Andrea Fogato

I am a behavioural ecologist, particularly interested in how animals respond to anthropogenic factors. In my PhD, I seek to uncover the costs and benefits of hibernation across climate gradients in the common noctule bats (Nyctalus noctula), with particular attention to a novel range shift which was likely caused by climate change. I want to test whether this range shift is matched with energetic benefits that make the new hibernacula suitable for overwintering compared to traditional sites, and to estimate the effects of this range shift on noctule population trends across Europe. To achieve that, I track noctule activity and torpor patterns to investigate how they are affected by temperature. I do this with several passive monitoring methods and by tagging the bats with bio-loggers.