The tiny bodies of bats allow perfect balance between flight costs and heat dissipation

frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 16:33:35 +0000

Many mammal species living in cold climates tend to have large bodies and short limbs to reduce heat loss – a general pattern known as Bergmann’s rule. However, bats are the exception to the rule, displaying small body sizes in both hot and cold regions. A �鶹��ý��վ-led team of researchers is shedding light on this long-standing debate over bats’ body sizes and focus on why bats are seemingly non-conforming to ecogeographical patterns found in other mammals. Their findings offer a new method for investigating complex macroecology across bat species.