Bats and climate change
Prof. Danilo Russo, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy
Today | 15h30 | Hybrid Seminar (FCUP – Room FC5 2.78 and Online)
Zoom Link: https://fc-up-pt.zoom.us/j/84429728251
Climate change is affecting animal communities in many ways, and bats are no exception. Bats are especially sensitive to key factors associated with climate change, including temperature increases and altered precipitation patterns. Their sensitivity to temperature and water availability makes them particularly vulnerable to the changing climate. This talk will cover what is known about current responses of bats to climate change and what modeling exercises predict. It will address phenological responses, distributional changes, body size variation, and acute stress. The role of phenotypic plasticity and microevolution will also be considered in the context of bat responses to climate change, as well as how individual physiological responses may impact not only populations but also community structures. Finally, the talk will present the main structure and findings of the “ClimBats” COST Action, an international network devoted to exploring this topic and its implications for future impacts on ecosystem services, such as insectivory, in European agroecosystems.
More information here