S"-NR'Lr: j^c& OCCASIONAL PAPERS ^^^ COMP. zooii LtBRARY M^ Iilir of the MUSEUM OF NATURAi: HISTORY The University of KansasRVARO Lawrence, Kansas ^^'^^SRSITV! NUMBER 15, PAGES 1-43 MAY 2, 1973 POPULATION STUDIES OF THE CAVE BAT (MYOTIS VELIFER): REPRODUCTION, GROWTH, AND DEVELOPxMENT By Thomas H. Kunz^ An integral part of the ecology of an animal is the manner in which it successfully adapts to its environment. Under conditions of thermal seasonality in the temperate zones, insectivorous bats have evolved strategies that compress reproduction and develop-ment into a relatively short time period in the warm season, when food is abundant and temperature conditions are optimal for rapid growth of young. Seasonal reproductive patterns of temperate insectivorous bats (including autumn copulation, spring ovulation and gestation, and summer parturition) have been documented for several species. Much of the available information on reproduction has been sum-marized by Asdell (1964), Barbour and Davis (1969), and Carter (1970). Wimsatt (1945, 1960a) gave a thorough account of breed-ing behavior, pregnancy, and parturition of several vespertilionids and also discussed aspects of reproduction relating to hibernation (Wimsatt, 1960b, 1969). Orr (1970) summarized studies on growth and development. . There are a number of important studies detailing aspects of natural historv, population dvnamics and behavior of Myotis velifer (J. A. Allen)' (Twente, 1955a, 1955b; Tinkle and Milstead, 1960; Tinkle and Patterson, 1965; Dunnigan and Fitch, 1967; and Hay-ward, 1970). Other important contributions are those of Vaughan 1 Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston Massachusetts 02215. This paper represents part of a Ph.D. dissertation sub-mitted to the Department of Systematics and Ecology, University of Kansas.
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