Bats add their voice to the FOXP2 story

herry submitted, created time 1 year 2 months (www.eurekalert.org)

A new study, undertaken by a joint of team of British and Chinese scientists, has found that this gene shows unparalleled variation in echolocating bats. The results, appearing in a study published in the online, open-access journal PLoS ONE on Sept. 19, report that FOXP2 sequence differences among bat lineages correspond well to contrasting forms of echolocation.

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Climate change reduces Queensland's bat numbers

bianjie submitted, created time 1 year 4 months (www.biologynews.net)

A central eastern Queensland mine has turned up bat fossils which show climate change has had a negative impact on the state’s bat population.

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Fake fruits could help restore rainforest

nomad submitted, created time 1 year 9 months (www.nature.com)

Bats can be lured into large areas of destroyed rainforest with fake fruits, researchers have found. This, they say, could be the key to restoring patchy parts of the landscape.

South American leaf-nosed bats of the family Phyllostomidae defaecate the seeds of the fruits they have eaten as they fly. This process, known as 'seed rain', aids plant dispersal throughout the rainforest.

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