Many authors have stated that long-distance migratory bats are those most frequently killed, particularly in North America (Arnett et al. 2008; Horn et al. 2008; Cryan and Barclay 2009; Kunz et al. 2007).
As a result, in many regions both sedentary and migratory bats that hibernate experience limited seasonal variation.
In the case of wind turbines, scientists have long found that migratory bats have an as-yet-unexplained attraction to wind turbines, which has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of bats each year.
This suggests that migratory bats actively visit tall structures during migration for reasons other than foraging.
Activity of migratory bats increased dramatically at towers during migration, from low premigration levels, to exceed that at open fields and match that at woodlots.
This challenge is illustrated by the hundreds of thousands of migratory bats killed annually during autumn migration by industrial wind turbines.
But Wilson added, "Interestingly enough, the migratory bats are being killed by these wind towers that are springing up all over.
Migratory bats, which don't hibernate, aren't affected, said Don Wilson, curator emeritus for the Smithsonian's Division of Mammals, because "they tend not to use caves".
We found that migratory bats had relatively smaller brains and neocortices than sedentary species.
Moreover, migratory bats could act as long-distance vectors for several infectious agents.
