Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Recent Advances in Bat Migration Research

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Bat Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation

Abstract

In this chapter we discuss the state of research on bat migration and compare some of these patterns to those of birds. We begin with an overview of the literature on migration, apply migration theory, and discuss case studies on four bat species on which the greatest knowledge and understanding of migratory patterns exists. We also discuss what is known of motivating factors for bat migration and where research needs are apparent.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Able KP (1973) Role of weather variables and flight direction in determining magnitude of nocturnal bird migration. Ecology 54:1031–1041

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Able KP, Belthoff JR (1998) Rapid ‘evolution’ of migratory behaviour in the introduced house finch of eastern North America. Proc Biol Sci 265:2063–2071

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ahlen I, Baagoe HJ, Bach L (2009) Behavior of Scandinavian bats during migration and foraging at sea. J Mammal 90:1318–1323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akesson S, Hedenstrom A (2007) How migrants get there: migratory performance and orientation. Bioscience 57:123–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aldridge H, Brigham RM (1988) Load carrying and maneuverability in an insectivorous bat - a test of the 5-percent rule of radio-telemetry. J Mammal 69:379–382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alerstam T, Chapman JW, Bäckman J, Smith AD, Karlsson HK et al (2011) Convergent patterns of long-distance nocturnal migration in noctuid moths and passerine birds. Proc Biol Sci 278:3074–3080. doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.0058

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Altenbach JS, Geluso KN, Wilson DE (1979) Population size of Tadarida brasiliensis at Carlsbad Caverns in 1973. In: Genoways HH, Baker RJ (eds) Biological investigations in the Guadelupe Mountains National Park, Texas. National Parks Service T Proc Series No 4, Washington, DC, pp 341–348

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnett EB, Brown WK, Erickson WP, Fiedler JK, Hamilton BL, Henry TH, Jain A, Johnson GD, Kerns J, Koford RR, Nicholson CP, O’Connell TJ, Piorkowski MD, Tankersley RD (2008) Patterns of bat fatalities at wind energy facilities in North America. Journal of Wildlife Management 72(1):61–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baerwald EF, Barclay RMR (2009) Geographic variation in activity and fatality of migratory bats at wind energy facilities. J Mammal 90:1341–1349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baerwald EF, Barclay RMR (2011) Patterns of activity and fatality of migratory bats at a wind energy facility in Alberta Canada. J Wildl Manage 75:1103–1114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker RR (1978) The evolutionary ecology of animal migration. Holmes & Meier Publishers Inc., New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Barclay RMR (1984) Observations on the migration ecology and behavior of bats at Delta-Marsh Manitoba. Can Field-Nat 98:331–336

    Google Scholar 

  • Barclay RMR (1989) The effect of reproductive condition on the foraging behavior of female hoary bats Lasiurus cinereus. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 24:31–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barclay RMR, Faure PA, Farr DR (1988) Roosting behavior and roost selection by migrating Silver-Haired bats (Lasionycteris noctivagans). J Mammal 69:821–825

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beason RC (2005) Mechanisms of magnetic orientation in birds. Integr Comp Biol 45:565–573

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berthold P (1999) A comprehensive theory for the evolution, control and adaptability of avian migration. Ostrich 70:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berthold P, Terrill SB (1991) Recent advances in studies of bird migration. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 22:357–378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bilgin R, Karatas A, Coraman E, Disotel T, Morales JC (2008) Regionally and climatically restricted patterns of distribution of genetic diversity in a migratory bat species Miniopterus schreibersii (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae). BMC Evol Biol. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-8-209

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bisson IA, Safi K, Holland RA (2009) Evidence for repeated independent evolution of migration in the largest family of bats. PLoS One 4(10):e7504. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007504

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Breed AC, Field HE, Smith CS, Edmonston J, Meers J (2010) Bats without borders: long-distance movements and implications for disease risk management. Ecohealth 7:204–212

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bridge ES, Thorup K, Bowlin MS, Chilson PB, Diehl RH et al (2011) Technology on the move: recent and forthcoming innovations for tracking migratory birds. Bioscience 61:689–698

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brigham RM, McKechnie AE, Doucette LI, Geiser F (2012) Heterothermy in caprimulgid birds: a review of inter- and intraspecific variation in free-ranging populations. In: Ruf T, Bieber C, Arnold W, Millesi E (eds) Living in a seasonal world. Springer, Berlin, pp 175–187

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Britzke ER, Loeb SC, Hobson KA, Romanek CS, Vonhof MJ (2009) Using hydrogen isotopes to assign origins of bats in the eastern United States. J Mammal 90:743–751

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruderer B, Popa-Lisseanu AG (2005) Radar data on wing-beat frequencies and flight speeds of two bat species. Acta Chiropt 7:73–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byng JW, Racey PA, Swaine MD (2010) The ecological impacts of a migratory bat aggregation on its seasonal roost in Kasanka National Park Zambia. Afr J Ecol 48:29–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cardinal BR, Christidis L (1999) Mitochondrial DNA and morphology reveal three geographically distinct lineages of the large bentwing bat (Miniopterus schreibersii) in Australia. Aust J Zool 48:1–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter TC, Menzel MA, Saugey DA (2003) Population trends of solitary foliage-roosting bats. In: O’Shea TJ, Bogan MA (eds) Monitoring trends in bat populations of the United States and territories: problems and prospects. USGS Information Technology Report ITR 2003-0003

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapman BB, Brönmark C, Nilsson J-Å, Hansson L-A (2011) The ecology and evolution of partial migration. Oikos 120:1764–1775

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chilson PB, Frick WF, Kelly JF, Howard KW, Larkin RP et al (2011) Partly cloudy with a chance of migration: weather radars and aeroecology. Bull Am Met Soc 92:1173–1180. doi:10.1175/bams-d-11-00099.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CMS (2012) Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals, Appendix II. Bonn, Germany

    Google Scholar 

  • Cockrum EL (1969) Migration in the guano bat Tadarida-Brasiliensis. Miscellaneous publications, University of Kansas Museum of Natural History, pp 303–336

    Google Scholar 

  • Cockrum EL (1991) Seasonal distribution of northwestern populations of the Long-Nosed Bats Leptonycteris-Sanborni Family Phyllostomidae. Anales del Instituto de Biologia Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico Serie Zoologia 62:181–202

    Google Scholar 

  • Constantine DG (1967) Activity patterns of the Mexican free-tailed bat. Univ New Mex Publ Biol 7:1–79

    Google Scholar 

  • Cryan PM (2003) Seasonal distribution of migratory tree bats (Lasiurus and Lasionycteris) in North America. J Mammal 84:579–593

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cryan PM, Brown AC (2007) Migration of bats past a remote island offers clues toward the problem of bat fatalities at wind turbines. Biol Conserv 139:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cryan PM, Diehl RH (2009) Analyzing bat migration. In: Kunz TH, Parsons S (eds) Ecological and behavioral methods for the study of bats, 2nd edn. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, pp 476–488

    Google Scholar 

  • Cryan PM, Veilleux JP (2007) Migration and use of autumn winter and spring roosts by tree bats. In: Lacki MJ, Hayes JP, Kurta A (eds) Bats in forests: conservation and management. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, pp 153–175

    Google Scholar 

  • Cryan PM, Wolf BO (2003) Sex differences in the thermoregulation and evaporative water loss of a heterothermic bat Lasiurus cinereus during its spring migration. J Exp Biol 206(19):3381–3390

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cryan PM, Bogan MA, Rye RO, Landis GP, Kester CL (2004) Stable hydrogen isotope analysis of bat hair as evidence for seasonal molt and long-distance migration. J Mammal 85(5):995–1001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis RB, Herreid CF, Short HL (1962) Mexican free-tailed bats in Texas. Ecol Monogr 32:311–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dingle H (1996) Migration: the biology of life on the move. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Dingle H (2006) Animal migration: is there a common migratory syndrome? J Ornithol 147:212–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drake VA, Gatehouse AG (eds) (1995) Insect migration: tracking resources through space and time. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Dzal Y, Hooton LA, Clare EL, Fenton MB (2009) Bat activity and genetic diversity at Long Point Ontario an important bird stopover site. Acta Chiropt 11:307–315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellison LE (2008) Summary and analysis of the US Government Bat Banding Program. USGS Open-File Report 2008-1363

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein JH, Olival KJ, Pulliam JRC, Smith C, Westrum J et al (2009) Pteropus vampyrus a hunted migratory species with a multinational home-range and a need for regional management. J Appl Ecol 46:991–1002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faaborg J, Holmes RT, Anders AD, Bildstein KL, Dugger KM et al (2010) Recent advances in understanding migration systems of New World land birds. Ecol Monogr 80:3–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fenton MB, Thomas DW (1985) Migrations and dispersal of bats (Chiroptera). Contrib Mar Sci 27:409–424

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleming TH (1988) The short-tailed fruit bat: a study in plant-animal interactions. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleming TH (2004) Nectar corridors: migration and the annual cycle of lesser long-nosed bats. In: Nabhan GP (ed) Conserving migratory pollinators and nectar corridors in Western North America, vol 2, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Studies in Natural History. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp 23–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleming TH, Eby P (2003) Ecology of bat migration. In: Kunz TH, Fenton MB (eds) Bat ecology. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, pp 156–208

    Google Scholar 

  • Florant GL, Healy JE (2012) The regulation of food intake in mammalian hibernators: a review. J Comp Physiol B 182:451–467

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fraser KC, McKinnon EA, Diamond AW (2010) Migration diet or molt? Interpreting stable-hydrogen isotope values in neotropical bats. Biotropica 42:512–517

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fraser EE, McGuire LP, Eger JL, Longstaffe FJ, Fenton MB (2012) Evidence of latitudinal migration in Tri-colored Bats, Perimyotis subflavus. PLoS One 7(2):e31419. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031419

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Funakoshi K, Yamamoto T (2001) The first record of the roosts of the Oriental free-tailed bat Tadarida insignis on the Islet of Biroujima Kochi Prefecture. Honyurui Kagaku 41:87–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Furmankiewicz J, Kucharska M (2009) Migration of bats along a large river valley in southwestern Poland. J Mammal 90:1310–1317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gauthreaux SA, Livingston JW, Belser CG (2008) Detection and discrimination of fauna in the aerosphere using Doppler weather surveillance radar. Integr Comp Biol 48:12–23

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Geluso K (2008) Winter activity of Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) at Carlsbad Cavern Mexico. Southwest Nat 53:243–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glass BP (1982) Seasonal movements of Mexican freetail bats Tadarida-Brasiliensis-Mexicana banded in the Great Plains. Southwest Nat 27:127–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gopalakrishna A (1986) Migratory pattern of some Indian bats. Myotis 23–24:223–227

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffin DR (1945) Travels of banded cave bats. J Mammal 26:15–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffin DR (1970) Migrations and homing of bats. In: Wimsatt WA (ed) Bat biology and conservation, vol 1. Academic, New York, pp 233–264

    Google Scholar 

  • Gwinner E (ed) (1990) Bird migration: physiology and ecophysiology. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Hedenstrom A (2008) Adaptations to migration in birds: behavioural strategies morphology and scaling effects. Philos Trans R Soc B 363:287–299

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hedenstrom A (2009) Optimal migration strategies in bats. J Mammal 90:1298–1309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hein AM, Hou C, Gillooly JF (2012) Energetic and biomechanical constraints on animal migration distance. Ecol Lett 15:104–110

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holland RA (2007) Orientation and navigation in bats: known unknowns or unknown unknowns? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 61:653–660

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holland RA, Wikelski M (2009) Studying the migratory behavior of individual bats: current techniques and future directions. J Mammal 90:1324–1329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holland RA, Winter P, Waters DA (2005) Sensory systems and spatial memory in the fruit bat Rousettus aegyptiacus. Ethology 111:715–725

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holland RA, Thorup K, Vonhof MJ, Cochran WW, Wikelski M (2006) Navigation – Bat orientation using Earth’s magnetic field. Nature 444:702

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holland RA, Kirschvink JL, Doak TG, Wikelski M (2008) Bats use magnetite to detect the earth’s magnetic field. PLoS One 3:e1679. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001676

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holland RA, Borissov I, Siemers BM (2010) A nocturnal mammal the greater mouse-eared bat calibrates a magnetic compass by the sun. Pros Natl Acad Sci USA 107:6941–6945

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Horn JW, Kunz TH (2008) Analyzing NEXRAD doppler radar images to assess nightly dispersal patterns and population trends in Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis). Integr Comp Biol 48:24–39

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Horn JW, Arnett EB, Kunz TH (2008) Behavioral responses of bats to operating wind turbines. J Wildl Manage 72:123–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hristov NI, Betke M, Theriault DEH, Bagchi A, Kunz TH (2010) Seasonal variation in colony size of Brazilian free-tailed bats at Carlsbad Cavern based on thermal imaging. J Mammal 91:183–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hutterer R, Ivanova T, Meyer-Cords C, Rodrigues L (2005) Bat migrations in Europe: a review of banding data and literature. Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Bonn

    Google Scholar 

  • Ibanez C, Juste J, Garcia-Mudarra L, Agirre-Mendi PT (2001) Bat predation on nocturnally migrating birds. Pros Natl Acad Sci USA 98:9700–9702

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ibanez C, Guillen A, Agirre-Mendi PT, Juste J, Schreur G et al (2009) Sexual segregation in Iberian Noctule bats. J Mammal 90:235–243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson JS, Watrous KS, Giumarro GJ, Peterson TS, Boyden SA et al (2011) Seasonal and geographic trends in acoustic detection of tree-roosting bats. Acta Chiropt 13:157–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kronfeld-Schor N, Richardson C, Silvia BA, Kunz TH, Widmaier EP (2000) Dissociation of leptin secretion and adiposity during prehibernatory fattening in little brown bats. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 279:R1277–R1281

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Krutzsch PH (1955) Observations on the Mexican free-tailed bat Tadarida mexicana. J Mammal 36:236–242

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kunz TH, Arnett EB, Cooper BM, Erickson WP, Larkin RP et al (2007) Assessing impacts of wind-energy development on nocturnally active birds and bats: a guidance document. J Wildl Manage 71:2449–2486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurta A (2010) Reproductive timing distribution and sex ratios of tree bats in Lower Michigan. J Mammal 91:586–592

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kvist A, Lindstrom A (2000) Maximum daily energy intake: it takes time to lift the metabolic ceiling. Physiol Biochem Zool 73:30–36

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laval RK (1973) Observations on biology of Tadarida-Brasiliensis Cynocephala in Southeastern Louisiana. Am Midl Nat 89:112–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee YF, McCracken GF (2005) Dietary variation of Brazilian free-tailed bats links to migratory populations of pest insects. J Mammal 86:67–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liechti F (2006) Birds: blowin’ by the wind? J Ornithol 147:202–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lopez-Gonzalez C, Best TL (2006) Current status of wintering sites of Mexican free-tailed bats Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana (Chiroptera: Molossidae) from Carlsbad Cavern, New Mexico. Vertebrat Mexicana 18:13–22

    Google Scholar 

  • McCracken GF, Hayes JP, Cevallos J, Guffey SZ, Romero FC (1997) Observations on the distribution ecology and behaviour of bats on the Galapagos Islands. J Zool 243:757–770

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGuire LP (2012) Physiological ecology of bat migration. Dissertation, University of Western Ontario

    Google Scholar 

  • McGuire LP, Guglielmo CG (2009) What can birds tell us about the migration physiology of bats? J Mammal 90:1290–1297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGuire LP, Ratcliffe JM (2011) Light enough to travel: migratory bats have smaller brains but not larger hippocampi than sedentary species. Biol Lett 7:233–236

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McGuire LP, Fenton MB, Guglielmo CG (2009) Effect of age on energy storage during prehibernation swarming in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus). Can J Zool 87:515–519

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGuire LP, Guglielmo CG, Mackenzie SA, Taylor PD (2011) Migratory stopover in the long-distance migrant silver-haired bat Lasionycteris noctivagans. J Anim Ecol 81:385

    Google Scholar 

  • McGuire LP, Fenton MB, Guglielmo CG (2013) Phenotypic flexibility in migrating bats: seasonal variation in body composition, organ sizes, and fatty acid profiles. J Exp Biol 216:800–808, Manuscript ID JEXBIO/2012/072868

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Medellin RA (2003) Diversity and conservation of bats in Mexico: research priorities strategies and actions. Wildl Soc Bull 31:87–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Mello MAR, Kalko EKV, Silva WR (2008) Diet and abundance of the bat Sturnira lilium (Chiroptera) in a Brazilian montane Atlantic forest. J Mammal 89:485–492

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menard T (2001) Activity patterns of the Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus Cinereus Semotus) in relation to reproductive time periods. Thesis, University of Hawai’i

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller-Butterworth CM, Jacobs DS, Harley EH (2003) Strong population substructure is correlated with morphology and ecology in a migratory bat. Nature 424:187–191

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miller-Butterworth CM, Eick G, Jacobs DS, Schoeman MC, Harley EH (2005) Genetic and phenotypic differences between South African long-fingered bats with a global miniopterine phylogeny. J Mammal 86:1121–1135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morales-Garza MR, Arizmendi MD, Campos JE, Martinez-Garcia M, Valiente-Banuet A (2007) Evidences on the migratory movements of the nectar-feeding bat Leptonycteris curasoae in Mexico using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). J Arid Environ 68:248–259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreno-Valdez A, Honeycutt RL, Grant WE (2004) Colony dynamics of Leptonycteris nivalis (Mexican long-nosed bat) related to flowering agave in Northern Mexico. J Mammal 85:453–459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moser EI (2011) A bat’s perspective on navigation. Pros Natl Acad Sci USA 108:15665–15666

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moussy C, Hosken DJ, Mathews F, Smith GC, Aegerter JN, Bearhop S (2012) Migration and dispersal patterns of bats and their influence on genetic structure. Mammal Review. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2907.2012.00218.x

    Google Scholar 

  • Nisbet ICT, Drury WH (1968) Short-term effects of weather on bird migration - a field study using multivariate statistics. Anim Behav 16:496–530. doi:10.1016/0003-3472(68)90046-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norberg UM, Rayner JMV (1987) Ecological morphology and flight in bats (mammalia chiroptera) - wing adaptations flight performance foraging strategy and echolocation. Philos Trans R Soc B 316:337–419

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Shea TJ (1976) Fat content in migratory Central Arizona Brazilian free-tailed bats Tadarida-Brasiliensis Molossidae. Southwest Nat 21:321–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Shea TJ, Vaughan TA (1980) Ecological observations on an East-African bat community. Mammalia 44:485–496

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perez-Tris J, Bensch S, Carbonell R, Helbig AJ, Telleria JL (2004) Historical diversification of migration patterns in a passerine bird. Evolution 58:1819–1832

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Perry RW, Carter SA, Thill RE (2010) Temporal patterns in capture rate and sex ratio of forest bats in Arkansas. Am Midl Nat 164(2):270–282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petit E, Mayer F (2000) A population genetic analysis of migration: the case of the noctule bat (Nyctalus noctula). Mol Ecol 9:683–690

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Popa-Lisseanu AG, Voigt CC (2009) Bats on the move. J Mammal 90:1283–1289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Popa-Lisseanu AG, Delgado-Huertas A, Forero MG, Rodriguez A, Arlettaz R et al (2007) Bats’ conquest of a formidable foraging niche: The myriads of nocturnally migrating songbirds. PLoS One 2:e205. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000205

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Popa-Lisseanu AG, Sorgel K, Luckner A, Wassenaar LI, Ibanez C et al (2012) A triple-isotope approach to predict the breeding origins of European bats. PLoS One 7:e30388

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pulido F (2007) The genetics and evolution of avian migration. Bioscience 57:165–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pulido F (2011) Evolutionary genetics of partial migration – the threshold model of migration revis(it)ed. Oikos 120:1776–1783

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramos Pereira MJ, Salgueiro P, Rodrigues L, Coelho MM, Palmeirim JM (2009) Population structure of a cave-dwelling bat Miniopterus schreibersii: does it reflect history and social organization? J Hered 100:533–544

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ratcliffe F (1932) Notes on the fruit bats (Pteropus spp) of Australia. J Anim Ecol 1:32–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reichard JD, Gonzalez LE, Casey CM, Allen LC, Hristov NI et al (2009) Evening emergence behavior and seasonal dynamics in large colonies of Brazilian free-tailed Bats. J Mammal 90:1478–1486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reimer JP, Baerwald EF, Barclay RMR (2010) Diet of Hoary (Lasiurus cinereus) and Silver-haired (Lasionycteris noctivagans) bats while migrating through southwestern Alberta in late summer and autumn. Am Midl Nat 164:230–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson WJ (1990) Timing of bird migration in relation to weather: updated review. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Richter HV, Cumming GS (2006) Food availability and annual migration of the straw-colored fruit bat (Eidolon helvum). J Zool 268:35–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richter HV, Cumming GS (2008) First application of satellite telemetry to track African straw-coloured fruit bat migration. J Zool 275:172–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodrigues L, Palmeirim JM (2008) Migratory behaviour of the Schreiber’s bat: when where and why do cave bats migrate in a Mediterranean region? J Zool 274:116–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodrigues L, Ramos Pereira MJ, Rainho A, Palmeirim JM (2010) Behavioural determinants of gene flow in the bat Miniopterus schreibersii. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 64:835–843

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rohwer S, Hobson KA, Rohwer VG (2009) Migratory double breeding in Neotropical migrant birds. Pros Natl Acad Sci USA 106:19050–19055

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ruedi M, McCracken GF (2009) Phylogeographic analysis of bats. In: Kunz TH, Parsons S (eds) Ecological and behavioral methods for the study of bats, 2nd edn. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, pp 739–756

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell AL, Medellin RA, McCracken GF (2005) Genetic variation and migration in the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana). Mol Ecol 14:2207–2222

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Russell AL, Cox MP, Brown VA, McCracken GF (2011) Population growth of Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana) predates human agricultural activity. BMC Evol Biol 11:88. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-88

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rydell J, Bach L, Dubourg-Savage M-J, Green M, Rodrigues L et al (2010) Mortality of bats at wind turbines links to nocturnal insect migration? Eur J Wildl Res 56:823–827

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saino N, Rubolini D, von Hardenberg J, Ambrosini R, Provenzale A et al (2010) Spring migration decisions in relation to weather are predicted by wing morphology among trans-Mediterranean migratory birds. Funct Ecol 24:658–669

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scales JA, Wilkins KT (2007) Seasonality and fidelity in roost use of the Mexican free-tailed bat Tadarida brasiliensis in an urban setting. West N Am Nat 67:402–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Serra-Cobo J, Sanz-Trullen V, Martinez-Rica JP (1998) Migratory movements of Miniopterus schreibersii in the north-east of Spain. Acta Ther 43:271–283

    Google Scholar 

  • Shamoun-Baranes J, Bouten W, van Loon EE (2010) Integrating meteorology into research on migration. Integr Comp Biol 50:280–292

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sherwin HA, Montgomery WI, Lundy MG (2012) The impact and implications of climate change for bats. Mammal Rev. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.2012.00214.xs

    Google Scholar 

  • Shiel CB, Shiel RE, Fairley JS (1999) Seasonal changes in the foraging behaviour of Leisler’s bats (Nyctalus leisleri) in Ireland as revealed by radio-telemetry. J Zool 249:347–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Short HL, Davis RB, Herreid CF (1960) Movements of the Mexican free-tailed bat in Texas. Southwest Nat 5:208–216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith CS, Epstein JH, Breed AC, Plowright RK, Olival KJ, de Jong C, Daszak P, Field HE (2011) Satellite telemetry and long-range bat movements. PLoS One 6(2):e14696. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0014696

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sol D, Lefebvre L (2000) Behavioural flexibility predicts invasion success in birds introduced to New Zealand. Oikos 90:599–605

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sol D, Lefebvre L, Rodriguez-Teijeiro JD (2005) Brain size innovative propensity and migratory behaviour in temperate Palaearctic birds. Proc Biol Sci 272:1433–1441

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steffens R, Zöphel U, Brockmann D (2007) 40th anniversary Bat Marking Centre Dresden: evaluation of methods and overview of results. Saxon State Office for Environment and Geology, Dresden, Germany

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland WJ (1998) Evidence for flexibility and constraint in migration systems. J Avian Biol 29:441–446

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Svoboda PL, Choate JR (1987) Natural history of the Brazilian free-tailed bat in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. J Mammal 68:224–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor PD, Mackenzie SA, Thurber BG, Calvert AM, Mills AM et al (2011) Landscape movements of migratory birds and bats reveal an expanded scale of stopover. PLoS One 6:e27054

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas DW (1983) The annual migrations of 3 species of West-African fruit bats (Chiroptera Pteropodidae). Can J Zool 61:2266–2272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tidemann CR, Nelson JE (2004) Long-distance movements of the grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus). J Zool 263:141–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Townsend KL, Kunz TH, Widmaier EP (2008) Changes in body mass serum leptin and mRNA levels of leptin receptor isoforms during the premigratory period in Myotis lucifugus. J Comp Physiol B 178:217–223

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tsoar A, Nathan R, Bartan Y, Vyssotski A, Dell’Omo G et al (2011) Large-scale navigational map in a mammal. Pros Natl Acad Sci USA 108:E718–E724

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tuttle MD (1976) Population ecology of the gray bat (Myotis grisescens): philopatry timing and patterns of movement weight loss during migration and seasonal adaptive strategies. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural History University of Kansas No 54, pp 1–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Twente JW (1956) Ecological observations on a colony of Tadarida mexicana. J Mammal 37:42–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valdez EW, Cryan PM (2009) Food habits of the hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) during spring migration through New Mexico. Southwest Nat 54:195–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valiente-Banuet A, Arizmendi MD, Rojas Martinez A, Dominguez Canseco L (1996) Ecological relationships between columnar cacti and nectar-feeding bats in Mexico. J Trop Ecol 12:103–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villa RB, Cockrum EL (1962) Migration in the guano bat Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana (Saussure). J Mammal 43:43–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voigt CC, Sorgel K, Dechmann DKN (2010) Refueling while flying: foraging bats combust food rapidly and directly to power flight. Ecology 91:2908–2917

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang YN, Pan YX, Parsons S, Walker M, Zhang SY (2007) Bats respond to polarity of a magnetic field. Proc Biol Sci 274:2901–2905

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wikelski M, Kays RW, Kasdin NJ, Thorup K, Smith JA et al (2007) Going wild: what a global small-animal tracking system could do for experimental biologists. J Exp Biol 210:181–186

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilcove DS, Wikelski M (2008) Going going gone: Is animal migration disappearing? PLoS Biol 6:1361–1364

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Woods CP, Brigham RM (2004) The avian enigma: “hibernation” by common poorwills (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii). Biol Pap Univ Alaska 27:231–240

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Paul Cryan, Erin Baerwald, and Liam McGuire for discussions and invaluable feedback that greatly improved the quality of this chapter.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, 569 Dabney Hall, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA

    Jennifer J. Krauel & Gary F. McCracken

Authors
  1. Jennifer J. Krauel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gary F. McCracken
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer J. Krauel .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado, USA

    Rick A. Adams

  2. Department of Biology, South Dakota State, Brookings, South Dakota, USA

    Scott C. Pedersen

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Krauel, J.J., McCracken, G.F. (2013). Recent Advances in Bat Migration Research. In: Adams, R., Pedersen, S. (eds) Bat Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7397-8_15

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation