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Bats

Bats of Southern Africa

Southern Africa has a fantastic diversity of bats. I was fortunate to spend a year working with Professor Ara Monadjem at the University of Swaziland on bat projects based in the lowveld savannas. I spent nights radio tracking the Egyptian slit-faced bat (Nycteris thebaica), investigating the importance of riparian areas for savanna bat communities, and surveying across Swaziland, South Africa and Mozambique.

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Relevant publications:

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Monadjem, A., Reside, A., & Lumsden, L. (2007). Echolocation calls of rhinolophid and hipposiderid bats in Swaziland. South African Journal of Wildlife Research, 37(1), 9-15.

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Monadjem, A., & Reside, A. (2008). The influence of riparian vegetation on the distribution and abundance of bats in an African savanna. Acta Chiropterologica, 10(2), 339-348.

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Monadjem, A., Reside, A., Cornut, J., & Perrin, M. R. (2009). Roost selection and home range of an African insectivorous bat Nycteris thebaica (Chiroptera, Nycteridae). Mammalia, 73(4), 353-359.

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Monadjem, A., Mtsetfwa, F., Shapiro, J. T., Reside, A. E., & McCleery, R. A. (2017). Acoustic call library and detection distances for bats of Swaziland. Acta Chiropterologica, 19(1), 175–187.

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Nycteris thebaica
Hipposideros caffer
Bat ecology and conservation across Australia

My honours research investigated two closely related species of freetail bat (Mormopterus) to find out if there was niche partitioning where they co-occurred. 

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I kept a keen eye out for the endangered Bare-rumped sheathtail bat (Saccolaimus saccolaimus nudicluneata) while living in tropical northern Australia. Although I was sad to discover a large roost that collapsed on Magnetic Island, it provided more information on this very enigmatic species.

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Relevant publications:

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Reside, A. E., & Lumsden, L. F. (2011). Resource partitioning by two closely-related sympatric freetail bats, Mormopterus spp. In B. Law, P. Eby, D. Lunney, & L. F. Lumsden (Eds.), The Biology and Conservation of Australian Bats (pp. 155-166): Royal Zoological Society of NSW.

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Reside, A. E., Vanderduys, E. P., Fabricius, K. E., & Evans-Illidge, L. (2015). The unfortunate end of a bare-rumped sheathtail bat (Saccolaimus saccolaimus subspecies nudicluniatus) roost on Magnetic Island. Australasian Bat Society Newsletter, 45, 19-21.

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