Paula Iturralde-Pólit
Climate change is altering species’ ecology, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Regarding bats, there are still questions that need to be tackled to forecast the effects of climate change. We seek to understand how predicted changes in temperature and humidity will affect montane insectivorous bats from a physiological standpoint by estimating the maximum temperature at which insectivorous bats maintain basal metabolic rates. With our findings, we aim to determine species sensitivity under climate change and their potential physiological adaptations. With this project, I have the ambition of engaging audiences beyond science, and encourage them to explore it in new ways.
Diagram of the experimental design. A baseline chamber helped to measure data without any bat to have a control of measurement.
This project focus in determining the highest temperature, at which insectivorous bats maintain basal metabolic rates, this means determining environmental conditions at which bats keep energy acquisition and expenditure balanced.
In order to tackle environmental changes, species must be resilient to the predicted shifts of temperature and relative humidity. Species could either adapt to new conditions or migrate to other areas that meet suitable weather. Endothermy allows animals to maintain constant body temperatures that are appropriate for keeping their fitness despite changes of environmental conditions. On the other hand, physiological plasticity may help species to be more resilient if it helps species to increase the range of temperature at which individuals perform better.
However, tolerance to heat, is largely conserved among species, and may restrict physiological adaptation in endotherms, furthermore tropical endotherms have narrower thermal tolerances compared with animals in the temperate regions. From previous research, it has been suggested that tropical species might be already living close to their upper thermal limits
Hence, the persistence of species, and their fitness will depend on their capacity to respond or compensate for environmental changes. Here, we aim to build information for adequate conservation strategies, and contribute to better understand species’ maximum thermal tolerance as a powerful tool to elucidate the impact of climate change on species fitness.
Ultimately, with this project, we are committed to take action on monitoring results, and increase conservation awareness. We believe that educating non-scientists on the importance of nature and scientific discovery is perhaps the most powerful tool to protect species. Local people will be our strongest allies to enhance the conservation of bat species at the surroundings of the study site. Education strategies must include personal experience to have a true impact on people and transform their attitudes and beliefs towards the conservation of the tropical pre-montane forests, and the bat species that inhabit this ecosystem.