Animals partition their daily activities based on a variety of internal and external factors. For insectivorous bats, the availability of prey, weather conditions, moonlight and reproductive energy demands are proposed as the major influencers of temporal activity. This study investigated the temporal variation in activity of the subtropical cave-dwelling, migratory Natal long-fingered bat, Miniopterus natalensis, by temperature, humidity, lunar illumination and the time of moonrise per night. Using echolocation survey data collected 2014–2018 near a maternity roost in north-eastern South Africa, differences in activity between the summer maternity (1 September–28 February) and winter non-breeding (1 March–31 August) seasons were described. In the non-breeding season, M. natalensis exhibited peak activity during the early evening, with decreasing activity throughout the night. In the maternity season, a bimodal activity pattern was observed, probably related to peaks in insect activity and the energy requirements of lactating females. Predictably, temperature had the strongest positive influence on the magnitude of M. natalensis activity across both seasons. Humidity also positively affected activity in both seasons to a lesser extent. The time of moonrise did not affect the activity of M. natalensis during either of the seasons. Lunar illumination did not affect activity during the maternity season, but activity was diminished on nights with bright moonlight in the non-breeding season. Emergence and return times were not affected by lunar illumination in either season. The need of M. natalensis to maximise resource acquisition during the maternity season is likely a strong modulator in the temporal activity of this species and outweighs predation risk in high moonlight conditions. Subsequently, this species exhibits nightly activity behaviours that balance risk factors with intrinsic needs during different seasons.

中文翻译：

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温度比月光或湿度更多地解释了Miniopterus natalensis季节性季节性活动的变化

动物会根据各种内部和外部因素来划分日常活动。对于食虫蝙蝠，猎物的可用性，天气条件，月光和生殖能量需求被认为是时间活动的主要影响因素。这项研究调查了温度，湿度，月球照度和每晚月亮升起时间对亚热带洞穴栖居，迁徙的纳塔尔长指蝙蝠，Miniopterus natalensis的活动的时间变化。使用2014-2018年在南非东北部产妇栖息地附近收集的回声定位调查数据，描述了夏季孕妇（9月1日至2月28日）和冬季非繁殖（3月1日至8月31日）季节之间的活动差异。在非繁殖季节，纳塔氏菌在傍晚时分表现出高峰活动，而整个晚上活动减少。在产妇季节，观察到双峰活动模式，可能与昆虫活动的高峰和哺乳期女性的能量需求有关。可以预见，温度在两个季节中对纳塔霉菌的活动量具有最强的积极影响。湿度在两个季节中也对活动产生了积极影响。月出的时间不影响纳塔氏菌的活性在任何一个季节。在产假期间，月球照明不会影响活动，但在非繁殖季节，在月光明亮的夜晚活动减少。在任何一个季节，月球照明都不会影响到出没和返回时间。的需要M.腐最大限度地提高资源采集过程中，生育季节很可能在这一物种的时间活动性较强的调制器和胜过高月光条件下捕食风险。随后，该物种表现出夜间活动行为，该行为在不同季节平衡风险因素与内在需求之间。