He Nyctalus noctula is a large bat with a short, broad snout.wide and round ears and a kidney-shaped tragus. The wings are long and narrow and the wing membranes are inserted at the ankles. Wings, ears and snout have a striking dark brown color.
It’s one native species of the Iberian Peninsula, better known as Noctulus mediobut which is called differently depending on the area. In Catalan it is known as Rat penat nòctul, in Basque it is Gau-saguzar arrowt and in Galician Morcego ruivo.
The travels of the Noctule bat
And common night bats can travel more than 380 kilometers in one night during its annual spring migration across central Europe and also knows how to take advantage of the warm winds of storm fronts to ‘surf’ on them, allowing it to fly further and save energy.
Loose Migration patterns of these small mammals are poorly understood and their decisions appear to be linked to the local climate, especially favorable winds, which aid both food search and migration, according to a study published this week in Science.
A team of researchers, led by the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior (Germany), marked a group of Nyctalus noctule with small smart tags of 1.2 grams, which, among other things, transmitted the following: data about location, activity and ambient temperature.
The group consisted of 71 women, who migrate more than men, to observe the movement patterns that They take them to spend their summers in Northern Europe and winters in various places in the south, where they hibernate until spring.
The animals They covered 1,116 kilometers in 46 daysincluding overnight flights that reached 383 kilometers, which are distances far greater than previously recorded and a record for that species.
Variability of routes
Las trajectories on their northeastward migration are much more variable than was assumed and there is no migration corridor, but they move through the landscape, explains Dina Dechmann from Max Planck and lead author of the study.
Loose bats alternated their migratory flights with frequent stopsprobably because they had to feed constantly because, unlike migratory birds, they do not gain weight to prepare for migration. Moreover, they discovered a surprising pattern. “On certain nights we would see an explosion of production that resembled bat fireworks,” said Edwead Hurme, another signatory.
That one Migration waves can be explained by meteorological changes. The bats took off on nights when atmospheric pressure dropped and temperatures rose, taking advantage of storm fronts and warm tailwinds. The tags the animals wore showed that they used less energy while flying on warm, windy nights. Until now it was known that birds depend on the wind during migration; bats too.
Wind turbines pose a real danger
These small migratory mammals face significant challenges, such as high energy demands and especially anthropogenic threats The turbines used to generate wind energy are the cause of frequent collisionsthe decline of insect populations and climate change.
The implications of these new data on their migrations have since gone beyond the biological understanding of this little-studied behavior Knowing where and when they will migrate can help prevent deaths of these animals, the researchers conclude.