foraging activity (within and among nights, and across the seasons) and correlated differences in their use of energy-saving torpor while roosting. We will test this idea by monitoring the activity, diet composition, roosting behaviour, and thermal and metabolic physiology of fishing bats in relation to daily and seasonal changes in local environmental conditions. This project will provide new information that is important for understanding the biology and improving the management of Australia's only fishing bat.
Turbill C., Körtner G. and Geiser F. (2003a) Natural use of heterothermy by a small tree-roosting bat during summer. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 76:868-876.
Turbill C., Law B. S. and Geiser F. (2003b) Summer torpor in a free-ranging bat from sub-tropical Australia. Journal of Thermal Biology 28:223-226.
Turbill C. (2006a) Thermoregulatory behaviour of tree-roosting chocolate wattled bats (Chalinolobus morio) during summer and winter. Journal of Mammalogy87: 318-323.
Turbill C. (2006b) Roosting and thermoregulatory behaviour of male Gould's long-eared bats, Nyctophilus gouldi: energetic benefits of thermally unstable tree roosts. Australian Journal of Zoology 56: 57-60.
Turbill C. and Geiser F. (2008) Hibernation by tree-roosting bats. Journal of Comparative Physiology B 178: 597-605.
In this project we seek to understand how fishing bats manage their energy budget, both on a daily basis and among the different seasons. We aim to test the general hypothesis that differences in factors affecting the food supply of fishing bats (and possibly also their roost microclimate) compared to other microbats will cause related differences in foraging activity (within and among nights, and across the seasons) and correlated differences in their use of energy-saving torpor while roosting. We will test this idea by monitoring the activity, diet composition, roosting behaviour, and thermal and metabolic physiology of fishing bats in relation to daily and seasonal changes in local environmental conditions. This project will provide new information that is important for understanding the biology and improving the management of Australia's only fishing bat.
Turbill C., Körtner G. and Geiser F. (2003a) Natural use of heterothermy by a small tree-roosting bat during summer. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 76:868-876.
Turbill C., Law B. S. and Geiser F. (2003b) Summer torpor in a free-ranging bat from sub-tropical Australia. Journal of Thermal Biology 28:223-226.
Turbill C. (2006a) Thermoregulatory behaviour of tree-roosting chocolate wattled bats (Chalinolobus morio) during summer and winter. Journal of Mammalogy87: 318-323.
Turbill C. (2006b) Roosting and thermoregulatory behaviour of male Gould's long-eared bats, Nyctophilus gouldi: energetic benefits of thermally unstable tree roosts. Australian Journal of Zoology 56: 57-60.
Turbill C. and Geiser F. (2008) Hibernation by tree-roosting bats. Journal of Comparative Physiology B 178: 597-605.
Thermal physiology and seasonal energetics of Eastern Bent-winged Bats
MRes Student: Benjamin Sloggett
Supervisors: Dr Christopher Turbill and Prof Justin Welbergen
Collaborating organisations: Western Sydney University, Jenolan Caves and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
Supervisors: Dr Christopher Turbill and Prof Justin Welbergen
Collaborating organisations: Western Sydney University, Jenolan Caves and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
For relatively long-lived species, like cave-roosting bats, survival is a key vital rate in determining population trajectories. For microbats, an important determinant of survival is the regulation of their energy budget. Thermoregulation while resting is energetically expensive for small bats, yet their invertebrate food supply is reduced or unavailable during inclement nightly weather and over prolonged periods during the cooler temperate winter season. Microbats generally cope with this energetic challenge by using energy-saving bouts of torpor during roosting. Torpor is expressed to the greatest extent during a winter period of hibernation, which enables species living in cool climates to remain dormant for several months while relying on their stored autumn body fat reserves as their main energy source. Perhaps surprisingly, winter hibernation is associated with higher survival rates compared to summer activity, and the survival-enhancing effect of hibernation is a critical part of the 'slow' life-history of these tiny bats. Furthermore, the physiology and energetics of hibernation has recently become a focus of bat research in North America because this aspect of their biology is central to the high mortality rates caused by a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome that is decimating North American bat populations.
In this project we aim to better understand the thermal physiology, activity patterns and energy budgets of Eastern Bent-winged Bats (Miniopterus schreibersii oceanensis) - a cave-roosting species occurring throughout eastern Australia. We hypothesise that torpor is employed regularly even during summer by this species to regulate its energy requirements according to daily variation in environmental conditions that determine foraging success, whereas prolonged torpor is used during a period of winter hibernation. We will measure nightly activity using acoustic detectors, thermoregulatory behaviour using temperature-sensitive telemetry of wild bats, and metabolic energy costs of thermoregulation using respirometry in captive bats during both summer and winter seasons. The Eastern Bent-winged Bats will be studied at their limestone cave roosts in the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve, west of Sydney. This research will provide the first quantitive data on thermoregulatory patterns and energetics of any cave-roosting bats in Australia. Filling these key information gaps is important to protect this and other cave-roosting bat species from threatening processes, such as cave disturbance or the potential incursion into Australia of the fungal pathogen causing white-nose syndrome.
In this project we aim to better understand the thermal physiology, activity patterns and energy budgets of Eastern Bent-winged Bats (Miniopterus schreibersii oceanensis) - a cave-roosting species occurring throughout eastern Australia. We hypothesise that torpor is employed regularly even during summer by this species to regulate its energy requirements according to daily variation in environmental conditions that determine foraging success, whereas prolonged torpor is used during a period of winter hibernation. We will measure nightly activity using acoustic detectors, thermoregulatory behaviour using temperature-sensitive telemetry of wild bats, and metabolic energy costs of thermoregulation using respirometry in captive bats during both summer and winter seasons. The Eastern Bent-winged Bats will be studied at their limestone cave roosts in the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve, west of Sydney. This research will provide the first quantitive data on thermoregulatory patterns and energetics of any cave-roosting bats in Australia. Filling these key information gaps is important to protect this and other cave-roosting bat species from threatening processes, such as cave disturbance or the potential incursion into Australia of the fungal pathogen causing white-nose syndrome.