Where Finnish bats will disappear for the winter? This was a mystery for a long time, and the perfect answer is still not known to anyone other than the leather wings themselves. Much new has emerged in the dissertation that Anna Blomberg does at the University of Turku.
“In the past, bats were thought to depend on man-made underground bunkers, mines and basements. But only a small number of individuals managed to be counted in the winter. ”
Blomberg and his colleagues in the BatLab Finland research group speculated that the hideouts had to hide somewhere where the temperature stays constant and the air humid – and where one cannot see them.
The assumption was confirmed by stories of seducers found in the rocks in the spring. In addition, miraculously muddy bats had been found during radio monitoring.
The impression was created that the secret hiding places are in the cavities of the earth.
Investigatort recorded sonar sounds from bats near fissure rock fissures, dam fields, and boulders. For comparison, country cellars and summer dining areas for bats were included.
Recordings in a total of 16 locations lasted two winters and one summer. Four mother rocks in particular were rewarding sites. They had even more noises than in the basements where bats were known to overwinter.
Blomberg would like to play the recordings with a larger sample and in different environments. He is particularly interested in the important hunting grounds of many wings, the old forests.
A study of Masku’s Härmälänrotko found an observation of the northernmost wintering snail to date. In Mynämäki, on the other hand, a number of endangered eyelash wings spent the winter.
Bats turned out to be surprisingly active in the winter in general, although the researchers knew they would wake up completely at times.
Continuous hibernation cannot continue for more than a couple of weeks, as animals are sometimes forced to drink and remove waste products. In addition, bats may suffer from lack of sleep. They need to wake up from sleep so they can fall asleep.
Horros is a part of bat life throughout the year, but its amount and depth vary. Even in summer, they are able to slow down their metabolism and adjust their body temperature to near ambient levels. This saves energy.
Dogs do more than females because they don’t have to secure the development of the chicks by staying warm themselves.
Blombergin according to it, it is possible that the eartags sensed atmospheric pressure and that they utilize their ability in the winter.
Low air pressure is a sign of warm weather. Then it is worth digging out of the rock hole, as there may be something predatory moving in the terrain. Ear nights often grab bugs from the face of the earth. After all, there are no flying insects in the winter.
Some of Finland’s 13 bat species move from the cold to the south. This group includes the small, large, cymbal, dwarf, dwarf and southern thrush.
We have little of all of these, and they are usually hardly noticed until we move in.
Published in Science in Nature 1/2021
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