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Postnatal development in the big-footed bat, Myotis macrodactylus: wing morphology, echolocation calls, and flight

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Abstract

We studied the postnatal development of wing morphology and echolocation calls during flight in a free-ranging population of the big-footed bat, Myotis macrodactylus, using the mark-recapture methodology. Young bats were reluctant to move until 7 days of age and started fluttering at a mean age of 10 days. The wingspan and wing area of pups followed a linear pattern of growth until 22 days of age, by which time the young bats exhibited flapping flight, with mean growth rates of 0.62 mm/day and 3.15 mm2/day, for wingspan and area, respectively, after which growth rates decreased. Pups achieved sustained flight at 40 days of age. Of the three nonlinear growth models (logistic, Gompertz, and von Bertalanffy), the logistic equation provided the best fit to the empirical curves for wingspan and wing area. Neonates emitted long echolocation calls with multiple harmonics. The duration of calls decreased significantly between flutter (19 days) and flight (22 days) stages. The peak and start frequency of calls increased significantly over the 3-week period of development, but the terminal frequency did not change significantly over the development period.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 31030011, 31100280, 31100305), Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (20110043120015), and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant no. 10SSXT128).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jinlin Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, 130117, Changchun, China

    Lei Wang, Aiqing Lin, Yanhong Xiao, Tinglei Jiang & Jiang Feng

  2. Key Laboratory for Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration of National Environmental Protection, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, 130117, Changchun, China

    Lei Wang, Aiqing Lin, Yanhong Xiao, Tinglei Jiang & Jiang Feng

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  1. Lei Wang
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  2. Aiqing Lin
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  3. Yanhong Xiao
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  4. Tinglei Jiang
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  5. Jiang Feng
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Correspondence to Jiang Feng.

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Communicated by: Justin G. Boyles

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Wang, L., Lin, A., Xiao, Y. et al. Postnatal development in the big-footed bat, Myotis macrodactylus: wing morphology, echolocation calls, and flight. Acta Theriol 59, 435–441 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-014-0182-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-014-0182-0

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