title: Postnatal growth and age estimation in Scotophilus kuhlii.
abstract: Adequate postnatal growth is important for young bats to develop skilled sensory and locomotor abilities, which are highly associated with their survival once independent. This study investigated the postnatal growth and development of Scotophilus kuhlii in captivity. An empirical growth curve was established, and the postnatal growth rate was quantified to derive an age-predictive equation. By further controlling the fostering conditions of twins, the differences in the development patterns between pups that received maternal care or were hand-reared were analyzed to determine whether the latter developed in the same manner as their maternally reared counterparts. Our results indicate that both forearm length and body mass increased rapidly and linearly during the first 4 weeks, after which the growth rate gradually decreased to reach a stable level. The first flight occurred at an average age of 39 days with a mean forearm length and body mass of 92.07% and 70.52% of maternal size, respectively. The developmental pattern of hand-reared pups, although similar to that of their maternally reared twin siblings, displayed a slightly faster growth rate in the 4th and 5th weeks. The heavier body mass of hand-reared pups during the pre-fledging period may cause higher wing loading, potentially influencing the flight performance and survival of the bats once independent.
authors.affiliation: Center for General Education, National Taipei University, New Taipei City, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shiang-Fan
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Forestry and Resource Conservation, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shang-Shang
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: School of Forestry and Resource Conservation, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dau-Jye
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Statistics and Department of Applied Mathematics, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Tsung-Jen
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D001835:Body Weight; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D005426:Flight, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development
keywords: Chiroptera; Vespertilionidae; growth curves; hand rearing; lesser Asiatic yellow house bat