Sampling flying bats with thermal and near-infrared imaging and ultrasound recording: hardware and workflow for bat point counts [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
2022 | journal article; research paper. A publication with affiliation to the University of Göttingen.
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Sampling flying bats with thermal and near-infrared imaging and ultrasound recording: hardware and workflow for bat point counts [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
Darras, K. F. A. ; Yusti, E.; Knorr, A.; Huang, J. C. Huang, Joe Chun-Chia; Kartono, A. P. & ., I. (2022)
F1000Research, 10 pp. 189. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.51195.2
Documents & Media
Details
- Authors
- Darras, Kevin Felix Arno ; Yusti, Ellena; Knorr, Andreas; Huang, Joe Chun-Chia; Kartono, Agus Priyono; ., Ilham
- Abstract
- Bat communities can usually only be comprehensively monitored by combining ultrasound recording and trapping techniques. Here, we propose bat point counts, a novel, single method to sample all flying bats. We designed a sampling rig that combines a thermal scope to detect flying bats and their flight patterns, an ultrasound recorder to identify echolocating bat calls, and a near-infrared camera and LED illuminator to photograph bat morphology. We evaluated the usefulness of the flight pattern information, echolocation call recordings, and near-infrared photographs produced by our sampling rig to determine a workflow to process these heterogenous data types. We present a conservative workflow to enable taxonomic discrimination and identification of bat detections. Our sampling rig and workflow allowed us to detect both echolocating and non-echolocating bats and we could assign 84% of the detections to a guild. Subsequent identification can be carried out with established methods such as taxonomic keys and call libraries, based on the visible morphological features and echolocation calls. Currently, a higher near-infrared picture quality is required to resolve more detailed diagnostic morphology, but there is considerable potential to extract more information with higher-intensity illumination. This is the first proof-of-concept for bat point counts, a method that can passively sample all flying bats in their natural environment.
- Issue Date
- 2022
- Journal
- F1000Research
- Project
- SFB 990: Ökologische und sozioökonomische Funktionen tropischer Tieflandregenwald-Transformationssysteme (Sumatra, Indonesien)
SFB 990 | B | B09: Oberirdische Biodiversitätsmuster und Prozesse in Regenwaldtransformations-Landschaften - eISSN
- 2046-1402
- Language
- English
- Subject(s)
- sfb990_journalarticles