Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats

First published in 1988, Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats is widely acknowledged as the primary reference for both amateur and professional bat researchers.Only one group of mammals includes more species than bats. Bats live on every continent except Antarctica, range from deserts to tropical forests to mountains, and their activities have a profound effect on the ecosystems in which they live. Despite their ubiquity and importance, bats are challenging to study. This volume provides researchers, conservationists, and consultants with the ecological background and specific information needed to study bats in the wild and in captivity. Chapters not only describe the most commonly used field and laboratory techniques and also provide information on many new methods and techniques, but they also provide information on many new methods and techniques needed to advance the study of bats. This book describes how these methods are applied to the study of the ecology and behavior of bats both in the field and in the laboratory and provides advice on how to interpret the results of research. The book includes forty-three chapters, fourteen of which are new to this second edition, with information on molecular ecology and evolution, bioacoustics, chemical communication, flight dynamics, population models, and methods for assessing postnatal growth and development.Fully illustrated and featuring contributions from the world's leading experts in bat biology, this reference contains everything bat researchers and natural resource managers need to know for the study and conservation of this wide-ranging, ecologically vital, and diverse taxon.