Emergence time and foraging activity in Pallas' Mastiff Bat, Molossus molossus(Chiroptera: Molossidae) in relation to sunset/sunrise and phase of the moon

Holland, RA, Meyer, Christoph FJ ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9958-8913, Kalko, EKV, Kays, R and Wikelski, M 2011, 'Emergence time and foraging activity in Pallas' Mastiff Bat, Molossus molossus(Chiroptera: Molossidae) in relation to sunset/sunrise and phase of the moon' , Acta Chiropterologica, 13 (2) , pp. 399-404.

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Abstract

The decision on when to emerge from the safety of a roost and forage for prey is thought to be a result of the trade off between peak insect abundance and predation pressure for bats. In this study we show that the velvety free-tailed bat Molossus molossus emerges just after sunset and just before sunrise for very short foraging bouts (average 82.2 min foraging per night). Contrary to previous studies, bats remain inactive in their roost between activity patterns. Activity was measured over two complete lunar cycles and there was no indication that phase of the moon had an influence on emergence time or the numbers of bats that emerged from the roost. This data suggests that M. molossus represents an example of an aerial hawking bat whose foraging behaviour is in fact adapted to the compromise between the need to exploit highest prey availability and the need to avoid predation.

Item Type:	Article
Schools:	Schools > School of Environment and Life Sciences > Ecosystems and Environment Research Centre
Journal or Publication Title:	Acta Chiropterologica
Publisher:	BioOne
ISSN:	1508-1109
Funders:	Marie Curie fellowship
Depositing User:	Dr Christoph Meyer
Date Deposited:	25 Jan 2016 13:24
Last Modified:	16 Feb 2022 17:33
URI:	https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/37815

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