Seasonal Fattening Among Bat Populations Globally: Storing Energy for Survival in a Changing World

Nicholas Wu; Tomas Villada-Cadavid; Justin A. Welbergen; Christopher Turbill

doi:10.1111/ele.70155

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Seasonal Fattening Among Bat Populations Globally: Storing Energy for Survival in a Changing World

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Seasonal Fattening Among Bat Populations Globally: Storing Energy for Survival in a Changing World

Nicholas Wu, Tomas Villada-Cadavid, Justin A. Welbergen and Christopher Turbill

Ecology letters, Vol.28(6), e70155

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70155

PMID: 40552391

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Abstract

Animals

Body Weight

Chiroptera - physiology

Climate Change

Energy Metabolism

Female

Male

Seasons

Temperature

Seasonality is a fundamental challenge for life on Earth and energy storage prior to colder and drier periods by fattening is a common strategy for survival. Fattening should reflect a trade-off between an expected seasonal energy deficit and the costs of increased body mass, which are particularly important to flying endotherms. We examined body mass change (ΔM), a proxy of fat storage, among bat populations over low productivity periods with global variation in yearly average and seasonality of local climates. We found that ΔM increased with decreasing mean annual surface temperature (MAST) but ΔM also increased at higher MAST with higher seasonality of rainfall. Seasonal use of body energy reserves by bats is predicted to be widespread in warm, seasonal climates at low latitudes but is poorly studied compared to cold temperate regions. In colder climates only, females lost less mass than males over winter, supporting the 'thrifty females' hypothesis, and ΔM has increased with year of study in warm climates, possibly linked to effects of global climate change on their energetics. Our quantitative synthesis highlights how intrinsic and environmental factors shape seasonal fattening in bats, and its global importance for survival in this diverse and widespread mammal group.

Details

Title: Seasonal Fattening Among Bat Populations Globally: Storing Energy for Survival in a Changing World
Authors/Creators: Nicholas Wu - Western Sydney University
Tomas Villada-Cadavid - Western Sydney University
Justin A. Welbergen - Western Sydney University
Christopher Turbill - Western Sydney University
Publication Details: Ecology letters, Vol.28(6), e70155
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Number of pages: 11
Identifiers: 991005788581107891
Murdoch Affiliation: Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability; School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Citation topics: 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology; 3.35 Zoology & Animal Ecology; 3.35.1587 Chiroptera
Web Of Science research areas: Ecology
ESI research areas: Environment/Ecology