The functional significance of communual roosting by the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus
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I used radio-tracking and roost closures to test five hypotheses which explain communal roosting behaviour by the Big Brown Bat, Eptesicus fuscus. These include, a limit to the number of available sites, access to preferred sites where reproductive success is enhanced, avoidance of ambush predators, the two-strategies hypothesis, and reducing commuting distances to foraging areas. Site tenacity, short movement distances and a tendency towards decreased young production with eviction were consistent with the access to preferred sites hypothesis. Although departures were significantly clumped in time, there was no threshold colony size which suggests that ambush predation is only a secondary reason for communal roosting. I tenatively rejected the two strategies hypothesis on the basis of no evidence for following behaviour, a dominance hierarchy or constant cluster composition. Foraging parameters although consistent with minimizing commuting costs, were also consistent with an opportunistic strategy which does not explain communal roosting.
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This work is available on request. You can request a copy at https://library.carleton.ca/forms/request-pdf-copy-thesis
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Copyright © 1985 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.
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- 1985
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