Eastick D L, Griffiths S R, Yen J D L, Robert K A
School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria 3086.
Centre for Future Landscapes, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria 3086.
Integr Org Biol. 2022 Jul 29;4(1):obac030. doi: 10.1093/iob/obac030. eCollection 2022.
Reproductive phenology, size at birth, and postnatal growth are important life history traits that reflect parental investment. The ability to document detailed changes in these traits can be a valuable tool in the identification and management of at-risk wildlife populations. We examined reproductive traits in a common, widespread Australian microbat, , at two sites over two years and derived growth curves and age estimation equations which will be useful in the study of how intrinsic and extrinsic factors alter parental investment strategies. We found that male and female offspring did not differ significantly in their size at birth or their postnatal growth rates. Bats born in 2018 were smaller at birth but grew at a faster rate than those born in 2017. When date of birth was compared across sites and years, we found bats born in 2018 had a later median birthdate (by 18 days) and births were more widespread than those born in 2017. Cooler and wetter weather during late gestation (Nov) in 2018 may have prolonged gestation and delayed births. With many bats facing threatening processes it is important to study reproductive plasticity in common and widespread "model" species, which may assist in the conservation and management of threatened microbats with similar reproductive traits.
繁殖物候、出生时的体型以及出生后的生长是反映亲代投资的重要生活史特征。记录这些特征详细变化的能力在识别和管理濒危野生动物种群方面可能是一项有价值的工具。我们在两年内对两个地点的一种常见且分布广泛的澳大利亚小型蝙蝠的繁殖特征进行了研究，并得出了生长曲线和年龄估计方程，这将有助于研究内在和外在因素如何改变亲代投资策略。我们发现，雄性和雌性后代在出生时的体型或出生后的生长速度上没有显著差异。2018年出生的蝙蝠出生时体型较小，但生长速度比2017年出生的蝙蝠快。当比较不同地点和年份的出生日期时，我们发现2018年出生的蝙蝠中位出生日期较晚（晚18天），且出生时间比2017年出生的蝙蝠更分散。2018年妊娠后期（11月）更凉爽潮湿的天气可能延长了妊娠期并推迟了分娩。由于许多蝙蝠面临威胁，研究常见且分布广泛的“模式”物种的繁殖可塑性很重要，这可能有助于保护和管理具有相似繁殖特征的濒危小型蝙蝠。
