Bat diversity: adaptations to northern environments and response to disturbance

我和我的学生所做的研究旨在增加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。我们的大部分工作集中在蝙蝠生态，行为和保护。蝙蝠是哺乳动物中第二大最多样化的群体，全世界有1200多个物种。它们提供关键的生态系统服务，如捕食农业和森林害虫，为热带植物授粉，传播水果植物的种子。 我们的研究将侧重于了解蝙蝠如何适应恶劣的条件，如在北方或山区环境，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。我们将研究蝙蝠的基本生态学，行为和生理学在不同的领域使用无线电发射机，使我们能够跟踪蝙蝠，并找到他们的喂养和栖息地。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不同栖息地的使用情况。我们将解决的一些问题包括：北方和山区蝙蝠种群与挑战性较低的环境中的种群有何不同？加拿大北方的蝙蝠是如何获得足够的能量和营养来繁殖的呢？我们以前发现，一个物种在北方通过使用建筑物作为栖息地而茁壮成长，但另一个物种栖息在空心树上。它们是如何在行为或生理上适应北方的？随着气候的变化，它们中的任何一个物种是否能够向更北的地方扩张？这两个物种都通过吃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？我假设北方明亮的夜晚让蝙蝠除了回声定位之外还能使用视觉。 由于气候变化，森林火灾和飓风强度预计将增加。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。我们将比较蝙蝠的丰度，多样性和繁殖之前和之后，最近在沃特顿国家公园，阿尔伯塔森林大火，以及之前和之后，最近在多米尼加（加勒比海）飓风。 人类活动改变了自然环境，对蝙蝠种群构成了威胁。我们将通过比较这些物种的丰度与我们以前在阿尔伯塔的调查结果，来检验迁徙蝙蝠的数量由于风力涡轮机的死亡而下降的假设。 通过研究蝙蝠在具有挑战性的环境中的当地适应种群的生态和行为，我们将增加我们对这些广泛物种的种群如何进化以及与其他种群的差异的理解，尽管它们有能力在大面积上移动。这对那些研究进化过程的人来说很有意义。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社区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。

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.