Foraging, movements, and diet habits of arid-zone dwelling bats

Environmental conditions are one of the main exogenous factors affecting foraging behavior in organisms and can hold an even more significant role in habitats characterized by extreme climates. Bats successfully inhabit an extensive variety of habitats, including some of the most arid habitats on Earth. In addition to being favored by powered flight and night-time activity, bats can face the challenges linked to aridity, such as scarcity and unpredictability of resource availability, by adjusting their foraging strategies via changes in temporal activity, movement patterns, and diet preferences. In this chapter, we review the knowledge available on movement patterns and diet displayed by bats in arid environments, relating these responses to the local environmental conditions and pinpointing gaps in research. Since arid conditions are predicted to characterize a larger number of regions globally under future climate change, further knowledge on behavioral responses to aridity will help predict how species inhabiting mesic regions might respond to increasingly challenging climates.