Torpor use in the wild by one of the world's largest bats

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dc.contributor.authorTurbill, C.
dc.contributor.authorWalker, M.
dc.contributor.authorBoardman, W.
dc.contributor.authorMartin, J.M.
dc.contributor.authorMcKeown, A.
dc.contributor.authorMeade, J.
dc.contributor.authorWelbergen, J.A.
dc.date.issued2024
dc.description.abstractTorpor is widespread among bats presumably because most species are small, and torpor greatly reduces their high mass-specific resting energy expenditure, especially in the cold. Torpor has not been recorded in any bat species larger than 50 g, yet in theory could be beneficial even in the world's largest bats (flying-foxes; Pteropus spp.) that are exposed to adverse environmental conditions causing energy bottlenecks. We used temperature telemetry to measure body temperature in wild-living adult male grey-headed flying-foxes (P. poliocephalus; 799 g) during winter in southern Australia. We found that all individuals used torpor while day-roosting, with minimum body temperature reaching 27°C. Torpor was recorded following a period of cool, wet and windy weather, and on a day with the coldest maximum air temperature, suggesting it is an adaptation to reduce energy expenditure during periods of increased thermoregulatory costs and depleted body energy stores. A capacity for torpor among flying-foxes has implications for understanding their distribution, behavioural ecology and life history. Furthermore, our discovery increases the body mass of bats known to use torpor by more than tenfold and extends the documented use of this energy-saving strategy under wild conditions to all bat superfamilies, with implications for the evolutionary maintenance of torpor among bats and other mammals.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityChristopher Turbill, Melissa Walker, Wayne Boardman, John M. Martin, Adam McKeown, Jessica Meade, and Justin A. Welbergen
dc.identifier.citationProceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences, 2024; 291(2026):20241137-1-20241137-8
dc.identifier.doi10.1098/rspb.2024.1137
dc.identifier.issn0962-8452
dc.identifier.issn0962-8452
dc.identifier.orcidBoardman, W. [0000-0002-1746-0682]
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2440/143033
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherThe Royal Society
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP170104272
dc.rights© 2024 The Authors Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.
dc.source.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.1137
dc.subjectbat; body temperature; energy; mammal; thermoregulation; torpor
dc.subject.meshAnimals
dc.subject.meshChiroptera
dc.subject.meshTelemetry
dc.subject.meshBody Temperature
dc.subject.meshSeasons
dc.subject.meshEnergy Metabolism
dc.subject.meshSouth Australia
dc.subject.meshMale
dc.subject.meshTorpor
dc.titleTorpor use in the wild by one of the world's largest bats
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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