Rare catastrophic events drive population dynamics in a bat species with negligible senescence

Abstract Bats are remarkably long-lived with lifespans exceeding even those of same-sized birds. Despite a recent interest in the extraordinary longevity of bats very little is known about the shape of mortality over age, and how mortality rates are affected by the environment. Using a large set of...

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Autores principales:	Toni Fleischer, Jutta Gampe, Alexander Scheuerlein, Gerald Kerth
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/3ce81e1ac10248b1be237a3f1eb3c2f2
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:3ce81e1ac10248b1be237a3f1eb3c2f22021-12-02T11:52:18ZRare catastrophic events drive population dynamics in a bat species with negligible senescence10.1038/s41598-017-06392-92045-2322https://doaj.org/article/3ce81e1ac10248b1be237a3f1eb3c2f22017-08-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-06392-9https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Bats are remarkably long-lived with lifespans exceeding even those of same-sized birds. Despite a recent interest in the extraordinary longevity of bats very little is known about the shape of mortality over age, and how mortality rates are affected by the environment. Using a large set of individual-based data collected over 19 years in four free-ranging colonies of Bechstein’s bats (Myotis bechsteinii), we found no increase in the rate of mortality and no decrease in fertility demonstrating no senescence until high ages. Our finding of negligible senescence is highly unusual for long-lived mammals, grouping Bechstein’s bats with long-lived seabirds. The most important determinant of adult mortality was one particular winter season, which affected all ages and sizes equally. Apart from this winter, mortality risk did not differ between the winter and the summer season. Colony membership, a proxy for local environmental conditions, also had no effect. In addition to their implications for understanding the extra-ordinary longevity in bats, our results have strong implications for the conservation of bats, since rare catastrophic mortality events can only be detected in individual based long-term field studies. With many bat species globally threatened, such data are crucial for the successful implementation of conservation programs.Toni FleischerJutta GampeAlexander ScheuerleinGerald KerthNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Toni Fleischer Jutta Gampe Alexander Scheuerlein Gerald Kerth Rare catastrophic events drive population dynamics in a bat species with negligible senescence
description	Abstract Bats are remarkably long-lived with lifespans exceeding even those of same-sized birds. Despite a recent interest in the extraordinary longevity of bats very little is known about the shape of mortality over age, and how mortality rates are affected by the environment. Using a large set of individual-based data collected over 19 years in four free-ranging colonies of Bechstein’s bats (Myotis bechsteinii), we found no increase in the rate of mortality and no decrease in fertility demonstrating no senescence until high ages. Our finding of negligible senescence is highly unusual for long-lived mammals, grouping Bechstein’s bats with long-lived seabirds. The most important determinant of adult mortality was one particular winter season, which affected all ages and sizes equally. Apart from this winter, mortality risk did not differ between the winter and the summer season. Colony membership, a proxy for local environmental conditions, also had no effect. In addition to their implications for understanding the extra-ordinary longevity in bats, our results have strong implications for the conservation of bats, since rare catastrophic mortality events can only be detected in individual based long-term field studies. With many bat species globally threatened, such data are crucial for the successful implementation of conservation programs.
format	article
author	Toni Fleischer Jutta Gampe Alexander Scheuerlein Gerald Kerth
author_facet	Toni Fleischer Jutta Gampe Alexander Scheuerlein Gerald Kerth
author_sort	Toni Fleischer
title	Rare catastrophic events drive population dynamics in a bat species with negligible senescence
title_short	Rare catastrophic events drive population dynamics in a bat species with negligible senescence
title_full	Rare catastrophic events drive population dynamics in a bat species with negligible senescence
title_fullStr	Rare catastrophic events drive population dynamics in a bat species with negligible senescence
title_full_unstemmed	Rare catastrophic events drive population dynamics in a bat species with negligible senescence
title_sort	rare catastrophic events drive population dynamics in a bat species with negligible senescence
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/3ce81e1ac10248b1be237a3f1eb3c2f2
work_keys_str_mv	AT tonifleischer rarecatastrophiceventsdrivepopulationdynamicsinabatspecieswithnegligiblesenescence AT juttagampe rarecatastrophiceventsdrivepopulationdynamicsinabatspecieswithnegligiblesenescence AT alexanderscheuerlein rarecatastrophiceventsdrivepopulationdynamicsinabatspecieswithnegligiblesenescence AT geraldkerth rarecatastrophiceventsdrivepopulationdynamicsinabatspecieswithnegligiblesenescence
_version_	1718395097951764480

Rare catastrophic events drive population dynamics in a bat species with negligible senescence

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