Bats at Lamanai and Ka'Kabish
Dr. Brock Fenton
University of Western Ontario
Since about 1998 I have been making
regular trips to Lamanai (and more recently Ka’Kabish) to learn more about the
bats that occur there. As of May 2012,
we have caught or recorded 43 species of bats in these areas. By catching bats in mist nets or harp traps
or by recording their echolocation calls, we have been able to assemble a
picture of the bat fauna. But each year
we find two or three species that we had not seen before. Based on recorded
echolocation calls, one species of free-tailed bat (family Molossidae - in the
genus Eumops) is a regular visitor,
but we have yet to catch it.
My first trips to Lamanai were with some students and colleagues and we typically went with specific goals in mind, documenting what bats occur in the area, and use radio tags to follow them to their roosts. We also have recorded echolocation calls to assemble a library of which species says what. Several papers have emerged form this work (see below).
Since about 2005, these trips have turned into “no host, no agenda” research retreats that have seen up to 46 bat people and colleagues working out of Lamanai Outpost Lodge. We use the time to talk shop, about bats and echolocation, to extend our samples of bats, and plan further studies. Having a full week to interact is stimulating and enjoyable. We avoid the pressures associated with scheduled sessions at bat meetings, and use our time as the spirit moves us.
In late April and early May 2013, 46 of us will again gather at Lamanai. This time we will use radio tags to follow proboscis bats (Rhynchonycteris naso) as they forage, recording their echolocation calls with an array of microphones to document how these bats adjust their fields of view when hunting. We also will radio track woolly false vampire bats (Chrotopterus auritus) at Ka'Kabish. Here we are interested in where the bats roost, what they eat, and where they hunt. Others will study flight using a variety of approaches, and still others the use that bats make of flowers. We also will use thermal imaging to look at the respiratory patterns of vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus - pictured above).
Bats are small, long-lived animals, that play a variety of roles in ecosystems like those around Lamanai and Ka’Kabish. We use our time with the bats and each other to come up with new ways of studying bats and better ways of gaining a perspective on how they “view” the world. This year we also will visit the local school to introduce the students there to the world of bats.
My first trips to Lamanai were with some students and colleagues and we typically went with specific goals in mind, documenting what bats occur in the area, and use radio tags to follow them to their roosts. We also have recorded echolocation calls to assemble a library of which species says what. Several papers have emerged form this work (see below).
Since about 2005, these trips have turned into “no host, no agenda” research retreats that have seen up to 46 bat people and colleagues working out of Lamanai Outpost Lodge. We use the time to talk shop, about bats and echolocation, to extend our samples of bats, and plan further studies. Having a full week to interact is stimulating and enjoyable. We avoid the pressures associated with scheduled sessions at bat meetings, and use our time as the spirit moves us.
In late April and early May 2013, 46 of us will again gather at Lamanai. This time we will use radio tags to follow proboscis bats (Rhynchonycteris naso) as they forage, recording their echolocation calls with an array of microphones to document how these bats adjust their fields of view when hunting. We also will radio track woolly false vampire bats (Chrotopterus auritus) at Ka'Kabish. Here we are interested in where the bats roost, what they eat, and where they hunt. Others will study flight using a variety of approaches, and still others the use that bats make of flowers. We also will use thermal imaging to look at the respiratory patterns of vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus - pictured above).
Bats are small, long-lived animals, that play a variety of roles in ecosystems like those around Lamanai and Ka’Kabish. We use our time with the bats and each other to come up with new ways of studying bats and better ways of gaining a perspective on how they “view” the world. This year we also will visit the local school to introduce the students there to the world of bats.
Further Suggested Reading
Davy, C.M. and M.B. Fenton.
In press. Side-scan sonar enables rapid detection of aquatic reptiles in turbidlotic systems. European Journal of Wildlife Research, accepted 16 Nov 2012.
Fenton, M.B., E. Bernard, S. Bouchard, L. Hollis, D.S. Johnston, C.L. Lausen, J.M. Ratcliffe, D.K.Riskin, J.R. Taylor & J. Zigouris.
2001. The bat fauna of Lamanai, Belize: roosts and trophic roles. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 17:511-524.
Fenton, M.B., S. Bouchard, M.J. Vonhof and J. Zigouris.
2001. Time-expansion and zero-crossing period meter systems present significantly different views of echolocation calls of bats. Journal of Mammalogy, 82:721-727.
Fenton, M.B., P.A. Faure and J.R. Ratcliffe.
2012. Evolution of high duty cycle echolocation in bats. Journal of Experimental Biology, 215:2935-2944.
Fenton, M.B., M.J. Vonhof, S. Bouchard, S.A. Gill, D.S. Johnston, F.A. Reid, D.K. Riskin, K.L.Standing, J.R. Taylor & R. Wagner.
2000. Roosts used by Sturnira lilium (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in Belize. Biotropica, 32:729-733.
Lazure, L. and M.B. Fenton.
2011. High duty cycle echolocation and prey detection by bats. Journal of Experimental Biology, 214:1131-1137.
Orbach, D.N., N. Veselka, Y. Dzal, L. Lazure and M.B. Fenton.
2010. Drinking and flying: does alcohol consumption affect the flight and echolocation performance of phyllostomid bats? PLoS One, 5:e8993.
ter Hofstede, H., M.B. Fenton, and J.O. Whitaker Jr.
2004. Host specificity and host site specificity of bat flies (Diptera: Streblidae and Nycteribiidae) of Neotropical bats. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 82:616-626.
ter Hofstede, H.M. & M.B. Fenton.
2005. The influence of roost preference on ectoparasite density and grooming behaviour. Journal of Zoology (London), 266:333-340.
In press. Side-scan sonar enables rapid detection of aquatic reptiles in turbidlotic systems. European Journal of Wildlife Research, accepted 16 Nov 2012.
Fenton, M.B., E. Bernard, S. Bouchard, L. Hollis, D.S. Johnston, C.L. Lausen, J.M. Ratcliffe, D.K.Riskin, J.R. Taylor & J. Zigouris.
2001. The bat fauna of Lamanai, Belize: roosts and trophic roles. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 17:511-524.
Fenton, M.B., S. Bouchard, M.J. Vonhof and J. Zigouris.
2001. Time-expansion and zero-crossing period meter systems present significantly different views of echolocation calls of bats. Journal of Mammalogy, 82:721-727.
Fenton, M.B., P.A. Faure and J.R. Ratcliffe.
2012. Evolution of high duty cycle echolocation in bats. Journal of Experimental Biology, 215:2935-2944.
Fenton, M.B., M.J. Vonhof, S. Bouchard, S.A. Gill, D.S. Johnston, F.A. Reid, D.K. Riskin, K.L.Standing, J.R. Taylor & R. Wagner.
2000. Roosts used by Sturnira lilium (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in Belize. Biotropica, 32:729-733.
Lazure, L. and M.B. Fenton.
2011. High duty cycle echolocation and prey detection by bats. Journal of Experimental Biology, 214:1131-1137.
Orbach, D.N., N. Veselka, Y. Dzal, L. Lazure and M.B. Fenton.
2010. Drinking and flying: does alcohol consumption affect the flight and echolocation performance of phyllostomid bats? PLoS One, 5:e8993.
ter Hofstede, H., M.B. Fenton, and J.O. Whitaker Jr.
2004. Host specificity and host site specificity of bat flies (Diptera: Streblidae and Nycteribiidae) of Neotropical bats. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 82:616-626.
ter Hofstede, H.M. & M.B. Fenton.
2005. The influence of roost preference on ectoparasite density and grooming behaviour. Journal of Zoology (London), 266:333-340.