I'm a few months behind in sharing this, but the University of Michigan news team did a great job in putting together this video, which tells the story of our recent paper on genetic susceptibility, or lack thereof, in some bats to white-nose syndrome.
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This is a really nice video put together about a recent study I was part of. Thanks to University of Michigan News for putting it together.
In the paper, we describe how some silver-haired bats (Lasionycteris noctivagans) have started overwintering much farther north. Many members of this species undertake seasonal journeys between summer and winter areas. However, it appears that some of them have started hibernating about 200 miles (320 km) farther north than previously documented, with some bats staying as far as 400 miles (650 km) farther north! So why the big shift? It may be tempting to think that climate change is responsible, but we didn't find a historical change in temperatures that matched the range shift. Rather, it seems that another anthropogenic factor is at play—some bats are learning to use buildings as their winter hide-outs! Bats in the northern wintering sites had swapped their traditional hibernation sites of tree crevices for cozy houses, churches, and garages. While it's common for a different species of bat in the area, the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), to hibernate in people's houses, it seems like the silver-haired bat has just started to catch on to the idea. However, for this range shift to happen, it took more than just a change in the type of hibernation site these bats use. The silver-haired bat is considered a long-distance migrant (at least compared to other migratory bats). When traveling south for the winter, some individuals must have decided to stop their journey prematurely. The supporting evidence for this is that the range shift took place along a coastline, which many bats use as a migratory "highway." So, at least two behavioral alterations had to take place: they had to change the type of hibernation site they use, and modify their migratory journey! |
Giorgia AuteriPh.D. candidate at University of Michigan Categories
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