Flying or sleeping: flight activity of bats in natural cave with confirmed WNS

0457250 - ÚBO 2017 RIV CZ eng J - Journal Article
Zukal, Jan - Berková, Hana - Madaraszová, J.
Flying or sleeping: flight activity of bats in natural cave with confirmed WNS.
Folia zoologica. Roč. 65, č. 1 (2016), s. 46-51. ISSN 0139-7893. E-ISSN 1573-1189
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP506/12/1064
Institutional support: RVO:68081766
Keywords : White-nose Syndrome * bat activity * hibernation behaviour * Myotis myotis * hibernacula
Subject RIV: EG - Zoology
Impact factor: 0.739, year: 2016

White-nose Syndrome (WNS) decimates bat populations in North America but similar effects have not been recorded in Europe. WNS-affected bats exhibit abnormal hibernation behaviour that prematurely deplete fat reserves and ultimately causes death by starvation. In the deep hibernation period (December-March) of 2006/07 (pre-WNS) and 2010/11 (post-WNS), we monitored bat hibernation behaviour and flight activity to test the potential impact of WNS on European bats. We registered no abnormal changes in bat hibernation behaviour (movement to visible sites, utilization of dynamic cave sections), flight activity level, its direction or seasonal pattern remained unchanged following WNS infection. Flight activity inside the cave and at its entrance was generally low during the deep hibernation period and temperature remained the best predictor of activity level. In general, stable hibernation behaviour and activity patterns suggests that they are apparently optimized for European winter conditions and support the hypothesis that the fungus
has been present in Europe for a long time and has only recently invaded North America.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0257666