title: Deeply torpid bats can change position without elevation of body temperature.
abstract: Because body temperature is tightly coupled to physiological function, hibernating animals entering deep torpor are typically immobile. We analysed thermal behaviour and locomotory activity of hibernating greater mouse-eared bats Myotis myotis and found two types of movement behaviour related to body temperature, i.e. movement at high fur temperature and at low fur temperatures (Tflow; <5°C). First Tflow movements appeared at the beginning of March and often occurred during long torpor bouts. In most cases, Tflow events represented slow displacements between clusters of bats. In several cases, however, departure or arrivals from and into clusters was also recorded without any elevation in body temperature. Distance travelled, flight duration and speed of locomotion during Tflow events was lower than in high fur temperature events. Such behaviour could allow bats to save energy long-term and prolong torpor bouts. Tflow movement in torpid bats significantly changes our understanding of basic hibernation principles and we strongly recommend further studies on the subject.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia. Electronic address: bartonic@sci.muni.cz.
authors.forename: Tomáš
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bartonička
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Diseases of Game, Fish and Bees; University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czechia.
authors.forename: Hana
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bandouchova
authors.affiliation: Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czechia.
authors.forename: Hana
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Berková
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia.
authors.forename: Ján
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blažek
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czechia.
authors.forename: Radek
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lučan
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czechia.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Horáček
authors.affiliation: Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czechia; Institute of Biostatistics and Analyses, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Natália
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Martínková
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Diseases of Game, Fish and Bees; University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czechia.
authors.forename: Jiri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pikula
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia; Faculty of Education, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Zdeněk
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Řehák
authors.affiliation: Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czechia.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zukal
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001831:Body Temperature; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000502:physiology*; D003080:Cold Temperature; D006605:Hibernation; D009068:Movement
keywords: Body temperature; Chiroptera; Flight; Hibernation; Locomotor performance