Bats of British Columbia (Royal BC Museum Handbook)

"A full-colour, fully updated field guide to identifying British Columbia's bats, with new material on acoustic identification. With more than 1,400 species worldwide, bats live on every continent except Antarctica and in virtually every type of habitat, from desert to forest. Around the globe, bats fill important ecological roles by controlling insect populations, pollinating plants, dispersing seeds and even providing humans with medicines--the saliva of the famous vampire bat can be used to treat strokes! Yet despite their importance to the planet's ecosystems, there remains more misinformation than fact and more fear than respect for these diminutive guardians of the night. Since the first edition of Bats of British Columbia was published in 1993, an explosion in field studies of the province's bat fauna, applying new tools such as genetic techniques and acoustic bat detectors, has added a wealth of new knowledge. This fully updated second edition includes new colour photographs throughout, with new material on acoustic identification. With in-depth information on biology, conservation, ecology and identification of the 18 species found in the province, the new Bats of British Columbia will help create an appreciation of this fascinating group of mammals."-- Provided by publisher A full-colour, fully updated field guide to identifying British Columbia's bats, with new material on acoustic identification. Bats live on every continent except Antarctica and in virtually every type of habitat, from desert to forest. With more than 1,400 species worldwide, bats fill important ecological roles around the globe by controlling insect populations, pollinating plants, dispersing seeds and even providing humans with medicines--the saliva of the famous vampire bat can be used to treat strokes! Yet despite their importance to the planet’s ecosystems, there remains more misinformation than fact and more fear than respect for these diminutive guardians of the night. Since 1993, when the first edition of Bats of British Columbia was published, an explosion in field studies of the province’s bat fauna has produced a wealth of new knowledge, applying modern tools such as genetic techniques and acoustic bat detectors. This fully updated second edition includes new colour photographs throughout, with new material on acoustic identification. With in-depth information on biology, conservation, ecology and identification of the 18 bat species found in the province, the new Bats of British Columbia will help create an appreciation of this fascinating group of mammals. Front Cover 1 Title Page 2 Half Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Preface 8 Introduction 10 Origins and Classification 11 Taxonomy and Nomenclature 13 What Is a Species? 15 Checklist of BC Bats 17 Bats in BC 18 General Biology 22 Morphology 22 The Nubby-Ear Mystery 27 Using Sound to Locate Prey and Navigate in the Dark 31 Food and Water 33 Reproduction, Young and Longevity 37 Torpor and Roost Selection 41 Summer Roosting Sites 45 Hibernation and Winter Ecology 54 Winter Roosting Sites (Hibernacula) 60 Disease and Bats 61 Conservation and Threats 66 Two Provincial Designations—Not Enough to Protect Bat Habitat 74 Collisions with Cars 78 Studying Bats 82 Identifying BC’s Bats 100 In-Hand Differentiation 101 Acoustics—Echolocation and Species Identification 112 Species Accounts 138 Pallid Bat 144 Townsend’s Big-Eared Bat 156 Big Brown Bat 168 Spotted Bat 178 Eastern Red Bat 188 Hoary Bat 196 Silver-Haired Bat 206 Californian Myotis 216 Long-Eared Myotis 226 Little Brown Myotis 236 Dark-Nosed Small-Footed Myotis 248 Northern Myotis 256 Fringed Myotis 264 Long-Legged Myotis 272 Yuma Myotis 280 Accidental Species 292 Brazilian Free-Tailed Bat 294 Big Free-Tailed Bat 300 Canyon Bat 304 Acknowledgements 308 Appendix 1: Other Species Referred to in Text 310 Appendix 2: Key to Skulls and Dental Traits of BC Bats 311 Appendix 3: Reference Table for Species Morphology 317 Appendix 4: Acoustic Species Summary Table 320 Appendix 5: Fun Bat Facts 327 Glossary 330 References 340 Index 364 About the Authors 382