White-striped freetail bat in Tasmania – resident, vagrant or climate change migrant?
Lisa Cawthen
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A University of Tasmania, School of Zoology, Private Bag 5, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia.
B Cooperative Research Centre for Forestry, Private Bag 12, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia. Email: lcawthen@utas.edu.au
Australian Mammalogy 35(2) 251-254 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM12052
Submitted: 20 December 2012 Accepted: 18 April 2013 Published: 27 May 2013
Abstract
The white-striped freetail bat (Austronomus australis) is distributed throughout mainland Australia, but historically has not been known from the island of Tasmania, off south-eastern mainland Australia. Between 2009 and 2012, echolocation calls identified as those of A. australis were recorded in Tasmania during bat call surveys. There are three hypotheses that could explain the discovery of this species in Tasmania: that A. australis is a previously undetected resident; it is a vagrant; or it is undergoing a southwards range expansion or shift. Based on the limited evidence available, including this species’ long-range flight capabilities (including over open water out to sea), I suggest that this species is a periodic vagrant to Tasmania and that monitoring is necessary to identify whether this species is undergoing a southwards range extension into Tasmania.
Additional keywords: climate change, Molossidae, Tadarida australis.
References
Adams, M. D., Law, B. S., and Gibson, M. S. (2010). Reliable automation of bat call identification for eastern New South Wales, Australia, using classification trees and Anascheme software. Acta Chiropterologica 12, 231–245.| Reliable automation of bat call identification for eastern New South Wales, Australia, using classification trees and Anascheme software.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Allison, F. R. (1989). Molossidae. In ‘Fauna of Australia. 1B Mammalia’. (Eds D. W. Walton and B. J. Richardson.) pp. 892–909. (Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra.)
Ammerman, L. K., Lee, D. N., and Tipps, T. M. (2012). First molecular phylogenetic insights into the evolution of free-tailed bats in the subfamily Molossinae (Molossidae, Chiroptera). Journal of Mammalogy 93, 12–28.
| First molecular phylogenetic insights into the evolution of free-tailed bats in the subfamily Molossinae (Molossidae, Chiroptera).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Arlettaz, R., Ruchet, C., Aeschimann, J., Brun, E., Genoud, M., and Vogel, P. (2000). Physiological traits affecting the distribution and wintering strategy of the bat Tadarida teniotis. Ecology 81, 1004–1014.
Bullen, B., and Ford, S. (2012). More evidence of the effect of climate change on Western Australian bats. The Australasian Bat Society Newsletter 39, 28.
Bullen, R. D., and McKenzie, N. L. (2005). Seasonal range variation of Tadarida australis (Chiroptera: Molossidae) in Western Australia: the impact of enthalpy. Australian Journal of Zoology 53, 145–156.
| Seasonal range variation of Tadarida australis (Chiroptera: Molossidae) in Western Australia: the impact of enthalpy.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Churchill, S. (2009). ‘Australian Bats.’ 2nd edn. (Allen & Unwin)
ClimateWatch (2012). Bat listening results: October–December 2010. Earthwatch Institute.
Cory Toussaint, D., McKechnie, A. E., and van der Merwe, M. (2010). Heterothermy in free-ranging male Egyptian free-tailed bats (Tadarida aegyptiaca) in a subtropical climate. Mammalian Biology 75, 466–470.
| Heterothermy in free-ranging male Egyptian free-tailed bats (Tadarida aegyptiaca) in a subtropical climate.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Cox, S. (2010). Grey-headed flying-foxes sighted in Adelaide’s eastern suburbs. Department of Environment and Heritage, Government of South Australia.
Driessen, M. (2010). Recent sightings of flying foxes in Tasmania. The Tasmanian Naturalist 132, 35–39.
Driessen, M., Brereton, R., and Pauza, P. (2011). Status and conservation of Tasmanian bats. In ‘The Biology and Conservation of Australasian Bats’. (Eds B. Law, P. Eby, D. Lunney and L. Lumsden.) pp. 324–336. (Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales: Sydney.)
Fueser, M. (1997). Echolocation behaviour of Tasmanian bats (Echoortung asmanischer Fledermause). Eberhard-Karls Universisat Tubingen, Germany.
Hall, L. S., and Woodside, D. P. (1989). Vespertilionidae. In ‘Fauna of Australia. 1B Mammalia’. (Eds D. W. Walton and B. J. Richardson.) pp. 903–943. (Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra.)
Hourigan, C. L., Catterall, C. P., Jones, D., and Rhodes, M. (2008). A comparison of the effectiveness of bat detectors and harp traps for surveying bats in an urban landscape. Wildlife Research 35, 768–774.
| A comparison of the effectiveness of bat detectors and harp traps for surveying bats in an urban landscape.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hughes, A. C., Satasook, C., Bates, P. J. J., Bumrungsri, S., and Jones, G. (2012). The projected effects of climatic and vegetation changes on the distribution and diversity of Southeast Asian bats. Global Change Biology 18, 1854–1865.
| The projected effects of climatic and vegetation changes on the distribution and diversity of Southeast Asian bats.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hull, C. L., and Cawthen, L. (2012). Bat fatalities at two wind farms in Tasmania, Australia: bat characteristics, and spatial and temporal patterns. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 40, 5–15.
Humphries, M. M., Thomas, D. W., and Speakman, J. R. (2002). Climate-mediated energetic constraints on the distribution of hibernating mammals. Nature 418, 313–316.
| Climate-mediated energetic constraints on the distribution of hibernating mammals.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD38XltlGms70%3D&md5=9d60defd699427890097e42602c28976CAS | 12124621PubMed |
Hutson, A.M., Mickelburgh, S.P., and Racey, P.A. (2001). ‘Microchiropteran Bats: Global Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan.’
Lundy, M., Montgomery, I., and Russ, J. (2010). Climate change–linked range expansion of Nathusius’ pipistrelle bat, Pipistrellus nathusii (Keyserling & Blasius, 1839). Journal of Biogeography 37, 2232–2242.
| Climate change–linked range expansion of Nathusius’ pipistrelle bat, Pipistrellus nathusii (Keyserling & Blasius, 1839).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
O’Donnel, C. F. J. (2009). The ecology and conservation of New Zealand bats. In ‘Island Bats: Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation’. (Eds T. H. Fleming and P. A. Racey.) pp. 460–495. (The University of Chicago Press: Chicago.)
Rhodes, M. (2006). The ecology and conservation of the white-striped freetail bat (Tadarida australis) in urban environments. PhD Thesis. Griffith University, Brisbane.
Richards, G. C., Hall, L. S., and Parish, S. (2012). Trials and tribulations of being a bat. In ‘A Natural History of Australian Bats - Working the Night Shift’. (Eds G. C. Richards, L. S. Hall and S. Parish.) pp. 117–118. (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.)
Roberts, B. J., Catterall, C. P., Eby, P., and Kanowski, J. (2012). Latitudinal range shifts in Australian flying-foxes: a re-evaluation. Austral Ecology 37, 12–22.
| Latitudinal range shifts in Australian flying-foxes: a re-evaluation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
SOSSA 1999 Wollongong Pelagic Trip Report, NSW, Australia, 28th March 1999. In ‘Vol. 2012.’ (Southern Oceans Seabird Study Association Inc.). Available at http://www.sossa-international.org/forum/content.php?326-28th-March-1999-WOLLONGONG-PELAGIC-TRIP-REPORT-NSW-AUSTRALIA [verified 22 April 2013]
