PhD ThesisNatterer’s bats (Myotis nattereri) are typical of many Bat species in that they
participate in a variety of distinct seasonal communities and behaviours. In summer
adult females are thought to be largely philopatric to their natal community/landscape
where they rear their young and form largely matrilineal communities. Bat foraging
behaviour and social participation is largely unquantified, as is our understanding of
how age/maturity and sex may mediate their social behaviour. Crucially, the rate of
female dispersal between communities is completely unquantified. A much better
understanding of bat spatial and social dynamics is necessary to inform statutory
functions, effective conservation and epidemiological modelling. We have mapped and
quantified the spatial and social dynamics of three communities of Natterer’s bats.
Uniquely our roost switching data comes from a community roosting entirely in
natural roosts. Radio-tracking, ringing and DNA evidence can be combined at one site,
whilst ringing and DNA can be combined at two others. In addition, DNA samples from
a further two sites could be included to complete the comparison of 183 Natterer’s
bats from 5 sites. Microsatellite data (based on 15 markers) was used to describe
relatedness at two functional scales (between roosts within a community and between
communities). Relatedness and population structure was also compared to home
range analysis and roost use to determine if related individuals forage close to each
other or share a roosts more frequently than unrelated individuals. Novel descriptions
of demographic and epidemiological rates for this species were determined, which has
been incorporated into predictive models of how both the community may respond to
changes in the environment, or diseases may spread within the community which will
help improve bat Conservation