Using weather radar to monitor the number, timing and directions of flying-foxes emerging from their roosts

Abstract Knowledge of species’ population trends is crucial when planning for conservation and management; however, this information can be difficult to obtain for extremely mobile species such as flying-foxes (Pteropus spp.; Chiroptera, Pteropodidae). In mainland Australia, flying-foxes are of part...

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Autores principales:	Jessica Meade, Rodney van der Ree, Phillip M. Stepanian, David A. Westcott, Justin A. Welbergen
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2019
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/d61906c6c6c7413189e38be74d9046bd
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:d61906c6c6c7413189e38be74d9046bd2021-12-02T15:09:54ZUsing weather radar to monitor the number, timing and directions of flying-foxes emerging from their roosts10.1038/s41598-019-46549-22045-2322https://doaj.org/article/d61906c6c6c7413189e38be74d9046bd2019-07-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-46549-2https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Knowledge of species’ population trends is crucial when planning for conservation and management; however, this information can be difficult to obtain for extremely mobile species such as flying-foxes (Pteropus spp.; Chiroptera, Pteropodidae). In mainland Australia, flying-foxes are of particular management concern due their involvement in human-wildlife conflict, and their role as vectors of zoonotic diseases; and two species, the grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) and the spectacled flying-fox (P. conspicillatus), are currently threatened with extinction. Here we demonstrate that archival weather radar data over a period of ten years can be used to monitor a large colony of grey-headed flying-foxes near Melbourne. We show that radar estimates of colony size closely match those derived from traditional counting methods. Moreover, we show that radar data can be used to determine the timing and departure direction of flying-foxes emerging from the roost. Finally, we show that radar observations of flying-foxes can be used to identify signals of important ecological events, such as mass flowering and extreme heat events, and can inform human activities, e.g. the safe operation of airports and windfarms. As such, radar represents an extremely promising tool for the conservation and management of vulnerable flying-fox populations and for managing human interactions with these ecologically-important mammals.Jessica MeadeRodney van der ReePhillip M. StepanianDavid A. WestcottJustin A. WelbergenNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 9, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2019)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Jessica Meade Rodney van der Ree Phillip M. Stepanian David A. Westcott Justin A. Welbergen Using weather radar to monitor the number, timing and directions of flying-foxes emerging from their roosts
description	Abstract Knowledge of species’ population trends is crucial when planning for conservation and management; however, this information can be difficult to obtain for extremely mobile species such as flying-foxes (Pteropus spp.; Chiroptera, Pteropodidae). In mainland Australia, flying-foxes are of particular management concern due their involvement in human-wildlife conflict, and their role as vectors of zoonotic diseases; and two species, the grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) and the spectacled flying-fox (P. conspicillatus), are currently threatened with extinction. Here we demonstrate that archival weather radar data over a period of ten years can be used to monitor a large colony of grey-headed flying-foxes near Melbourne. We show that radar estimates of colony size closely match those derived from traditional counting methods. Moreover, we show that radar data can be used to determine the timing and departure direction of flying-foxes emerging from the roost. Finally, we show that radar observations of flying-foxes can be used to identify signals of important ecological events, such as mass flowering and extreme heat events, and can inform human activities, e.g. the safe operation of airports and windfarms. As such, radar represents an extremely promising tool for the conservation and management of vulnerable flying-fox populations and for managing human interactions with these ecologically-important mammals.
format	article
author	Jessica Meade Rodney van der Ree Phillip M. Stepanian David A. Westcott Justin A. Welbergen
author_facet	Jessica Meade Rodney van der Ree Phillip M. Stepanian David A. Westcott Justin A. Welbergen
author_sort	Jessica Meade
title	Using weather radar to monitor the number, timing and directions of flying-foxes emerging from their roosts
title_short	Using weather radar to monitor the number, timing and directions of flying-foxes emerging from their roosts
title_full	Using weather radar to monitor the number, timing and directions of flying-foxes emerging from their roosts
title_fullStr	Using weather radar to monitor the number, timing and directions of flying-foxes emerging from their roosts
title_full_unstemmed	Using weather radar to monitor the number, timing and directions of flying-foxes emerging from their roosts
title_sort	using weather radar to monitor the number, timing and directions of flying-foxes emerging from their roosts
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2019
url	https://doaj.org/article/d61906c6c6c7413189e38be74d9046bd
work_keys_str_mv	AT jessicameade usingweatherradartomonitorthenumbertiminganddirectionsofflyingfoxesemergingfromtheirroosts AT rodneyvanderree usingweatherradartomonitorthenumbertiminganddirectionsofflyingfoxesemergingfromtheirroosts AT phillipmstepanian usingweatherradartomonitorthenumbertiminganddirectionsofflyingfoxesemergingfromtheirroosts AT davidawestcott usingweatherradartomonitorthenumbertiminganddirectionsofflyingfoxesemergingfromtheirroosts AT justinawelbergen usingweatherradartomonitorthenumbertiminganddirectionsofflyingfoxesemergingfromtheirroosts
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Using weather radar to monitor the number, timing and directions of flying-foxes emerging from their roosts

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