Science
Title: Bats (Chiroptera)
Information: Can you please help me find information about bats? What kind of animals are they? Where do they live? What do they eat? Are they dangerous? Thank you for sending your question to the Virtual Reference Desk! First, I browsed the "Top Sites" that are listed in the main Zoology category of the Virtual Reference Desk Website,http://vrd.askvrd.org/index.asp?cat=1558. I wasn't sure what kind of animal a bat is, but I learned from the Animal Diversity Web,http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/index.html, that bats are mammals! There are many kinds of bats - about 925 - and they live almost everywhere except very cold, polar regions and some secluded islands. Most bats eat insects, but some also like to dine on fruit, the nectar from flowers, and other small animals. Oh yes, there is even one group of bats that "feeds on nothing but the blood of other vertebrates." I found the above information at the following webpage: Myers, P. 2001. "Chiroptera" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed September 30, 2004. To find this article I typed "bat" in the search box on the homepage. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Chiroptera.html You can read more about bats by exploring the following online resources. Generally, I typed "bat" in the search box to locate relevant material. ARKive: Images of Life and Earth. Type "bat" in the search box. You'll retrieve lots of results because there are many species of bats! http://www.arkive.org/ "Earth and Sky,"http://www.earthsky.org/, produced several radio shows about bats. I've listed one of them. "Bats," Earth and Sky, Aug. 6, 2002. Find out how many insects a single brown bat can catch in an hour. Learn how bats fly. http://www.earthsky.org/shows/shows.php?t=20020806 Here is a related link from my "bat" search at Earth and Sky. Bat Conservation International. This website is dedicated to communicating facts about bats and protecting their habitats. http://www.batcon.org/ The USGS (United States Geological Survey) Learning Web has a two good articles on bats. I've listed them below. "Potential Effects of Global Change on Bats," by Michael Bogan, page last modified 11/25/03. "Study on why bats are declining in population." http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/impacts/biology/bats/ Greenhall, Arthur, M. 1982. House bat management. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Resource Publication 143. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/1998/housebat/housebat.htm (Version 08JUL03). Here's a few more results from a Google search,http://www.google.com. "Bats4Kids." Find answers to 9 big bat questions, like, "If they fly, why aren't they birds?" http://members.aol.com/bats4kids/ "Introduction to Bats", The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Updated Aug. 29, 2000. Here is more information on bats and the status of some species as an endangered species. Click on the links to the "Endangered Species Home Page" to find out more details. http://endangered.fws.gov/bats/bats.htm "Threatened and Endangered Species System (TESS)." There were 9 endangered species of bats listed as of Sept. 30, 2004. http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/TESSWebpageVipListed?code=V&listings=0#A "Bat Cave," NOVA Online Adventures, May 24, 2000. Paul Tyson reports on hiking to Bat Cave in Madagascar. Clink on the "Sound of the Day" to hear the bats' squeals. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/madagascar/dispatches/20000524.html For more indepth research, be sure to check with the librarian at your school and/or public library for additional material on bats. Have fun learning about this interesting creature! Sincerely, Joyce W., M.S., M.L.S. AskNSDL (Reproduced by permission of the Virtual Reference Desk's Learning Center,http://vrd.askvrd.org) Last Update 09/30/04
Category: Science