Bats are often synonymous with a dark and stormy night mostly for their association with vampires, the fact that they’re nocturnal, and thanks to media like Scooby-Doo. While bats may add an extra layer of eerie to nighttime, their presence in bad weather may actually be due to a migratory advancement.
A new study in the journal Science explains how certain bats may use warm storm fronts to aid in cross-continental migration.
Bats and Storm Surfing
Bat migration is notoriously difficult to study because of their nocturnal nature and high-frequency vocalizations. Unable to see or hear bats as they migrated, researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB) devised a plan.
After attaching tiny and lightweight sensors to 71 common noctule bats (Nyctalus noctula), the research team could track the bats as they made their spring migration across Europe.
