Register      Login
Australian Mammalogy Australian Mammalogy Society
Journal of the Australian Mammal Society
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > AM > AM23055
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 46(3)

A long-distance flight of the Pilbara diamond-faced bat (Rhinonicteris aurantia) recorded via an automated VHF radio telemetry system

Christopher George Knuckey A * , Thomas Rasmussen A , Tabitha Rudin A and Scott Reiffer B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Biologic Environmental Survey, 24-26 Wickham Street, Perth, WA 6004, Australia.

B Rio Tinto, Central Park, 152-158 St Georges Terrace, Perth, WA 6000, Australia.

* Correspondence to: chris@biologicenv.com.au

Handling Editor: Ross Goldingay

Australian Mammalogy 46, AM23055 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM23055
Submitted: 21 December 2023  Accepted: 21 May 2024  Published: 27 June 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Australian Mammal Society.

Abstract

There is little information on movement and foraging patterns of the Pilbara diamond-faced bat (Rhinonicteris aurantia), which is formally recognised as a major research priority for the species. An automated VHF radio telemetry system was used to track bat movement in the central Hamersley Ranges over 21 days during the dry season. Individuals were confirmed travelling an average of 4.88 km (±6.96) from their roost each night and a cumulative average distance of 7.02 km (±8.70). Notably, a female was recorded traveling ~40 km between two isolated ranges on two consecutive nights, demonstrating the long-range abilities of the species.

Keywords: arid zone ecology, foraging range, microbat, movements, Pilbara leaf-nosed bat, radio tracking, threatened species, VHF tracking, vulnerable bat.

References

Armstrong, K. N. (2000). Roost microclimates of the bat Rhinonicteris aurantius in a limestone cave in Geike Gorge, Western Australia. Australian Mammalogy 22, 69-70.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Armstrong, K. N. (2001). The distribution and roost habitat of the orange leaf-nosed bat, Rhinonicteris aurantius, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Wildlife Research 28, 95-104.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Armstrong, K. (2023). Pilbara diamond-faced bat Rhinonicteris aurantia (Pilbara form). In ‘Strahan’s Mammals of Australia’, 4th edn. (Eds A. Baker, I. Gynther.) pp. 574–575. (New Holland Publishers: Sydney, NSW.)

Berrigan, L. (2019). ‘Filtering out false positives.’ (Motus Support.)

Bullen, R. D. (2013). Pilbara leaf-nosed bat (Rhinonicteris aurantia); summary of current data on distribution, energetics, threats. In ‘Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat workshop’. (Department of Environment and Conservation: Kensington, WA.)

Bullen, R. D., and McKenzie, N. L. (2004). Bat flight-muscle mass: implications for foraging strategy. Australian Journal of Zoology 52(6), 605-622.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Bullen, R. D., and Reiffer, S. (2019). A record of movement of a Pilbara leaf-nosed bat between distant diurnal roosts using PIT tags. Australian Mammalogy 42(4), 119-121.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Cramer, V. A., Armstrong, K. N., Bullen, R. D., Ellis, R., Gibson, L. A., McKenzie, N. L., O’Connell, M., Spate, A., and van Leeuwen, S. (2016). Research priorities for the Pilbara leaf-nosed bat (Rhinonicteris aurantia Pilbara form). Australian Mammalogy 38(2), 149-157.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Crewe, T. L., Crysler, Z., and Taylor, P. D. (2018). ‘Motus R Book.’ (Motus Wildlife Tracking System: Port Rowan, Canada.)

Griffin, A. S., Brown, C. W., Woodworth, B. K., Ballard, G. A., Blanch, S., Campbell, H. A., Crewe, T. L., Hansbro, P. M., Herbert, C. A., Hosking, T., Hoye, B. J., Law, B., Leigh, K., Machovsky-Capuska, G. E., Rasmussen, T., McDonald, P. G., Roderick, M., Slade, C., Mackenzie, S. A., and Taylor, P. D. (2020). A large-scale automated radio telemetry network for monitoring movements of terrestrial wildlife in Australia. Australian Zoologist 40(3), 379-391.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

McKenzie, N. L., and Bullen, R. D. (2009). The echolocation calls, habitat relationships, foraging niches and communities of Pilbara microbats. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 78, 123-155.
| Google Scholar |

R Core Team (2018) ‘R: A language and environment for statistical computing.’ (R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna, Austria.)

Taylor, P. D., Crewe, T. L., Mackenzie, S. A., Lepage, D., Aubry, Y., Crysler, Z., Finney, G., Francis, C. M., Guglielmo, C. G., Hamilton, D. J., Holberton, R. L., Loring, P. H., Mitchell, G. W., Norris, D. R., Paquet, J., Ronconi, R. A., Smetzer, J. R., Smith, P. A., Welch, L. J., and Woodworth, B. K. (2017). The motus wildlife tracking system: a collaborative research network to enhance the understanding of wildlife movement. Avian Conservation and Ecology 12(1), 31.
| Google Scholar |

TSSC, Threatened Species Scientific Committee (2016) ‘Conservation advice: Rhinonicteris aurantia (Pilbara form), Pilbara leaf-nosed bat.’ (Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra, ACT.)