Researchers listen to the hearts of bats in flight

Researchers from Konstanz have measured the heart rate of bats over several days in the wild, including complete flights - the first time this has been done for a bat species. To record the heart rate of male common noctule bats during flight, the scientists attached heart rate transmitters weighing less than one gram to the animals, which they then accompanied in an airplane while the bats flew, sometimes for more than an hour, in search of food. Their results show how much energy bats consume over the course of a day and what energy-saving strategies they use to survive.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the University of Konstanz used a special method to study male common noctule bats, which are found throughout Europe. ...