Use of underground hibernacula by the barbastelle (Barbastella barbastellus) outside the hibernation season ...

(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) Barbastelles are commonly recorded in the vicinity of their wintering underground sites outside the hibernation season. It is uncertain why barbastelles visit hibernacula at this time of the year. Possible functions include feeding, resting, rearing...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gottfried, Iwona
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Zenodo 2009
Subjects:
bat
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13519609
https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.13519609
Description
Summary:(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) Barbastelles are commonly recorded in the vicinity of their wintering underground sites outside the hibernation season. It is uncertain why barbastelles visit hibernacula at this time of the year. Possible functions include feeding, resting, rearing of young, mating or stop-over sites during migration. To determine which of these functions are important I carried out observations at six large (max. 1,870 individuals) barbastelle hibernacula in SW Poland. To characterize daily and seasonal patterns of shelter use behaviour surveys were carried out at regular intervals throughout 2003 to 2005. Bats were mist-netted (73 nights) at hibernacula entrances and their age, sex and the development of caudae epidydimides in the males were determined. Their behaviour was sampled by recording (315 hours) their calls with a time-expansion bat detector in combination with direct observation and infrared filming. Hibernacula were not used as colony roosts, foraging places, ...