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Jennifer Krauel

Exploring aeroecology and life in the night sky

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  • About me
    • CV
    • Publications
    • Reflections
  • Aeroecology
  • Research
  • Blog
  • Media
  • Contact
  • Search
Photo: sky full of flying bats

Predator-prey interaction aloft

Predator-prey interaction and nocturnal aeroecology

The night sky is often full of migratory animals, from large geese down to tiny fruit flies. But there’s more than just migration happening up there. Since most of those migrants are fueling their journeys with fat, they are also an excellent dinner for any predator who can find and catch them. However, unlike the well-studied ground-level interactions of lions or crocodiles and migratory herds in Africa for example, this aerial interaction is very difficult for us to study.

What goes on up there?

Of course, we know that bats eat moths, and we know quite a bit about bats catching flying insects. But few bats appear to routinely forage hundreds of feet high in the powerful winds migrants are using for transport. We know of some examples: bats eating migratory songbirds. And in my own research, Brazilian free-tailed bats consumed many species of migratory moth in autumn and foraged higher when they were eating more migratory moth species. Their larger European cousin also eats many migratory moths, and in Asia their cousin the wrinkle-lipped bat takes advantage of migratory planthoppers.

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Questions about predator-prey interaction aloft

So, while we we know some things about migration aloft, we’re starting almost from scratch on predator-prey interaction up there. That’s why I’m so excited about studying it! Here are some of the open questions I have:

  • How do these bats know when and where to find their migratory prey?
  • How do they locate and catch individual prey items?
  • If the bats themselves are migratory, do they opportunistically forage en route?
  • How important are migratory insects as prey, seasonally and overall, and what would be the effect of a disruption in migratory insect movement?
  • Have interactions between migratory predators and migratory prey evolved to take advantage of the cyclical and temporal nature of migration?


Questions? Comments? There’s more information in the blog entries below, but please feel free to start a conversation with me on Twitter: Tweet to @batgrrl

I am the night

Do bats eat moths? (Or: can you learn from memes?)

December 30, 2018

Do bats eat moths? (Or: can you learn from memes?)Read More

Screen shot: Free-tailed bats adjust foraging behavior in response to migratory moths

Bats adjust foraging behavior in response to migratory moths

May 1, 2018

Bats adjust foraging behavior in response to migratory mothsRead More

Screen shot of a radar showing echos of bats and insects

The Batscan!

April 12, 2018

The Batscan!Read More

Screen shot: Predator-prey interaction reveals local effects of high-altitude insect migration

Bats eat migratory moths! Lots of them!

February 11, 2018

Bats eat migratory moths! Lots of them!Read More

Screen shot: Weather-driven dynamics in a dual-migrant system: moths and bats

The answer is: cold fronts.

September 13, 2015

The answer is: cold fronts.Read More

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Your AeroEcoTour Guide:

mmHi, I'm Dr. Jennifer Krauel. I’m an ecologist who's fascinated by animal migration, especially when it comes to bats and insects and at high altitudes. My research is driven by a deep desire to conserve and protect biodiversity. Read more »

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Aeroecology

What is aeroecology? »
  • bat migration
  • conservation
  • free-tailed bats
  • insect migration
  • nocturnal aeroecology
  • predator-prey interaction
  • radar aeroecology
  • tools
  • why does it matter?
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