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Ecology

Bats about the Arctic

Nature volume 404, pages 446–447 (2000)Cite this article

Why do bats fly at night rather than during the day? There are exceptions, of course, but most bats confine their activities to dusk and the depths of night. The insect-eating bats of the higher latitudes, in particular, are night-time hunters and are equipped with sophisticated techniques for the non-visual location of prey. There are several possible advantages that could be associated with nocturnal feeding, such as the avoidance of predators or mobbing by birds, the tapping of a food resource unexploited by other insectivores, or sensitivity to the problems of overheating when active in daylight. In a study of bats, insectivorous birds and predators in northern Norway, Speakman and colleagues1, reporting in Oikos, conclude that the avoidance of competition for food is the most likely answer.

The question has been debated for many years. Nearly ten years ago, Speakman2 measured the effects of day-time flying on the activity of bats, and found that they were reluctant to fly in the light, but were not further deterred by high temperatures. The body temperatures of bats after they had flown in the light and in the dark did not differ significantly, so the overheating hypothesis can be rejected. It is also unlikely that bats fly at night to avoid being mobbed by birds, as there are relatively few observations of this occurring and no records of serious harm being done to any bullied bat.

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Figure 1: The northern bat (top) and nesting sand martins (bottom).

HANS CHRISTOPH KAPPEL PAUL HOBSON

References

  1. Speakman, J. R. et al. Oikos 88, 75–86 (2000).

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  3. Gylfe, A., Bergstrom, S., Lundstrom, J. & Olsen, B. Nature 403, 724–725 ( 2000).

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  1. Division of Life Sciences King's College London, Franklin–Wilkins Building, 150 Stamford Street, London, SE1 8WA, UK

    Peter D. Moore

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  1. Peter D. Moore
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Correspondence to Peter D. Moore.

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D. Moore, P. Bats about the Arctic. Nature 404, 446–447 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35006534

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