Bats of British Columbia (Royal BC Museum Handbook)

Description

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. Front Cover Title Page Half Title Copyright Contents Preface Introduction Origins and Classification Taxonomy and Nomenclature What Is a Species? Checklist of BC Bats Bats in BC General Biology Morphology The Nubby-Ear Mystery Using Sound to Locate Prey and Navigate in the Dark Food and Water Reproduction, Young and Longevity Torpor and Roost Selection Summer Roosting Sites Hibernation and Winter Ecology Winter Roosting Sites (Hibernacula) Disease and Bats Conservation and Threats Two Provincial Designations—Not Enough to Protect Bat Habitat Collisions with Cars Studying Bats Identifying BC’s Bats In-Hand Differentiation Acoustics—Echolocation and Species Identification Species Accounts Pallid Bat Townsend’s Big-Eared Bat Big Brown Bat Spotted Bat Eastern Red Bat Hoary Bat Silver-Haired Bat Californian Myotis Long-Eared Myotis Little Brown Myotis Dark-Nosed Small-Footed Myotis Northern Myotis Fringed Myotis Long-Legged Myotis Yuma Myotis Accidental Species Brazilian Free-Tailed Bat Big Free-Tailed Bat Canyon Bat Acknowledgements Appendix 1: Other Species Referred to in Text Appendix 2: Key to Skulls and Dental Traits of BC Bats Appendix 3: Reference Table for Species Morphology Appendix 4: Acoustic Species Summary Table Appendix 5: Fun Bat Facts Glossary References Index About the Authors