A natural history of Australian bats [[electronic resource] ] : working the night shift / / Greg Richards and Les Hall ; principal photographer, Steve Parish

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910462653603321
• Autore: Richards Gregory C. <1949->
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Collingwood, Vic., : CSIRO Pub., 2012
• ISBN: 1-280-67744-9; 9786613654373; 0-643-10375-9
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (193 p.)
• Altri autori (Persone): ParishSteve; HallLeslie (Leslie S.)
• Disciplina: 599.40994; 599.49
• Soggetti: Bats - Australia - History; Bats - Ecology - Australia; Electronic books.
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: cover; contents; Preface; Acknowledgements; Chapter 1: Introduction; Significant events in bat research history; Bat bioregions; Chapter 2: Travelogue; Cape York - Wet Tropics; Top End and Kakadu; Kimberley; Deserts; Great Dividing Range; Murray-Darling Basin; Significant islands; Lord Howe Island; Christmas Island; Bats in major cities; Brisbane; Sydney; Canberra; Melbourne; Hobart; Adelaide; Perth; Darwin; Finding bats in cities and towns; Chapter 3: How bats are designed and how they work; How bats are designed; Interesting anatomical facts; Keeping clean; Skulls and teeth; Ears; Tails and feetNoses and nose-leaves; Seeing in the dark; Eyes and vision; Echolocation - 'seeing with sound'; Chapter 4: Breeding; Maternity groups; Female bats, birth andnurture of young; Male reproductive anatomy; Chapter 5: Bat ecology; What bats eat and how they get it; Food - fruit and foliage; Directional smelling with astereo nose; Food - nectar; Food - insects; Carnivory; The fishing bat; The spider specialist; Flight and foraging; Microbat design tells us where ; and how they feed; Generalists and specialists; Reducing competition; Forest foraging niches; Roosting sites; Open habitats; Treeless habitatsMines, cliffs, cracks and crevices; Darwin's mozzie munchers; The price of gold and Ghost Bats; One in a crowd; Tree and foliage roosts; Life in the fog - Flute-nosed Bats; Bird nest thieves - Golden-tipped Bats; Tree hollows, bark and buildings; Life in the Pandanus; Old wooden bridges; Chapter 6: Trials andtribulations of being a bat; Predators and mortality; Predators; Mortality; Shooting; Poisoning; Cave disturbance; Conservation; Impacts of climate change; Travelling south - a global warming effect?; Chapter 7: Bats in historyand in our lives today; Bats of the past - fossil historyBiogeography; Bats and people; First Australians; Bats in Australian prehistory - the Bradshawflying-fox and boabs; Bats and our explorers; Human interactions; Bats in houses; Diseases and parasites; Impacts of urbanisation; Bats in care; Contributions to research; Bat houses; Batty tales andbusted myths; Early days of embarrassment; The 'bats in your hair' myth; Bat penises in the kitchen; Freezer surprises; The bat in the shower; Myths about bat anatomy and behaviour; Chapter 8: Facts about batsand species profiles; Important facts about bats; How big are microbats?Australian bat families; Megabats; Sheath-tailed bats; Ghost bat; Horseshoe bats; Leaf-nosed bats; Bentwing bats; Evening bats; Free-tail bats; Further reading and study; List of photographers; Glossary; Index
• Sommario/riassunto: This is the first book on Australian bats that focuses on their natural history. It describes the bioregions, describe what bats do in them and the ecosystem services that they provide. The book features a description of the 80.90 species in Australia, a section on bat myths and stories and rock art from indigenous Australians.