A team of researchers led by scientists at the University of Helsinki used the new micro-GPS tag to keep a close eye on desert bats flying in Sibiloi National Park in northern Kenya, according to Foreign Media New Atlas. By looking at how these bats fly at night, the study aims to provide new insights into how they adapt to drier times of the year.
Wildlife tracking technology has proven to be an effective tool for naturalists for more than half a century, but the limiting factor in the use of these technologies has been the size of the device. It's one thing to label something like a whale or an elephant, but it's another entirely for an animal like a bat. It's not just a technical challenge, as the only effective way to study animals that fly fast in the dark like bats is by attaching some sort of tracking device.
For the new study, the scientists chose yellow-winged bats that live on the shores of Lake Turkana, the world's largest desert lake, kenya. Scientists have found this pseudosampire bat in sub-Saharan Africa in southern Zambia, which weighs only 36 grams at its peak and has a large wingspan, allowing it to carry relatively heavy loads.
With this in mind, the Helsinki team captured 15 bats during the rainy season and 14 during the dry season. After the inspection, the 1.45 g heavy label is attached to the bat in the form of a "small backpack", which is glued to the animal's back using a cyanoacrylate-based glue.
The bats were then released and tracked for a week. The scientists then tracked them through the VHF transmitter in the tag, tracking the animals every 30 to 60 minutes every night, then capturing them again and removing the tags for data retrieval.
The team found that yellow-winged bats were more active at night during dry periods than during the rainy season — possibly to compensate for the loss of food resources.
According to the team, the study not only reveals the behavior of desert bats, but also shows how animals adapt to the changing climate. "The responses exhibited by bats provide important insights into the responses of other taxonomic populations," said Irene Conenna, a doctoral student in the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences. "These new small satellite tags now allow us to better understand how increased drought affects the foraging efficiency of bats, allowing us to take a step forward in understanding the limits of drought tolerance and the effects of climate change."
The study was published in the journal Movement Ecology.