Flying Foxes : Fruit and Blossom Bats of Australia

by Hall, Leslie; Richards, Greg; Saunders, Louise

• ISBN13: 9781575241760
• ISBN10: 1575241765
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-01-01
• Publisher: Krieger Pub Co

Author Biography

Dr Les Hall is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Veterinary Science at the University of Queensland Dr Greg Richards, after a long career with the CSIRO, now works as a wildlife consultant, resolving bat conservation issues for industry and government.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction	1	(4)
Historical Background	5	(5)
Evolutionary and fossil history	5	(2)
Aboriginal representations	7	(1)
European discovery and classification	8	(2)
Identification and Distribution	10	(11)
Flying foxes	10	(7)
Tube-nosed fruit bats	17	(2)
Blossom bats	19	(1)
Notes on distribution	20	(1)
Anatomy and Physiology	21	(19)
Anatomy of flight	21	(7)
Feet	28	(1)
Cardiovascular system	29	(1)
Skeleton and skull	30	(3)
Brain, nervous system and senses	33	(7)
Reproduction and Life Cycle	40	(8)
Male reproduction	40	(2)
Female reproduction	42	(1)
Flying-fox life cycles	43	(3)
Species variations	46	(2)
Mortality and Disease	48	(11)
Mortality	48	(5)
Predators	53	(1)
Parasites	54	(1)
Diseases in flying foxes	55	(4)
Behaviour	59	(9)
Nocturnal behaviour	59	(1)
Camps and roosting behaviour	60	(4)
Social behaviour	64	(1)
Fruit bats and blossom bats	65	(3)
Diet and Feeding Ecology	68	(17)
Digestive system	68	(2)
Diet	70	(8)
Plant-flying fox interaction	78	(4)
Hypothesis of co-dependence	82	(3)
Migration	85	(6)
Broad-scale migrations: Influence of food availability	85	(2)
Migrations by frugivorous species	87	(1)
Migrations by nectarivorous species	88	(1)
Migrations by dietary generalists	89	(2)
Conservation and Management	91	(17)
Current population status	91	(2)
Why conserve flying foxes, fruit bats and blossom bats?	93	(1)
Management problems and considerations	93	(2)
Management---species by species	95	(6)
Management options and methods	101	(4)
Human use and interaction past and present	105	(3)
Rehabilitation and Rearing	108	(6)
Feeding and Caring for injured adults	108	(2)
Raising orphaned young	110	(2)
Weaning	112	(2)
Appendix: Native Plant Species Known to be Consumed by Australian Flying Foxes	114	(4)
References	118	(8)
Glossary	126	(4)
Index	130