Diurnal activity in the Samoan flying fox, Pteropus samoensis
Thomson SC, Brooke AP, Speakman JR. 1998. Diurnal activity in the Samoan flying fox, Pteropus samoensis. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 353:1595-1606
Researchers monitored activities of the Samoan flying fox, Pteropus samoensis, and climate simultaneously at two different sites and four times of year in American Samoa. The sites studied were Amalau, which is in the National Park of American Samoa and Nu`uuli. Flight activity varied significantly with time of day, between days, study sites and seasons. Out of the six data sets collected, the four with the highest mean levels of insolation showed a significant decrease in bat numbers with increasing temperature and sunlight. When each individual activity count was directly compared to the predictions of Speakman and co-workers' biophysical model, 85-95% of bat flight activity was found to be in conditions the model suggested would not pose a risk of hyperthermia. This supports the suggestion that in extreme conditions the animals would not fly as they risked overheating. The 5-15% of counts in which animals were seen to fly in conditions the model predicted they should not may be explained by erroneous assumptions underlying the model predictions.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Thomson, S; Brooke, A; Speakman, J
- Units
- NPSA , PACN
- Keywords
- American Samoa, diurnality, flight, flying fox, hyperthermia, Mammals, Presence (Biodiversity), Pteropus Samoensis