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Hot bats: extreme thermal tolerance in a desert heat wave

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Abstract

Climate change is predicted to increase temperature extremes and thus thermal stress on organisms. Animals living in hot deserts are already exposed to high ambient temperatures (T a) making them especially vulnerable to further warming. However, little is known about the effect of extreme heat events on small desert mammals, especially tree-roosting microbats that are not strongly protected from environmental temperature fluctuations. During a heat wave with record T as at Sturt National Park, we quantified the thermal physiology and behaviour of a single free-ranging little broad-nosed (Scotorepens greyii, henceforth Scotorepens) and two inland freetail bats (Mormopterus species 3, henceforth Mormopterus) using temperature telemetry over 3 days. On 11 and 13 January, maximum T a was ∼45.0 °C, and all monitored bats were thermoconforming. On 12 January 2013, when T a exceeded 48.0 °C, Scotorepens abandoned its poorly insulated roost during the daytime, whereas both Mormopterus remained in their better insulated roosts and were mostly thermoconforming. Maximum skin temperatures (T skin) ranged from 44.0 to 44.3 °C in Scotorepens and from 40.0 to 45.8 °C in Mormopterus, and these are the highest T skin values reported for any free-ranging bat. Our study provides the first evidence of extensive heat tolerance in free-ranging desert microbats. It shows that these bats can tolerate the most extreme T skin range known for mammals (3.3 to 45.8 °C) and delay regulation of T skin by thermoconforming over a wide temperature range and thus decrease the risks of dehydration and consequently death.

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Abbreviations

T a :

Ambient temperature

T skin :

Skin temperature

T b :

Body temperature

Scotorepens :

Scotorepens greyii (little broad-nosed bat)

Mormopterus :

Mormopterus species 3 (inland freetail bat)

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Acknowledgments

We thank the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) staff especially Ingrid Witte, Barb Hawerkamp and Dan Hough for their help with organising the field work and Kim Piddington for the assistance with collecting dead bats. The research was conducted under permits from the NPWS and the UNE Animal Ethics Committee. Financial support was received from the University of New England to AB and the Australian Research Council to FG. Accommodation and transport at Sturt National Park were provided by the NPWS.

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  1. Centre for Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Zoology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia

    Artiom Bondarenco, Gerhard Körtner & Fritz Geiser

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  1. Artiom Bondarenco
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  2. Gerhard Körtner
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  3. Fritz Geiser
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Correspondence to Artiom Bondarenco.

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Communicated by: Sven Thatje

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Bondarenco, A., Körtner, G. & Geiser, F. Hot bats: extreme thermal tolerance in a desert heat wave. Naturwissenschaften 101, 679–685 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-014-1202-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-014-1202-2

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