Includes bibliographical references (pages 228-235) and index
Contents:
Introducing bats. Wings and size ; Blind as a bat ; Catching and identifying bats ; Marking and tagging ; Brock's initiation ; Jens' start ; Box: What on Earth? -- Bat wings and flight. Wing anatomy ; White wings ; How fast do bats fly? ; Drinking ; Flying antics ; Box: Colour in bats -- Seeing with sound. The perils of generalization ; Basic echolocation ; Why echolocate? ; Echolocation and the faces of bats ; Box: Beam control and bite power -- Echolocation: a window onto bat behaviour. Biologists as eavesdroppers on bats ; Insect prey ; Bat communication ; Air traffic control ; Box: Echolocation and foraging -- What bats eat, part 1. Learning how much a bat consumes ; Some bats eat birds ; Versatility ; What insects do bats eat? ; Specialized hunting ; Trawling ; Box: Diets of bats -- What bats eat, part 2. Fruit-eating species ; Bats and flowers ; Box: The curious case of banana -- Vampire bats -- Where bats occur and where they roost. Temperature ; Bat roosts ; Box: Patterning in bats ; Lingering challenges ; Bats up north ; Box: Bat boxes -- Social lives of bats. Reproduction ; What is a colony of bats? ; Food availability and social patterns ; Box: Observational learning -- How bats use space. Box: Bats get around -- Threats to bats. Predators ; Mishaps ; Parasites ; Wind turbines ; Light pollution ; A world without bats? Global change ; Box: Keeping bats away -- Bats and people. Attitudes towards bats ; Bats and disease ; Bats as symbols -- Bats as beings. A last word to the bats.
Summary:
"Bats have long been the focus of fascination, and sometimes fear: they move faultlessly through the darkness and spend the day hanging upside down in gloomy caverns and cracks -- most at home where humans are least comfortable. Bats also represent a hugely important, numerous and varied group, accounting for 20% of all mammal species worldwide. Covering their biodiversity, ecology and natural history, A Miscellany of Bats offers a hoard of insights into the lives of these creatures. For over a quarter of a century Brock Fenton and the late Jens Rydell collaborated on projects involving bats. Here they bring together a collection of stories and anecdotes about bat research, brought to life by stunning photographs of these animals in action. Key topics include flight and echolocation, diet and roosting habits, and the complex social lives of bats. Jens and Brock also address issues of conservation and the interactions between bats and people, ranging from matters of disease to bats' role as symbols, and our fixation with vampire bats. They explore how echolocation and flight shape batkind, from their appearance to where they go and why. Overall, this book is an entertaining and personal vision of bats' central place in the universe."-- Provided by publisher
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.