Winter torpor and body mass patterns of a cave-roosting bat in cool and warm climates.

ABSTRACT: Torpor is an important energy-saving strategy for small insectivorous bats during winter. White-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease affecting hibernating bats, disrupts torpor-arousal patterns and increases energy use, leading to higher winter mortality. In North America, WNS has also infected bats in milder southern climates, supporting concerns about potential impacts if introduced to the Southern Hemisphere. To understand the winter hibernation ecology and sensitivity to WNS of cave-roosting bats, we used temperature telemetry to study torpor patterns and body mass change of the eastern bent-winged bat (Miniopterus orianae oceanensis) at a cold and warm site (mean annual surface temperature 11.7 and 17.8 °C, respectively) in southeastern Australia during winter. Torpor bouts were 4.6

SUBMITTER: Villada-Cadavid T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12634769 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature