For hibernating mammals, increases in yearly temperature can impact hibernation quality, leading to subsequent fitness fallouts. For bats, hibernating at warmer temperatures requires increased energy expenditure, which can result in lowered survival or reproductive success. While previous studies have indicated that warming may promote range changes for some bat species, the impact on cryophilic (cold loving), non-migrating species — which may be particularly susceptible to warming — is not well understood.
Iwona Gottfried at the University of Wroclaw, Poland, and colleagues monitored hibernating cryophile Barbastella barbastellus populations in the 15 largest hibernacula and in 47 small bunkers across Poland. While the total population remained relatively stable across the 13-year study period, a significant negative correlation was observed between the number of individuals hibernating in hibernacula and mean winter temperature. By contrast, warmth correlated with an increase in individuals inhabiting the less-climatically buffered bunkers, suggesting that bats make behavioural changes to keep cool. These results have implications for bat hibernation in a warming Poland and affect current methods for monitoring bat numbers.
Source: Ecology - nature.com
