Contents Acknowledgments 1. Introduction What''s New in the Second Edition? From Aristotle to Cuvier to Now: Deciphering the Reality of Bats The Precise Origin of "Batness" Still Evades Us Deep History: Interpreting the Past While Living in the Present The Structure of Bats Bats Today Visual Acuity, Sound, and "Seeing" in Darkness Further Fundamental of Echolocation: Seeing With Ears Is Not as Easy as It Sounds Echolocation Pulse Rates: Speed Kills CF Versus FM Bats and the Duty Cycle: Changing the Channel Is Not Optional for Most Nature''s Arms Race: The Insects Fight Back Reproduction and Development: One Is the Loneliest Number The Inner World of Bats: Emotions, Cognition, and Sentience Bat Communities and Food Webs: The Tangled Bank The Longer View: Aging in Bats The Global Importance of Bats An Unfortunate Loss of Biodiversity 2. Physiography and Zoogeography of the Rocky Mountain Region Northern, Central, and Southern Rockies Geology Hydrology Climate Vegetation and Life Zones Transition Zones North- versus South-Facing Slope Effect Barriers to Dispersal North-South Corridors: The Canadian/Mexican Connection 3. Evolutionary Origins and Adaptations of Rocky Mountain Bats Bat Origins and Evolution: What Do Fossils Say? Divergence of Temperate Bats: Some Like It Not So Hot Special Adaptations to Temperate Environments: When Heaven Freezes Over Torpor Hibernation Winter Activity Migration 4.Bats in Rocky Mountain Ecosystems Ecosystems of the Rockies: Hotbeds of Biodiversity Bat Diversity and Elevation: It''s Lonely at the Top and the Bottom Structure of Rocky Mountain Bat Assemblages The Shapes of Bats: Physics Governs Biological Possibilities Shapes and Sizes of Wings: Not Fitting In with the Crowd Aerial versus Gleaning Insectivory: How Picky Should One Be? The Shapes and Sizes of Ears: Better Hearing or Just Plain Cooler? Bats as Natural Insecticides: Balancing the Diet Other Foraging Modes: Bats That Really Do Suck Water: Simply a Drink or a Mineral Sink? Potential Competitors: Costly Bats, Poorwills, and Howling Mice Potential Commensals: Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs and Bats, an Unexpected Connection 5.Threats to Rocky Mountain Bats: Conservation Strategies Mountains: Their Effect on and Importance to Conservation Efforts The Major Threats White-Nose Syndrome Human Recreation Direct Human Killing Blaming Bats for Zoonotic Diseases Wind Energy Facilities Solar Panels Climate Change Biodiversity Loss What to Protect Protecting Roost Sites Protecting Foraging Habitat Protecting Old-Growth Forests Protecting Water Resources Protecting from Environmental Contaminants Protecting from Wind Turbines Protecting Bats Using Other Human-Made Structures Bat Houses: Do They Work? Should They Be Deployed? Protecting a Future for Bats 6.Accounts of Species Field Key to Bats of the Rocky Mountains Family Mormoopidae Ghost-Faced Bat (Mormoops megalophylla) Family Phyllostomidae California Leaf-Nosed Bat (Macrotus californicus) Mexican Long-Tongued Bat (Choeronycteris mexicana) Lesser Long-Nosed Bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae) Family Vespertilionidae Pallid Bat (Antrozous pallidus) Townsend''s Big-Eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus) Spotted Bat (Euderma maculatum) Allen''s Big-Eared Bat (Idionycteris phyllotis) Silver-Haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) Western Red Bat (Lasiurus frantzii [blossevillii]) Eastern Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis) Hoary Bat (Aeorestes [Lasiurus] cinereus) Western Yellow Bat (Dasypterus [Lasiurus] xanthinus) Southwestern Myotis (Myotis auriculus) California Myotis (Myotis californicus) Western Small-Footed Myotis (Myotis ciliolabrum) Western Long-Eared Myotis (Myotis evotis) Little Brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus) Arizona myotis (Myotis occultus) Northern Long-Eared Myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) Fringed Myotis (Myotis thysanodes) Cave Myotis (Myotis velifer) Long-Legged Myotis (Myotis volans) Yuma Myotis (Myotis yumanensis) Canyon Bat (Parastrellus hesperus) Tri-colored Bat (Perimyotis subflavus) Family Molossidae Greater Mastiff Bat (Eumops perotis) Underwood''s Mastiff Bat (Eumops underwoodi) Pocketed Free-Tailed Bat (Nyctinomops femorosaccus) Big Free-Tailed Bat (Nyctinomops macrotis) Brazilian Free-Tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) Appendix 1: Bat Monitoring and Conservation Programs United States Federally Listed Endangered Bat Species Rocky Mountain West State-Level Conservation Efforts and Listings Arizona Colorado Idaho Montana New Mexico Utah Wyoming North American Bat Monitoring North American Bat Conservation Alliance North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) Regional/State Working Groups Western Bat Working Group Rocky Mountain States Bat Conservation Plans Appendix 2: Agency Reports by State Arizona Colorado Idaho Montana New Mexico Utah Wyoming Glossary Selected References Index.