Tracking post-hibernation behavior and early migration does not reveal the expected sex-differences in a "female-migrating" bat.
Long-distance migration is a rare phenomenon in European bats. Genetic analyses and banding studies show that females can cover distances of up to 1,600 km, whereas males are sedentary or migrate only short distances. The onset of this sex-biased migration is supposed to occur shortly after rousing...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:5451bfac69e844a098ea9a80c7973420 2023-05-15T17:48:39+02:00 Tracking post-hibernation behavior and early migration does not reveal the expected sex-differences in a "female-migrating" bat. Dina K N Dechmann Martin Wikelski Katarina Varga Elisabeth Yohannes Wolfgang Fiedler Kamran Safi Wolf-Dieter Burkhard M Teague O'Mara 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0114810 https://doaj.org/article/5451bfac69e844a098ea9a80c7973420 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4269398?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0114810 https://doaj.org/article/5451bfac69e844a098ea9a80c7973420 PLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 12, p e114810 (2014) Medicine R Science Q article 2014 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0114810 2022-12-31T13:16:24Z Long-distance migration is a rare phenomenon in European bats. Genetic analyses and banding studies show that females can cover distances of up to 1,600 km, whereas males are sedentary or migrate only short distances. The onset of this sex-biased migration is supposed to occur shortly after rousing from hibernation and when the females are already pregnant. We therefore predicted that the sexes are exposed to different energetic pressures in early spring, and this should be reflected in their behavior and physiology. We investigated this in one of the three Central European long-distance migrants, the common noctule (Nyctalus noctula) in Southern Germany recording the first individual partial migration tracks of this species. In contrast to our predictions, we found no difference between male and female home range size, activity, habitat use or diet. Males and females emerged from hibernation in similar body condition and mass increase rate was the same in males and females. We followed the first migration steps, up to 475 km, of radio-tagged individuals from an airplane. All females, as well as some of the males, migrated away from the wintering area in the same northeasterly direction. Sex differences in long-distance migratory behavior were confirmed through stable isotope analysis of hair, which showed greater variation in females than in males. We hypothesize that both sexes faced similarly good conditions after hibernation and fattened at maximum rates, thus showing no differences in their local behavior. Interesting results that warrant further investigation are the better initial condition of the females and the highly consistent direction of the first migratory step in this population as summering habitats of the common noctule occur at a broad range in Northern Europe. Only research focused on individual strategies will allow us to fully understand the migratory behavior of European bats. Article in Journal/Newspaper Nyctalus noctula Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PLoS ONE 9 12 e114810 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Dina K N Dechmann Martin Wikelski Katarina Varga Elisabeth Yohannes Wolfgang Fiedler Kamran Safi Wolf-Dieter Burkhard M Teague O'Mara Tracking post-hibernation behavior and early migration does not reveal the expected sex-differences in a "female-migrating" bat. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Long-distance migration is a rare phenomenon in European bats. Genetic analyses and banding studies show that females can cover distances of up to 1,600 km, whereas males are sedentary or migrate only short distances. The onset of this sex-biased migration is supposed to occur shortly after rousing from hibernation and when the females are already pregnant. We therefore predicted that the sexes are exposed to different energetic pressures in early spring, and this should be reflected in their behavior and physiology. We investigated this in one of the three Central European long-distance migrants, the common noctule (Nyctalus noctula) in Southern Germany recording the first individual partial migration tracks of this species. In contrast to our predictions, we found no difference between male and female home range size, activity, habitat use or diet. Males and females emerged from hibernation in similar body condition and mass increase rate was the same in males and females. We followed the first migration steps, up to 475 km, of radio-tagged individuals from an airplane. All females, as well as some of the males, migrated away from the wintering area in the same northeasterly direction. Sex differences in long-distance migratory behavior were confirmed through stable isotope analysis of hair, which showed greater variation in females than in males. We hypothesize that both sexes faced similarly good conditions after hibernation and fattened at maximum rates, thus showing no differences in their local behavior. Interesting results that warrant further investigation are the better initial condition of the females and the highly consistent direction of the first migratory step in this population as summering habitats of the common noctule occur at a broad range in Northern Europe. Only research focused on individual strategies will allow us to fully understand the migratory behavior of European bats. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dina K N Dechmann Martin Wikelski Katarina Varga Elisabeth Yohannes Wolfgang Fiedler Kamran Safi Wolf-Dieter Burkhard M Teague O'Mara |
author_facet |
Dina K N Dechmann Martin Wikelski Katarina Varga Elisabeth Yohannes Wolfgang Fiedler Kamran Safi Wolf-Dieter Burkhard M Teague O'Mara |
author_sort |
Dina K N Dechmann |
title |
Tracking post-hibernation behavior and early migration does not reveal the expected sex-differences in a "female-migrating" bat. |
title_short |
Tracking post-hibernation behavior and early migration does not reveal the expected sex-differences in a "female-migrating" bat. |
title_full |
Tracking post-hibernation behavior and early migration does not reveal the expected sex-differences in a "female-migrating" bat. |
title_fullStr |
Tracking post-hibernation behavior and early migration does not reveal the expected sex-differences in a "female-migrating" bat. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tracking post-hibernation behavior and early migration does not reveal the expected sex-differences in a "female-migrating" bat. |
title_sort |
tracking post-hibernation behavior and early migration does not reveal the expected sex-differences in a "female-migrating" bat. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0114810 https://doaj.org/article/5451bfac69e844a098ea9a80c7973420 |
genre |
Nyctalus noctula |
genre_facet |
Nyctalus noctula |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 12, p e114810 (2014) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4269398?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0114810 https://doaj.org/article/5451bfac69e844a098ea9a80c7973420 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0114810 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
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9 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
e114810 |
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1766154785055047680 |