Wing Morphology of Japanese Bats: Predicting Ecological Features for Data-insufficient Species.

ABSTRACT: Wing morphology, one of the most important morphological traits in bats, is closely related to their foraging habitat and strategies and has been explored as a pivotal trait for ecological and conservation studies. However, studies on wing morphology, as well as the ecology of Japanese bats, are largely lacking. In this study, we aimed to enrich the wing morphology data of Japanese bats. The wing variables, including forearm length, aspect ratio, relative wing loading, and wing tip shape index, were assessed using museum and private specimens of 34 Japanese bat species. Hierarchical clustering of the wing variables classified the bats into nine clusters to predict their foraging ecology, including the species for which ecological knowledge was lacking. Based on the ecological knowledge of

SUBMITTER: Maki T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12322670 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature