Microclimate preferences of the grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) in the Sydney region
Stephanie Snoyman A and Culum Brown A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Biological Sciences, Division of Environmental and Life Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: cbrown@bio.mq.edu.au
Australian Journal of Zoology 58(6) 376-383 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO10062
Submitted: 14 September 2010 Accepted: 28 January 2011 Published: 11 April 2011
Abstract
The population size of the grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) has decreased dramatically as a result of a variety of threatening processes. This species spends a great proportion of time in roosting large social aggregations in urban areas, causing conflict between wildlife and humans. Little is known about why these bats choose to roost in some locations in preference to others. Roost selection by cave-dwelling bats can be greatly influenced by microclimatic variables; however, far less is known about microclimate selection in tree-roosting species despite the direct management implications. This study aimed to determine the microclimate characteristics of P. poliocephalus camps. Temperature and humidity data were collected via data-loggers located both in six camps and the bushland immediately adjacent to the camps in the greater Sydney region. We found significant differences between the microclimate within the camps and the surrounding bushland. In general, areas within the camps had a greater variance in temperature and humidity than the alternative locations. We hypothesise that camps may be specifically located in areas with high microclimate variance to accommodate a range of individual preferences that vary depending on demography.
Additional keywords: bat, behaviour, conservation, roost selection, urban ecology.
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