Mist netting, wildlife Biology, measurements bats parts

1. MIST-NETTING
Mist-netting is the standard methodology adopted for the capturing of bats.
The mist-nets will placed in sites where bats showed a high rate of activity such as near bat
roosts, water bodies, feeding sites of the bats, along flyways such as trails, and openings in the
natural forest. The mist-nets are made of monofilament nylon with a usual mesh size of 36mm.
Different dimensions of mist-nets are available such as 10 x 1.5m, 12 x 3m and 15 x 3m etc.
Mist-nettings were done in selected sites at a height of 3-4m from the ground. The mist-nets
should be kept open prior to the dusk, before the bats actually leave the roost, and was kept open
for four to five hours. The mist nets will erected across the corridors (gap between rows of trees)
to enhance the capture success.
Mist net

2. Mist-net set for capturing bats
Mist-nettings will not be done continuously on the same site for more than two days, as it
would affect the capture success. Nets were watched continuously, if left unattended, the
captured bats struggles and become completely entangled that they cannot be removed easily and
can also lead injury to bats and damages to nets. It can also result in the small sized bats to chew
out of the net if it left unattended for long. For capturing bats from roosts, insect nets were used
and mist-nets were also used by spreading it in front of the roost while it’s a cave roost or tunnel
like structure.
Processing of specimens
As soon as the bats were caught in the mistnet, it have to removed immediately into a
cloth bag. On all the captured bats the standard morphological measurements will have to take
and the sex of the animal also has to be noted. The measurements were taken using a digital
calliper. The major external measurements measured on the bats were head to body length (HB),
tail length (T), hind foot length (HF), length of tibia (TIB), forearm length (FA), wing span
length (WSP), length of ear (E), Thumb, third metacarpal (3MT), fourth metacarpal (4MT), first

3. (1PH3MT) and second (2PH3MT) phalanx of the third metacarpal and first (1PH4MT) and
second (2PH4MT) phalanx of the fourth metacarpal.
Measuring morphological measurements using Digital Calliper
Fresh weight of each bat will be measured using a weighing balance. The tissue samples of
the bats will be preserved in 70 percent ethyl alcohol after fixing using 10 percent formalin for
further laboratory studies.
Weighing bats using Persola balance

4. Morphological measurements in bats
Skulling
The skull of bat specimens will pulled out using the standard procedure, and the skull was
processed by boiling it for 2 minutes and treating using hydrogen peroxide (30% solution)
through immersing the skull into it and cleaned using forceps and then the standard
measurements on the skull were taken. The cranial and dental measurements will be taken which
included greatest length of the skull (GTL), condylo-basal length (CBL), condylo- canine length
(CCL), breadth of braincase (BB), zygomatic breadth (ZB), mandible length (M), maxillary
toothrow (C-Mn), mandibular toothrow (C-Mn), posterior palatal width (Mn-Mn) and anterior
palatal width (C1-C1).

5. Cranial measurements in bats
Measuring cranial measurements using Digital Calliper