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Variación en el Estrés Fisiológico de Murciélagos Tadarida brasiliensis que Perchan en Puentes y Cuevas
Author(s) -
ALLEN LOUISE C.,
TURMELLE AMY S.,
WIDMAIER ERIC P.,
HRISTOV NICKOLAY I.,
MCCRACKEN GARY F.,
KUNZ THOMAS H.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
conservation biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.2
H-Index - 222
eISSN - 1523-1739
pISSN - 0888-8892
DOI - 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01624.x
Subject(s) - cave , biology , ecology , physiological stress , zoology , physiology
Since the late 1980s, Brazilian free‐tailed bats ( Tadarida brasiliensis ) have increasingly used bridges as roosts in the southern United States. We examined differences in blood cortisol levels, body condition, and parasite load, as measures of physiological stress in bats roosting in bridges and bats roosting in caves. We collected data during three periods, coinciding with female phases of reproduction. For all measures, bats were captured during the nightly emergence from the roost and immediately sampled. Cortisol levels were significantly higher during pregnancy and lactation and in individuals with lower body‐condition scores (length of forearm to mass ratio) and significantly higher in bats roosting in caves than in those roosting in bridges. Thus, we concluded that individuals of this species that roost in bridges are not chronically stressed and seem to be unaffected by human activities present at bridges. This is a rare documented instance where a human‐dominated environment does not appear to be adversely affecting the physiological health of a free‐ranging animal .