Bat diversity: adaptations to northern environments and response to disturbance

蝙蝠多样性：对北方环境的适应和对干扰的反应

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-06249
• 负责人: Barclay, Robert
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: University of Calgary
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=744695
• 关键词: Bat; diversity; adaptations; northern; environments

The research my students and I do aims to increase our understanding of basic biology, as well as to apply that knowledge to current conservation issues. Most of our work focuses on bat ecology, behaviour and conservation. Bats are the second most diverse group of mammals, with over 1200 species worldwide. They provide key ecosystem services such as preying on agricultural and forest pest insects, pollinating tropical plants, and dispersing seeds of fruit-producing plants.   Our research will focus on understanding how bats are adapted to harsh conditions, such as in northern or mountainous environments, and how natural and human-caused environmental disturbances affect bat populations and communities. We will study the basic ecology, behaviour and physiology of bats at various field sites using radio-transmitters that allow us to follow bats and find their feeding and roosting sites. We will measure bat activity patterns and use of different habitats by recording their echolocation calls. Some of the questions we will address include: How do northern and mountain populations of bats differ from populations in less challenging environments? How do bats in northern Canada obtain enough energy and nutrients to reproduce despite the short, cool summers, and short nights? We previously found that one species thrives in the North by using buildings as roosts, but another species roosts in hollow trees. How is it behaviourally or physiologically adapted to the North, and as climate changes, will either species be able to expand even further north? Both species expand their diets by eating non-flying prey such as spiders. How do they find and catch spiders? I hypothesize that the bright nights in the North allow bats to use vision in addition to echolocation.   Forest fire and hurricane intensity is predicted to increase due to climate change. We have unique opportunities to study how these natural environmental disturbances affect bat communities. We will compare the abundance, diversity and reproduction of bats before and after a recent forest fire in Waterton National Park, Alberta, and before and after a recent hurricane in Dominica (Caribbean).   Human activities change natural environments and pose risks to bat populations. We will test the hypothesis that populations of migratory bats have declined due to fatalities at wind turbines, by comparing abundance of these species to our previous surveys at sites in Alberta.   By studying the ecology and behaviour of locally-adapted populations of bats in challenging environments, we will increase our understanding of how populations of these wide-ranging species have evolved and differ from other populations, despite the ability to move over large areas. This is of interest to those studying evolutionary processes. Information from our work in the North and on bat communities affected by fire, hurricanes, and wind turbines will also inform wildlife management policies and actions in Canada and abroad.

我和我的学生所做的研究旨在提高我们对基础生物学的理解，并将这些知识应用于当前的保护问题。我们的大部分工作都集中在蝙蝠的生态学、行为和保护上。蝙蝠是第二多样化的哺乳动物，全世界有超过1200种。它们提供重要的生态系统服务，如捕食农业和森林害虫、为热带植物授粉和传播果树的种子。我们的研究将集中在了解蝙蝠如何适应恶劣的条件，如北部或山区环境，以及自然和人为造成的环境干扰如何影响蝙蝠种群和社区。我们将在不同的野外地点使用无线电发射器研究蝙蝠的基本生态学、行为和生理学，这使我们能够跟踪蝙蝠并找到它们的觅食和栖息地点。我们将通过记录蝙蝠的回声定位叫声来测量它们的活动模式和对不同栖息地的使用。我们将解决的一些问题包括：北部和山区的蝙蝠种群与不那么具有挑战性的环境中的蝙蝠种群有何不同？加拿大北部的蝙蝠是如何在短而凉爽的夏天和短的夜晚获得足够的能量和营养来繁殖的？我们之前发现，一种物种在北方以建筑物作为栖息地而茁壮成长，而另一种物种则栖息在空心树上。它在行为上或生理上是如何适应北方的？随着气候的变化，其中一个物种是否能够向更北的地方扩张？这两个物种都通过捕食蜘蛛等不会飞的猎物来扩大它们的饮食。他们是如何发现和捕捉蜘蛛的？我推测，北方明亮的夜晚使蝙蝠除了回声定位外，还能使用视觉。由于气候变化，森林火灾和飓风的强度预计会增加。我们有独特的机会来研究这些自然环境干扰如何影响蝙蝠群落。我们将比较阿尔伯塔省沃特顿国家公园最近一次森林火灾前后和多米尼加（加勒比）最近一次飓风前后蝙蝠的丰度、多样性和繁殖情况。人类活动改变了自然环境，对蝙蝠种群构成了威胁。我们将通过将这些物种的丰度与我们之前在阿尔伯塔省的调查结果进行比较，来验证由于风力涡轮机造成的死亡而导致迁徙蝙蝠数量下降的假设。通过研究在具有挑战性的环境中适应当地环境的蝙蝠种群的生态和行为，我们将增加我们对这些广泛存在的物种的种群如何进化和不同于其他种群的理解，尽管它们有能力在大片区域内移动。这是那些研究进化过程的人感兴趣的。我们在北方的工作以及受火灾、飓风和风力涡轮机影响的蝙蝠群落的信息也将为加拿大和国外的野生动物管理政策和行动提供信息。