This section gives an introduction to the biology of bats. The behaviour of individual species is discussed in the species accounts section. More detailed information, beyond this overview, can be obtained in the specialised and comprehensive literature, including Adams and Pedersen (2000, 2013), Kunz (1982, 1988), Kunz and Racey (1998) and Kunz and Fenton (2003). The illustrated syntheses of Hill and Smith (1984), Richarz and Limbrunner (1993), Altringham (1996), Neuweiler (2000) and Fenton and Simmons (2015) are readable, and they compile valuable information about the natural history of the Chiroptera.

Since 2010, when the first edition of our book appeared, the comprehensive six-volume Mammals of Africa has been published. The entire fourth volume is dedicated to bats and shrews (Happold and Happold 2013). Compiled by 25 authors, this is the most comprehensive synthesis of information on African bat ecology and general biology. The even more sumptuous Handbook of the Mammals of the World (Wilson and Reeder 2009–2019) comes in nine lavishly illustrated volumes that began with the carnivores in 2009. The ninth volume is entirely devoted to bats, and was published in late 2019.

OVERVIEW

As the only mammals capable of sustained flight, bats have evolved to exploit the nocturnal aerosphere. Their adaptive radiation into a diversity of ecological and behavioural niches includes adaptations to shelter in an impressive variety of daytime roosts. The unique and rich diversity of bats is also constrained tightly by the physiological limits placed on body size by flight. These factors are represented in the behaviour, reproduction and ecology of over 1,400 living species of the order Chiroptera. Dependence on sonar for nocturnal navigation and locating prey is an equally important determinant of the natural history of these fascinating mammals (Hill and Smith 1984, Fenton and Simmons 2015). The emerging synthesis in the concepts and methods of aeroecology (Kunz et al. 2008) recognises the keystone roles of bats as the apex frugivores, pollinators and predators in the aerosphere (Chilson et al. 2017, Frick et al. 2013).

MIGRATION

In temperate (and some subtropical) regions, cold winters force bats to migrate or hibernate. A few species migrate over longer distances (> 500 km), while many make short, local (< 50 km) or medium distance (< 500 km) movements between winter and summer roosts (Fleming and Eby 2003).