NONLETHAL SCREENING OF BAT-WING SKIN WITH THE USE OF ULTRAVIOLET FLUORESCENCE TO DETECT LESIONS INDICATIVE OF WHITE-NOSE SYNDROME

2014 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 566-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory G. Turner ◽  
Carol Uphoff Meteyer ◽  
Hazel Barton ◽  
John F. Gumbs ◽  
DeeAnn M. Reeder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Nose Syndrome ◽  
Wing Skin ◽  
Bat Wing

TEMPORAL VARIATION IN BAT WING DAMAGE IN THE ABSENCE OF WHITE-NOSE SYNDROME

2013 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 946-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa E. Powers ◽  
Joyce E. Hofmann ◽  
Jean Mengelkoch ◽  
B. Magnus Francis
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Variation ◽  
White Nose Syndrome ◽  
Wing Damage ◽  
Bat Wing

Biaxial mechanical characterization of bat wing skin

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 036004 ◽  
Author(s):  
A J Skulborstad ◽  
S M Swartz ◽  
N C Goulbourne
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Characterization ◽  
Wing Skin ◽  
Bat Wing

A Structure Based Constitutive Model for Bat Wing Skins, A Soft Biological Tissue

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyul Son ◽  
Yanli Wang ◽  
N. C. Goulbourne
Keyword(s):  
Constitutive Model ◽  
Biological Tissue ◽  
Collagen Fibers ◽  
Fiber Bundles ◽  
Ground Substance ◽  
Mathematical Treatment ◽  
Soft Biological Tissue ◽  
Elastin Fiber ◽  
Wing Skin ◽  
Bat Wing

Bat wing skin is a soft biological tissue that is used to enable flight (amongst other physiological roles) in bats such as the Glossophaga Soricina. To describe and predict wing behavior during flight, a high fidelity constitutive model validated by rigorous experimentation is required. Understanding the role that the tissue microstructure plays in achievable flight patterns and maneuverability will bring closer understanding of adaptations between species that yield specific flight behaviors and will also provide a template for developing synthetic skins for biomimicry in unmanned micro air vehicles. A structural continuum model that incorporates principal structural features of the wing skin can potentially provide a link between structure and functionality. Mesoscopic elastin fiber bundles on the order of hundreds of microns are the key constituents in the structure of bat wing. They are embedded in a base matrix composed by elastic ground substance and randomly oriented collagen fibers. The wing sweeps through very large deformations during flight and the fiber bundles undergo finite strains and large rotations presumed affine in the current treatment. To date, all the biological materials studied and modeled are comprised of stiff collagen fibers. The wing skin, on the other hand, is modeled as hyperelastic with distributed elastin fiber bundles with orientations belonging to two disparate families. Two families of fiber bundles have shown prominent difference in mechanical properties. More importantly, the bundle diameters vary dramatically with respect to bundle orientation even within each family. A mathematical treatment is formulated in this paper to capture the overall effect of distribution of diameters and distribution of orientations of fiber bundles based on the framework of Gasser et al [1]. This formulation is suitable in a general case when two fiber properties both vary spatially and they can be described using distribution functions such as Von Mises distribution.

A Structurally Motivated Constitutive Model for Bat Wing Skin

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyssa J. Skulborstad ◽  
N. C. Goulbourne
Keyword(s):  
Constitutive Model ◽  
Deformation Gradient ◽  
Compressive Loading ◽  
Strain Energy Function ◽  
Tissue Response ◽  
Material Behavior ◽  
Elastin Fiber ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Wing Skin ◽  
Bat Wing

Unique among animal flyers, bats have highly flexible and stretchable thin wing membranes. The connection between the structural constituents of bat wing skin, its material behavior, and flight abilities is not yet known. In this work we propose a structurally motivated constitutive model for the wing skin. Within a continuum mechanics framework, the proposed strain energy function for the wing skin is the sum of contributions due to the matrix and two mesoscopic fiber families, one oriented primarily spanwise consisting of elastin fiber bundles and the other family oriented chordwise consisting of muscle fibers. While the fibers are flat and straight when the wing is somewhat open, the matrix exhibits corrugations due to compressive loading from the pre-stretched spanwise fibers. This mismatch in the natural configurations of components is accounted for in the model by a decomposition of the deformation gradient of the spanwise fibers. The material parameters are fit with a procedure motivated by the underlying deformation mechanisms of the tissue corresponding to the regions of the j-shaped constitutive curves. The proposed model is fit to the first set of biaxial experimental stress-strain data for bat wing skin and captures the general features of the tissue response well.

Biaxial Mechanical Characterization of Bat Wing Skin and Development of Biomimetic Constructs

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Skulborstad ◽  
N. C. Goulbourne
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Characterization ◽  
Tissue Structure ◽  
Fiber Architecture ◽  
Fiber Reinforced Materials ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Wing Skin ◽  
Bat Wing ◽  
Structure Properties

The highly flexible and extensible wing skin of bats enables various wing shapes and flight modes, which distinguishes it from all other natural flyers making bats an ideal model for micro-aerial vehicles. We propose that an understanding of the relationship between the structure, properties and function of the wing tissue is essential to replicate and utilize the bat’s natural capabilities. In this work, we present the first biaxial mechanical characterization of bat wing skin, identify key mechanisms in its deformation, and employ these concepts to fabricate biomimetic skins. Ten Glossophaga soricina bat specimens were available for experiment obtained from Prof. Swartz or Brown University. Of the 20 excised wing skin samples, 11 were used for establishing testing protocols, 3 tore during preparation, and 6 were tested for the characterization presented in this work. The tissue was shown to be nonlinear, heterogeneous, anisotropic, and viscoelastic. The wrinkled tissue structure and substantial anisotropy promote great spanwise deployment and deformation increasing wing area and aspect ratio enabling greater lift generation. Comparison of the material structural organization with strain field responses demonstrated that the underlying fiber architecture corresponds to observed local strain variations and that the tissue represents a departure from traditional fiber reinforced materials since the mesoscopic elastin fiber architecture appears to be the soft component while the matrix provides the stiffening role. Fabricated skins capture the inherent mismatch in natural configurations of the spanwise elastin fibers and the matrix and exhibit the characteristic wrinkle pattern observed in the in vivo bat wing skin. Future work will include static mechanical testing of the synthetic skins as well as aerodynamic testing to investigate the link between tissue structure, properties and functional flight capabilities.

scholarly journals Fire, land cover, and temperature drivers of bat activity in winter

Fire Ecology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo H. Jorge ◽  
Sara E. Sweeten ◽  
Michael C. True ◽  
Samuel R. Freeze ◽  
Michael J. Cherry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Habitat Management ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Pinus Palustris ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Bat Activity ◽  
White Nose Syndrome ◽  
Dormant Season ◽  
Wind Energy Development

Abstract Background Understanding the effects of disturbance events, land cover, and weather on wildlife activity is fundamental to wildlife management. Currently, in North America, bats are of high conservation concern due to white-nose syndrome and wind-energy development impact, but the role of fire as a potential additional stressor has received less focus. Although limited, the vast majority of research on bats and fire in the southeastern United States has been conducted during the growing season, thereby creating data gaps for bats in the region relative to overwintering conditions, particularly for non-hibernating species. The longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) ecosystem is an archetypal fire-mediated ecosystem that has been the focus of landscape-level restoration in the Southeast. Although historically fires predominately occurred during the growing season in these systems, dormant-season fire is more widely utilized for easier application and control as a means of habitat management in the region. To assess the impacts of fire and environmental factors on bat activity on Camp Blanding Joint Training Center (CB) in northern Florida, USA, we deployed 34 acoustic detectors across CB and recorded data from 26 February to 3 April 2019, and from 10 December 2019 to 14 January 2020. Results We identified eight bat species native to the region as present at CB. Bat activity was related to the proximity of mesic habitats as well as the presence of pine or deciduous forest types, depending on species morphology (i.e., body size, wing-loading, and echolocation call frequency). Activity for all bat species was influenced positively by either time since fire or mean fire return interval. Conclusion Overall, our results suggested that fire use provides a diverse landscape pattern at CB that maintains mesic, deciduous habitat within the larger pine forest matrix, thereby supporting the diverse bat community at CB during the dormant season and early spring.

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