Bat ecology - Thomas H. Kunz

Bats display astonishing ecological and evolutionary diversity and serve as important models for studies of a wide variety of topics, including food webs, biogeography, and emerging diseases. In Bat Ecology, world-renowned bat scholars present an up-to-date, comprehensive, and authoritative review of this ongoing research. The first part of the book covers the life history and behavioral ecology of bats, from migration to sperm competition and natural selection. The next section focuses on functional ecology, including ecomorphology, feeding, and physiology. In the third section, contributors explore macroecological issues such as the evolution of ecological diversity, range size, and infectious diseases (including rabies) in bats. A final chapter discusses conservation challenges facing these fascinating flying mammals. "Kunz and Fenton have enlisted an outstanding group of bat biologists, who, without exception, have done a superb job summarizing and synthesizing the material in their respective chapters. . . . This is a very valuable book."-John O. Whitaker Jr., Ecology