Syllabus
1. Animals and flight. Definition of Chiroptera and their origins. Oldest fossil record and basal radiation.
2. Bat diversity - an overview of evolutionary lineages (1-3).
3. Structural characteristics of bats. Diversity of basic adaptations.
4. Trophic specializations and feeding ecology of bats.
5. Energetics and ecophysiology.
6. Orientation and sensoric systems.
7. Social organisation and behavioral ecology.
8. Reproductive biology.
Annotation
The course intends to provide detailed information on current advances in the research of bats – the second most diverse mammalian order and one of the four groups of animals that had achieved the ability of powered flight.
Details concerning the history, biodiversity and biological specificities of chiropterans will be presented in order to strengthen the knowledge of diversity of evolutionary dynamics and mechanisms of adaptive radiation and current research methods.