Bat week quiz

Q.1

How many species of bats are there in the world? *

Image from Ernst Haeckel's book: Kunstformen der Natur (1904)

1400
1000
1700
800

Q.2

What percentage of all bat species are classified as threatened? (classified by the IUCN as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered) *

Image shows critically endangered Thongaree’s Disc-nosed Bat. Image credit: Piekfrosch - Borneo, Sarawak/Malaysia, Jambusan Cave, GFDL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20291164

17%
23%
5%
9%

Q.3

What is the estimated monetary value that bats provide to ecosystems through their control of pest insects? *

Image shows a pallid bat catching a cricket in mid air. (Photo: Bat Conservation International)

$2.9 million per year
$3.7 billion per year
$98 million per year
$1.2 billion per year

Q.4

Which bats live in highly social groups and regurgitate food to feed other members who have not fed? *

Image from Bats Queensland @batsqld https://www.batsqld.org.au/

pipistrelle bat
little brown bat
vampire bat
flying fox

Q.5

How many species of plants are dispersed or pollinated by bats? *

Nectar-feeding bat Glossophaga soricina visiting flowers of Mabea occidentalis (Euphoribaceae). (Photo by Merlin D. Tuttle, Bat Conservation International)

735
549
386
296

Q.6

What is the main cause of a large decline in bats in North America? *

Gray bats (Myotis grisiscens), photo by Anna Doty

a pathogenic fungus that stops them from hibernating
persecution by humans for the belief that they carry viruses
loss of the habitat they need to breed
predation by introduced species like cats

Q.7

How does long-distance bat migration differ to songbird migration? *

Image shows a swallow in flight

songbirds prepare for long-distance migration by fuelling up on high fat foods, whereas bats have a long period of hibernation to save energy before migration
bats rest for only 1-2 days when migrating long distances as opposed to 12 days for migrating songbirds
bats migrate on average much longer distances than songbirds
bats hibernate in the summer months to avoid heatwaves, whereas birds migrate in the winter months to find new feeding grounds

Q.8

How does mercury contamination affect bats' immune systems? *

Picture of brown long-eared, named “Laffa”. Photo by Rune Sørås

bats with higher mercury have higher innate immunity but a lower infection by blood pathogenic bacteria
bats with higher mercury have lower innate immunity and also higher infection by blood pathogenic bacteria
bats with higher mercury have lower innate immunity but also lower infection by blood pathogenic bacteria
bats with higher mercury have higher innate immunity and also higher infection by blood pathogenic bacteria

Q.9

How can bats protect themselves against mortality from white-nose syndrome? *

Image shows Myotis lucifugus affected by white-nose syndrome. Photo credit: A. Hicks

by ensuring that they roost in rural places, away from urbanisation
by building up a high fat store
by awaking from hibernation to avoid long periods of torpor
by hibernating earlier in the year

Q.10

Which of the above bats has such impressive hearing that it can hunt scorpions by following the sound of their footsteps?

Image from Gordon et al. 2019 (https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4896) A variety of bat species. Clockwise from top left - Parastrellus hesperus, Nyctinomops femorosaccus, Antrozous pallidus, and Mormoops megalophylla

Pocketed free-tailed bat (top right)
Ghost-faced bat (bottom left)
Canyon bat (top left)
Pallid bat (bottom right)

Q.11

Bats are not the only animals to use ultrasonic sounds. Some insects have also evolved the ability to create sounds that we cannot hear with our ears. Listen to the above audio clip, is this a bat or an insect? *

audio clip has been modified to be audible by human ears

An insect
A bat

Q.12

Listen to the above audio clip, is this a bat or an insect? *

audio clip has been modified to be audible by human ears

An insect
A bat