Bi8085 Chiropterology

Faculty of Science
Autumn 2019
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 2 credit(s) (plus extra credits for completion). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. RNDr. Zdeněk Řehák, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Jan Zukal, Dr., MBA (lecturer), doc. RNDr. Zdeněk Řehák, Ph.D. (deputy)
doc. Mgr. Tomáš Bartonička, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. RNDr. Zdeněk Řehák, Ph.D.
Department of Botany and Zoology – Biology Section – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: doc. RNDr. Zdeněk Řehák, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Botany and Zoology – Biology Section – Faculty of Science
Prerequisites
( Bi2090 Verteb. phylog. & divers. || Bi2000 Anim. phylog. & divers. )
Bi7960 - Vertebrate fauna of the Czech Republic
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 7 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Morphological, physiological and behavioural adaptations to flight. Activity rhythms, summer roosts, reproduction and development, movements, hibernation. Echolocation and foraging strategies. The problem of Chiropteran monophyly. Systematic review of the order Chiroptera. Man and bats, control measures, beneficial aspects, protection and conservation. Field and laboratory methods to study bats, data analysis and evaluation.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge of morphological, physiological and behavioural adaptations to flight. Evaluation of activity rhythms, looking up summer roosts, censuses of bats at hibernacula in caves, flight and foraging strategies, ecology of nursery colonies of bats, development, movements, hibernation. Echolocation and foraging strategies related to morphology of wings and habitat character. The part of bats in terrestrial ecosystems. Field and laboratory methods to study ecology of bats. Skills. Morphological measurements, evaluation of body-mass index, measurements of wing morphology - evaluation of wing loading and aspect ratio, using of UTZ bat detectors, analysis of ecolocation parameters via special software, identification of partial bat species of bats related to morphological and acoustic characteristics, system of wing morphology - echolocation - habitat, importance for ecological biomonitoring.
Syllabus
  • History of studying bats in the world and in this country. Major textbooks, chiropterological journals, proceedings and bulletins, other "traditional" channels of information. Classical methods of studying bats in the field. Characteristics of the order Chiroptera and its two suboreders, Mega- and Microchiroptera: morphology, taxonomy, distribution, ecology, behaviour, endangerment and conservation. Phylogeny and the problem of monophyly - are megabats flying prosimians? Survey of families, their characters, habits and habitats, selected species, importance with respect to the ecosystem biodiversity. European bat fauna. New methods of studying bats, information on www pages. Flight and echolocation, work with ultrasound bat detectors, food structure and feeding strategies. Energetical costs and benefits, thermoregulation, winter quarters and hibernation, summer and temporary quarters, social structure and communication. Physiology, ecology and ethology of reproduction, ontogeny, average and maximum age, population ecology, monitoring bat numbers. Behavioural ecology of bats, hunting grounds and foraging behaviour, activity rhythms, migrations and other movements, radio- telemetry of bats, bat communities and guilds. Practical training with living bats in laboratory and field.
Literature
  • Altringham J., 1996: Bats: biology and behaviour. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, New York, Tokyo, 262 pp.
  • Náhradní obsah: Adams R.A. & Pedersen S.C: Ontogeny, Functional Ecology, and Evolution of Bats. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000.
  • Nowak R. M., 1994: Walker's bats of the world. The John Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore, London, 287 pp.
  • Hill J. E. & Smith J. D., 1984: Bats: a natural history. Univ. of Texas Press, Austin, 243 pp.
  • Horáček I., 1986: Létající savci. Academia, Praha, 152 str.
Teaching methods
lectures, discussion, practical examples of methods of field research
Assessment methods
oral exam
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
Information on the per-term frequency of the course: Vypisuje se v lichých letech, 2015, ...
The course is taught: every week.
General note: Předmět nebude otevírán každoročně.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Předmět bude vypisován jen v případě zájmu studentů.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2007 - for the purpose of the accreditation, Autumn 2003, Autumn 2005, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2011 - acreditation, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2015, autumn 2017, autumn 2021, Autumn 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2019, recent)
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