ORCID Profile
0000-0003-3882-3654
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Nature Advisory
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La Trobe University
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University of Adelaide
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University of Melbourne
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Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 26-05-2021
DOI: 10.1071/ZO20072
Abstract: Access to suitable roosts is critical for the conservation of tree-hollow roosting bats worldwide. Availability of roost sites is influenced by human land-use, but also by the roosting requirements and behaviour of species. We investigated roosting behaviour of the lesser long-eared bat (Nyctophilus geoffroyi) and Gould’s wattled bat (Chalinolobus gouldii) in a rural landscape in south-eastern Australia. Forty-five N. geoffroyi and 27 C. gouldii were fitted with radio-transmitters, resulting in the location of 139 and 89 roosts, respectively. Most (88%) roosts occupied by male N. geoffroyi contained only a single in idual. During the breeding season female colonies were larger, with maternity roosts containing 18.3 ± 5.7 (s.e.) in iduals. Mean colony sizes for C. gouldii were 8.7 ± 1.4 in iduals. Both species shifted roosts frequently: on average, in idual N. geoffroyi moved every 2.2 ± 0.23 days and C. gouldii every 2.2 ± 0.14 days. Notably, lactating female N. geoffroyi shifted roosts more frequently than non-breeding females. In iduals of both species roosted within a discrete area, with roosts typically m apart and consistently returned there from foraging up to 12 km distant. This roosting behaviour highlights three important requirements: (1) a relatively large overall number of hollows to support a population (2) discrete roost areas with a high density of suitable hollows in close proximity and (3) a range of hollow types to provide the specialised roosts required, particularly for breeding.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.ECOENV.2013.10.006
Abstract: Wildlife and livestock that ingest bioavailable cyanide compounds in gold mining tailings dams are known to experience cyanide toxicosis. Elevated levels of salinity in open impoundments have been shown to prevent wildlife cyanide toxicosis by reducing drinking and foraging. This finding appears to be consistent for diurnal wildlife interacting with open impoundments, however the risks to nocturnal wildlife of cyanide exposure are unknown. We investigated the activity of insectivorous bats in the airspace above both fresh (potable to wildlife) and saline water bodies at two gold mines in the goldfields of Western Australian. During this study, cyanide-bearing solutions stored in open impoundments at both mine sites were hypersaline (range=57,000-295,000 mg/L total dissolved solids (TDS)), well above known physiological tolerance of any terrestrial vertebrate. Bats used the airspace above each water body monitored, but were more active at fresh than saline water bodies. In addition, considerably more terminal echolocation buzz calls were recorded in the airspace above fresh than saline water bodies at both mine sites. However, it was not possible to determine whether these buzz calls corresponded to foraging or drinking bouts. No drinking bouts were observed in 33 h of thermal video footage recorded at one hypersaline tailings dam, suggesting that this water is not used for drinking. There is no information on salinity tolerances of bats, but it could be assumed that bats would not tolerate salinity in drinking water at concentrations greater than those documented as toxic for saline-adapted terrestrial wildlife. Therefore, when managing wastewater impoundments at gold mines to avoid wildlife mortalities, adopting a precautionary principle, bats are unlikely to drink solutions at salinity levels ≥50,000 mg/L TDS.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2009
DOI: 10.1016/J.ECOENV.2009.02.010
Abstract: Patterns of wildlife visitation and interaction with cyanide-bearing tailings slurry and solutions at the Fimiston tailings storage facility (TSF) have been reported in a previously published ecological study. The above-mentioned findings are extended in this paper by the examination of additional wildlife survey data, along with process water chemistry data collected during the same study period. Analysis of the combined results revealed that the primary wildlife protective mechanism in operation was effective management of tailings cyanide concentration. Nevertheless, tailings discharge concentration exceeded the industry standard wildlife protective limit of 50mg/L weak acid dissociable (WAD) cyanide episodically during the study period. Wildlife that interacted with habitats close to the spigot outlet during brief periods of increased discharge concentration were likely to have been exposed to bioavailable cyanide at concentrations greater than the industry standard protective limit. However, no wildlife deaths were recorded. These results appear to support the hypothesis that hypersalinity of process solutions (unique to the Kalgoorlie district of Western Australia) and a lack of aquatic food resources represent secondary protective mechanisms that operated to prevent cyanide-related wildlife mortality during the project. The proposed protective mechanisms are discussed in the context of their potential application as proactive management procedures to minimise wildlife exposure to cyanide.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2021
DOI: 10.1111/CSP2.416
Abstract: Artificial tree hollows (e.g., nest‐boxes) are commonly deployed to mitigate the loss of mature trees within human‐disturbed landscapes. Their effectiveness as a habitat resource, and thus conservation management tool, is strongly influenced by the suitability of internal microclimate conditions. In south‐eastern Australia, spout hollows are a nesting resource used by a erse community of vertebrate species. We tested the suitability of a novel nest box design (spout boxes) that mimicked the physical characteristics of spout hollows. We monitored the occupancy ( n = 193) and internal microclimate ( n = 131) of natural hollows and spout boxes within a woodland where natural tree hollows were once abundant. Both natural hollows and spout boxes were occupied and used for breeding by birds and mammals. Natural hollows had consistently higher humidity, and thermal maxima and minima were buffered, when compared with spout boxes. These differences were largely explained by wall thickness. Spout boxes displayed even more extreme temperature variation and lower humidity when not shaded. While more extreme microclimate conditions did not prevent usage, tolerable thresholds for hollow‐dependent species may soon be exceeded under current climate change projections. Managers need to carefully consider nest box design and positioning to ensure the suitability of these supplementary resources for conservation purposes.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 28-04-2018
DOI: 10.3390/F9050235
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 28-02-2021
DOI: 10.1071/AM19060
Abstract: Body composition (the total amount of fat mass, lean mass, minerals and water that constitute the body) is an important measure for understanding an animal’s physiology, ecology and behaviour. Traditional measures of body composition require the animal to either be placed under anaesthetic, which is invasive and can be high-risk, or be euthanised, preventing the ability to perform repeated measures on the same in idual. We aimed to validate quantitative magnetic resonance (QMR) as a non-invasive measure of body composition by comparing QMR scans with chemical carcass analysis (CCA) in Gould’s wattled bats (Chalinolobus gouldii). In addition, we compared a commonly used microbat body condition index (residuals of mass by forearm length) to CCA. We found that QMR is an accurate method of estimating body condition in Gould’s wattled bats after calibration with regression equations, and the condition index could accurately predict lean and water mass but was a poor predictor of fat mass. Using accurate, non-invasive, repeatable measures of body condition may have important implications for ecological research in the face of changing environments.
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 06-2014
Abstract: How climate impacts organisms depends not only on their physiology, but also whether they can buffer themselves against climate variability via their behaviour. One of the way species can withstand hot temperatures is by seeking out cool microclimates, but only if their habitat provides such refugia. Here, we describe a novel thermoregulatory strategy in an arboreal mammal, the koala Phascolarctos cinereus. During hot weather, koalas enhanced conductive heat loss by seeking out and resting against tree trunks that were substantially cooler than ambient air temperature. Using a biophysical model of heat exchange, we show that this behaviour greatly reduces the amount of heat that must be lost via evaporative cooling, potentially increasing koala survival during extreme heat events. While it has long been known that internal temperatures of trees differ from ambient air temperatures, the relevance of this for arboreal and semi-arboreal mammals has not previously been explored. Our results highlight the important role of tree trunks as aboveground ‘heat sinks’, providing cool local microenvironments not only for koalas, but also for all tree-dwelling species.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-08-2021
DOI: 10.1002/JWMG.22114
Abstract: The rate of loss of tags used to mark in iduals is an important consideration in wildlife research and monitoring. Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags (or microchips) generally have high retention rates however, tag loss rates for small mammals such as insectivorous bats are poorly understood. We double‐marked a population of Gould's wattled bats ( Chalinolobus gouldii ) with forearm bands and PIT tags (with the injection site sealed with surgical adhesive) in January and February 2020 to determine rates of subsequent tag loss over the short‐ (1–2 months) and medium‐ (13–14 months) term. Loss of PIT tags occurred in 4 (2.7%) of 146 recaptured in iduals, all within 2 months of microchipping. We also recorded 1 occurrence of band loss 11 months after banding. Our study supports assertions that PIT‐tag retention rates in small mammals are high, and suggests that rates of tag loss in small bat species are low when surgical adhesive is applied. Quantifying the rate of tag loss enables this variable to be incorporated into mark‐recapture models. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2013
DOI: 10.1016/J.BEPROC.2013.05.007
Abstract: Echolocating bats are known to produce terminal buzz calls during pursuit and capture of airborne prey, however the use of buzz calls while drinking on the wing has not been previously investigated. In this study I recorded the first empirical evidence that bats produce terminal phase buzz calls while drinking on the wing. Every drinking pass recorded during this study was characterised by a terminal buzz which bats emitted immediately prior to touching the water surface with their mouth. The characteristic frequency (the frequency at the end or flattest portion of the pulse) of echolocation call sequences containing drinking buzzes varied from 25kHz to 50kHz, suggesting multiple bat species present at the study site emit buzzes while drinking on the wing. As feeding buzz calls appear to be ubiquitous among echolocating bat taxa, the prevalence of drinking buzzes clearly warrants further investigation. Drinking buzzes could potentially be used to document rates of drinking by bats in the same way that feeding buzzes are used to infer foraging activity.
Publisher: MyJove Corporation
Date: 29-12-2021
DOI: 10.3791/63156
Abstract: S ling methods are selected depending on the targeted species or the spatial and temporal requirements of the study. However, most methods for passive s ling of flying insects have a poor temporal resolution because it is time-consuming, costly and/or logistically difficult to perform. Effective s ling of flying insects attracted to artificial light at night (ALAN) requires s ling at user-defined time points (nighttime only) across well-replicated sites resulting in major time and labor-intensive survey effort or expensive automated technologies. Described here is a low-cost automated intercept trap that requires no specialist equipment or skills to construct and operate, making it a viable option for studies that require temporal sub-s ling across multiple sites. The trap can be used to address a wide range of other ecological questions that require a greater temporal and spatial scale than is feasible with previous trap technology.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-04-2020
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-020-63003-W
Abstract: Nest boxes are often used to provide supplementary roosts for cavity-dependent wildlife, but little is known about if they influence faunal community composition. Long-term monitoring of bat boxes in south-eastern Australia indicated that their use was dominated by one generalist species ( Chalinolobus gouldii ), causing concern that installing bat boxes could cause a shift toward less erse bat communities. To test this, we conducted a large-scale before-after control-impact experiment at 18 sites, over five years. Sites were either: (1) those with existing bat boxes, (2) those where boxes were added during the study, or (3) controls without boxes. We used echolocation call data from 9035 bat detector nights to compare community composition, ersity, and species’ relative activity between the sites. Chalinolobus gouldii continued to dominate the use of existing boxes, but we found little difference in community composition between sites based on the presence, absence, or addition of boxes. Our study is the first to explore the influence installing artificial hollows has on localized faunal assemblages over spatio-temporal scales relevant to management. We conclude that there is cause for optimism that bat boxes might not have perverse outcomes on local community composition in the short- to medium-term, as we had feared.
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 08-2015
Abstract: Accurate survival estimates are needed to construct robust population models, which are a powerful tool for understanding and predicting the fates of species under scenarios of environmental change. Microbats make up 17% of the global mammalian fauna, yet the processes that drive differences in demographics between species are poorly understood. We collected survival estimates for 44 microbat species from the literature and constructed a model to determine the effects of reproductive, feeding and demographic traits on survival. Our trait-based model indicated that bat species which produce more young per year exhibit lower apparent annual survival, as do males and juveniles compared with females and adults, respectively. Using 8 years of monitoring data for two Australian species, we demonstrate how knowledge about the effect of traits on survival can be incorporated into Bayesian survival analyses. This approach can be applied to any group and is not restricted to bats or even mammals. The incorporation of informative priors based on traits can allow for more timely construction of population models to support management decisions and actions.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-02-2014
DOI: 10.1007/S11356-014-2651-Z
Abstract: Wildlife and livestock are known to visit and interact with tailings dam and other wastewater impoundments at gold mines. When cyanide concentrations within these water bodies exceed a critical toxicity threshold, significant cyanide-related mortality events can occur in wildlife. Highly mobile taxa such as birds are particularly susceptible to cyanide toxicosis. Nocturnally active bats have similar access to uncovered wastewater impoundments as birds however, cyanide toxicosis risks to bats remain ambiguous. This study investigated activity of bats in the airspace above two water bodies at an Australian gold mine, to assess the extent to which bats use these water bodies and hence are at potential risk of exposure to cyanide. Bat activity was present on most nights s led during the 16-month survey period, although it was highly variable across nights and months. Therefore, despite the artificial nature of wastewater impoundments at gold mines, these structures present attractive habitats to bats. As tailings slurry and supernatant pooling within the tailings dam were consistently well below the industry protective concentration limit of 50 mg/L weak acid dissociable (WAD) cyanide, wastewater solutions stored within the tailings dam posed a minimal risk of cyanide toxicosis for wildlife, including bats. This study showed that passively recorded bat echolocation call data provides evidence of the presence and relative activity of bats above water bodies at mine sites. Furthermore, echolocation buzz calls recorded in the airspace directly above water provide indirect evidence of foraging and/or drinking. Both echolocation monitoring and systematic s ling of cyanide concentration in open wastewater impoundments can be incorporated into a gold mine risk-assessment model in order to evaluate the risk of bat exposure to cyanide. In relation to risk minimisation management practices, the most effective mechanism for preventing cyanide toxicosis to wildlife, including bats, is capping the concentration of cyanide in tailings discharged to open impoundments at 50 mg/L WAD.
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 03-2023
DOI: 10.1098/RSOS.221436
Abstract: Natural light-dark cycles synchronize an animal's internal clock with environmental conditions. The introduction of artificial light into the night-time environment masks natural light cues and has the potential to disrupt this well-established biological rhythm. Nocturnal animal species, such as bats, are adapted to low light conditions and are therefore among the most vulnerable to the impacts of artificial light at night (ALAN). The behaviour and activity of insectivorous bats is disrupted by short-wavelength artificial light at night, while long-wavelength light is less disruptive. However, the physiological consequences of this lighting have not been investigated. Here, we examine the effect of LEDs with different spectra on urinary melatonin in an insectivorous bat. We collected voluntarily voided urine s les from Gould's wattled bats ( Chalinolobus gouldii ) and measured melatonin–sulfate under ambient night-time conditions (baseline) and under red ( λ P 630 nm), amber ( λ P 601 nm), filtered warm white ( λ P 586 nm) and cool white ( λ P 457 nm) LEDs. We found no effect of light treatment on melatonin–sulfate irrespective of spectra. Our findings suggest that short-term exposure to LEDs at night do not disrupt circadian physiology in the light-exploiting Gould's wattled bat.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 06-2008
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-07-2017
DOI: 10.1111/MAM.12097
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.1071/ZO20022
Abstract: Bat boxes are often used as a conservation tool in human-disturbed landscapes across Australia however, to assess their effectiveness we need to understand the factors influencing their occupancy by insectivorous bats. We investigated roost selection by Gould’s wattled bat (Chalinolobus gouldii) using 76 bat boxes, comprising six designs, across three sites in suburban Melbourne, Australia. We conducted monthly surveys for a year and recorded the physical characteristics of each box. Five species of bats were recorded but Gould’s wattled bats dominated box occupancy year-round at all three sites. Group sizes ranged from 1 to 58 in iduals, with maternity colonies forming over summer. There was little consistency in the use of selection criteria by Gould’s wattled bats when choosing a bat box as a day roost, with considerable variability across sites and seasons, highlighting the flexibility in roost site selection by this widespread, adaptable species. Our findings show that bat boxes can be an effective tool for providing supplementary roosts for Gould’s wattled bats in urbanised landscapes. However, little is known about the impact on the whole bat community, especially disturbance-sensitive taxa, of artificially increasing roosting resources for common species.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 23-03-2021
DOI: 10.1071/PC20083
Abstract: Thirty juvenile large forest bats (Vespadelus darlingtoni) were found dead in a plywood bat box. This is the first ex le in Australia of an overheating event in a bat box resulting in multiple mortalities. It confirms that extreme heat in poorly insulated bat boxes can result in acute hyperthermia.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 05-05-2022
DOI: 10.1071/WR21112
Abstract: Context Supplementary shelters for hollow-dependent fauna, such as timber or plywood nest boxes, have much drier and less thermally insulated cavity microclimates than do natural tree hollows. Hollow-dependent endotherms can experience hyperthermia and dehydration when occupying poorly insulated nest boxes during extreme heat. Aims We investigated the effectiveness of three different types of artificial hollows in buffering hollow-dependent birds and mammals against hyperthermia and dehydration during extremely hot summer weather (ambient air temperatures °C). Methods We recorded microclimate (temperature and relative humidity) data inside (1) chainsaw hollows carved into live trees, (2) log hollows, and (3) plywood nest boxes, during extremely hot weather events in Australia in December 2019–January 2020 (austral summer). We quantified temporal variation in microclimates inside the different supplementary shelters relative to ambient conditions and used statistical models to evaluate the effects of different factors (wall thickness and solar exposure) on internal microclimates. Key results Microclimates inside chainsaw hollows were significantly different from those in log hollows and nest boxes, remaining °C cooler and 50 percentage points more humid than ambient conditions when daytime air temperatures reached 45°C. In comparison, nest boxes closely tracked ambient conditions throughout the day. Log hollows had an intermediate microclimate profile, getting warmer and drier than chainsaw hollows during the day, but remaining cooler and more humid than nest boxes. Conclusions Our results showed that artificial hollows more effectively mimic the stable microclimates inside naturally occurring hollows if placed inside the tree (e.g. carved into the tree trunk of live trees), rather than attached to the outside. Implications The chainsaw hollow design we tested could provide microclimate refugia that reduce the risks of hollow-dependent wildlife experiencing either hyperthermia in regions with hot summer climates, or hypothermia in areas with cold winters. We encourage managers to consider incorporating chainsaw hollows into existing nest box programs to provide fauna with well insulated microclimate refugia.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.1071/ZO20028
Abstract: Although variation in meal size is known to have an impact on digestive energetics, there is limited information on how it influences metabolic rate and energy assimilation in insectivorous bats. We investigated the influence of meal size, representing 10% or 20% of an in idual’s weight, on the digestive energetics of Gould’s wattled bat, Chalinolobus gouldii (n = 61 bats). Using open-flow respirometry, we recorded a median resting metabolic rate of 2.0 mL g–1 h–1 (n = 51, range = 0.4–4.8) at an air temperature of 32°C. Median postprandial metabolic rate peaked at 6.5 (range = 3.4–11.6, n = 4) and 8.2 (range = 3.8–10.6, n = 7), representing 3.3- and 4.1-fold increases from resting metabolic rate for the two meal sizes. Using bomb calorimetry, we calculated the calorific value of the two meal sizes, and the calories lost during digestion. Following gut passage times of 120 min (range = 103–172, n = 15) and 124 min (range = 106–147, n = 12), C. gouldii assimilated 88.0% (range = 84.6–93.8, n = 5) and 93.3% (range = 84.0–99.4, n = 10) of the kilojoules available from the 10% and 20% meal sizes, respectively. When fed ad libitum, C. gouldii consumed a mean of 23.2% of their body weight during a single sitting (n = 18, range = 6.3–34.1%). Overall, digestive energetics were not significantly different between 10% or 20% meal sizes. The ability to ingest small and large meals, without compromising the rate or efficiency of calorie intake, indicates that free-ranging C. gouldii are likely limited by food available in the environment, rather than the ability to assimilate energy.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-07-2022
DOI: 10.1111/REC.13751
Abstract: Interest in carving cavities directly into trees to provide habitat for hollow‐dependent wildlife is rapidly growing among researchers, conservation practitioners, community groups, and land managers. Monitoring programs have shown that some of the designs and approaches used to create these structures encourage uptake by fauna. However, evidence for occupancy of “bat specific” fissure cavities is lacking even though they are already being enthusiastically installed and advocated for by the arboriculture industry. To address this, we conducted a field trial to test the efficacy of carved bat fissure cavities (carved fissures), which had entrances designed to replicate the types of natural cracks and crevices that develop in live tree stems which are commonly used by bats. We found that the entrances to all 174 of the carved fissures we installed across 83 live trees were closed by wound wood growth within 6 years of installation, while some were closed by kino (sap produced by Eucalypteae spp.) flow within as little as 3 months. During surveys conducted while entrances to the carved fissures were still open, we did not record any direct or indirect evidence of bats (or any other vertebrates) using them as roosts. These results highlight the urgent need for systematic research, encompassing a broader range of carved designs, tree species, and environmental contexts to assess whether these types of fissure cavities that are carved into live trees can actually provide habitat for bats in the medium‐ to long‐term.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2022
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 17-11-2022
DOI: 10.3389/FPUBH.2022.1044550
Abstract: Chinese health insurance system faces resource distribution challenges. A patient-centric approach allows decision-makers to be keenly aware of optimized medical resource allocation. This study aims to use the discrete choice model to determine the main factors affecting the healthcare preferences of the general Chinese population and their weights in the three scenarios (chronic non-communicable diseases, acute infectious diseases, and major diseases). This study firstly identified the key factors affecting people's healthcare preferences through literature review and qualitative interviews, and then designed the DCE questionnaire. An online questionnaire produced by Lighthouse Studio (version 9.9.1) software was distributed to voluntary respondents recruited from mainland China's entire population from January 2021 to June 2021. Participants were required to answer a total of 21 questions of three scenarios in the questionnaire. The multinomial logit model and latent class model were used to analyze the collected data. A total of 4,156 participants from mainland China were included in this study. The multinomial logit and latent class model analyses showed that medical insurance reimbursement is the most important attribute in all three disease scenarios. In the scenario of “non-communicable diseases,” the attributes that participants valued were, from the most to the least, medical insurance reimbursement (45.0%), hospital-level (21.6%), distance (14.4%), cost (9.7%), waiting time (8.3%), and care provider (1.0%). As for willingness to pay (WTP), participants were willing to pay 204.5 yuan, or 1,743.8 yuan, to change from private hospitals or community hospitals to tertiary hospitals, respectively. This study explores the healthcare preferences of Chinese residents from a new perspective, which can provide theoretical reference for the refinement of many disease medical reimbursement policies, such as developing different reimbursement ratios for various common diseases and realizing rational configuration of medical resources.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-2020
DOI: 10.1111/REC.13191
Abstract: Anthropogenic disturbance has resulted in a global reduction in the abundance of mature, hollow‐bearing trees. Nest boxes have long been used to provide supplementary shelter sites in revegetated and regenerating landscapes, but limitations in their effectiveness when offsetting the loss of mature trees has led to increased interest in novel designs of artificial hollows. For ex le, mechanically excavating cavities into the trunk or branches of trees. However, the effectiveness of artificial hollows in attracting wildlife to visit small‐ or medium‐sized, growing trees in human‐disturbed landscapes has received little attention. In this study, we installed chainsaw hollows that were designed for small, hollow‐dependent mammals and birds into the trunks of live medium‐sized trees. We conducted a before‐after control‐impact experiment using passive camera traps to monitor changes in visitations by wildlife to (1) mature hollow‐bearing trees, (2) developing trees without hollows (i.e. control trees), and (3) developing trees with newly installed chainsaw hollows. We found that, compared to large hollow‐bearing trees and control trees, the developing trees that were selected for chainsaw hollow construction showed the greatest visitation rates by hollow‐dependent wildlife (i.e. number of visits) during the “post‐impact” surveys. Our results suggest that chainsaw hollows designed to replicate the external physical characteristics of natural tree hollows could be effective in attracting target hollow‐dependent fauna to developing trees in regenerating and revegetated landscapes. Further studies are required to compare the effectiveness of natural hollows, chainsaw hollows, and nest boxes when deployed in a range of human‐disturbed landscapes.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 04-05-2017
Publisher: Brill
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1163/1568539X-00003315
Abstract: Tree-roosting bats are highly social mammals, which often form fission–fusion societies. However, extensive, fine scale data is required to detect and interpret these patterns. We investigated the social structure of Gould’s wattled bats, Chalinolobus gouldii , roosting in artificial roosts (bat-boxes) over a continuous 18-month period. Network analyses revealed non-random associations among in iduals in the roosting population consistent with a temperate zone fission–fusion social structure. Females generally showed stronger associations with roost-mates than did males. Two distinct sub-groups within the larger roosting population were detected. There was also evidence of smaller subunits within these larger roosting groups in spring and summer, with broader mixing at other times of the year. The extensive roost occupancy data collected across all seasons was critical in defining this fine scale, and otherwise cryptic, social structure, and in particular indicating that associations observed during peak activity periods may not be maintained across the year.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.1071/AM18026
Abstract: Bat boxes are often used to provide supplementary roosting habitats however, little is known of their impacts on community composition. Data collected from a 25-year box-monitoring and 31-year harp trapping case study provides preliminary evidence that the installation of boxes may have contributed to one species, Gould’s wattled bat (Chalinolobus gouldii), dominating the bat community of a periurban park in Melbourne. This highlights the need for systematic monitoring and empirical assessment of conservation-focused bat box programs.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.1093/IOB/OBAC030
Abstract: Reproductive phenology, size at birth, and postnatal growth are important life history traits that reflect parental investment. The ability to document detailed changes in these traits can be a valuable tool in the identification and management of at-risk wildlife populations. We examined reproductive traits in a common, widespread Australian microbat, Chalinolobus gouldii, at two sites over two years and derived growth curves and age estimation equations which will be useful in the study of how intrinsic and extrinsic factors alter parental investment strategies. We found that male and female offspring did not differ significantly in their size at birth or their postnatal growth rates. Bats born in 2018 were smaller at birth but grew at a faster rate than those born in 2017. When date of birth was compared across sites and years, we found bats born in 2018 had a later median birthdate (by 18 days) and births were more widespread than those born in 2017. Cooler and wetter weather during late gestation (Nov) in 2018 may have prolonged gestation and delayed births. With many bats facing threatening processes it is important to study reproductive plasticity in common and widespread “model” species, which may assist in the conservation and management of threatened microbats with similar reproductive traits.
No related grants have been discovered for Stephen R. Griffiths.