Nocturnality under the midnight sun: behavioural adaptations of the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) at 60°N latitude

• Main Author: Reimer, Jesika
• Other Authors: Barclay, Robert
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Graduate Studies 2013
• Subjects: Ecology; Chiroptera; Myotis lucifugus; foraging; northern latitudes; Canada; Northwest Territories; midnight sun
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11023/978; https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/27111

Northern environments are highly dynamic with pronounced seasons and a large annual range in photoperiod. As latitude increases, summer ambient temperature is cooler and summer days lengthen. The goal of my research was to investigate how a hibernating, nocturnal mammal behaves at northern latitudes with the combination of short summers and short summer nights. I investigated the behaviour of Myotis lucifugus at 60°N in the Northwest Territories, Canada. I assessed the effects of cool ambient temperatures on the timing of hibernation and reproduction, nightly activity, and foraging efficiency compared to southern populations. I found that M. lucifugus exit hibernation at cool ambient temperatures, exhibit delayed parturition, adjust their foraging behaviour to capitalize on reduced night length, and have higher foraging rates (i.e. reduced prey search time) which allow them to gain sufficient pre-hibernation mass. I suggest these adaptations allow populations to persist at northern latitudes.