Bats and climate change: the importance of long-term field studies

Bats and climate change: the importance of long-term field studies

Gerald Kerth, Applied Zoology and Nature Conservation, Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald

How species cope with environmental change depends to a large degree on their life history. Given their small body sizes, bats have extraordinary long lifespans and remarkably low reproductive rates which make them vulnerable to environmental changes. In my talk, I will present long-term field data on individually marked populations of different bat species in Germany. Our data from up to 30 years show that global warming can cause bats to produce larger offspring. Depending on the species, these larger individuals can face a higher or a lower mortality risk. I also present data on species-specific responses in hibernation behaviour to the weather and briefly introduce how modern monitoring methods can improve our ability to assess population sizes in bats. Our findings have implications for the conservation of endangered bat species at time of rapid anthropogenic change.

Host: Johannees Spaethe