| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication: | 1990 |
| Authors: | J. T. McDonald, Rautenbach, I. L., Nel, J. A. J. |
| Journal: | S. Afr. J. Wildl. Res. |
| Volume: | 20 |
| Pagination: | 157-161 |
| Date Published: | 1990b |
| Keywords: | caves, Chiroptera, day roosts, Mammalia, Miniopteridae, Miniopterus schreibersii, Myotis tricolor, Nycteridae, Nycteris thebaica, partitioning, Rhinolophidae, Rhinolophus capensis, Rhinolophus clivosus, roosting, South Africa, Vespertilionidae |
| Abstract: | The roosting requirements and behaviour of five obligatory cave-dwelling bats occurring in the De Hoop Guano Cave, is reported. A measure of interspecific temporal and spatial partitioning of this resource is demonstrable. The cave is characterized by structural and thermal complexity, and was found to be an important breeding site for two species during summer, whereas it served as winter residence for the other three. M. schreibersii was by far the most abundant species, and predominated in the warmest sections of the cave, where it further modified temperatures towards optimal levels. |