Bats of British Columbia

Mark Brigham, Cori Lausen, David Nagorsen

• Publisher: The Royal British Columbia Museum
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN: 9780772679949
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Zoology
• Index: Biological Sciences

A full-colour, fully updated field guide to identifying British Columbia's bats, with new material on acoustic identification. With more than 1,400 species worldwide, bats live on every continent except Antarctica and in virtually every type of habitat, from desert to forest. Around the globe, bats fill important ecological roles by controlling insect populations, pollinating plants, dispersing seeds, and even providing humans with medicines—the saliva of the famous vampire bat can be used to treat strokes! Yet despite their importance to the planet's ecosystems, there remains more misinformation than fact and more fear than respect for these diminutive guardians of the night. Since the first edition of Bats of British Columbia was published in 1993, an explosion in field studies of the province's bat fauna, applying new tools such as genetic techniques and acoustic bat detectors, has added a wealth of new knowledge. This fully updated second edition includes new colour photographs throughout, with new material on acoustic identification. With in-depth information on biology, conservation, ecology, and identification of the 18 species found in the province, the new Bats of British Columbia will help create an appreciation of this fascinating group of mammals.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• General Biology
• Identifying BC’s Bats
• Species Accounts
• Accidental Species
• Acknowledgements
• Appendix 1: Other Species Referred to in Text
• Appendix 2: Key to Skulls and Dental Traits of BC Bats
• Appendix 3: Reference Table for Species Morphology
• Appendix 4: Acoustic Species Summary Table
• Appendix 5: Fun Bat Facts
• Glossary
• References
• About the Authors