Adapting to uncertainty: unraveling bat behavior in a disturbed environment

Unraveling how animals make decisions in their natural environments is key to understanding their behavior and assessing their ability to adapt to the challenges posed by urbanization and climate change. In the case of bats, an important challenge lies in our limited understanding of their roosting behavior, while roost disturbances present a global threat to their populations. The decline in bat populations leads to increased pesticide use, reduced pollination and seed dispersal, and broader impacts on human health and commercial industries. Hence, investigating these aspects becomes essential due to bats' high vulnerability and critical role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. In this talk, I will present various aspects of bats' decision-making during their daily activities, including how they exploit a replenishing resource and the navigation strategies and sensory modalities they employ to reach their foraging grounds. Additionally, I will discuss my current research on bat roosting behavior, focusing on how disturbances within the roost influence their behavior and decision-making processes within and outside their roost.