Extensive scientific study of bats suggests that they are long‎-lived‎,‎ slowly reproducing animals adapted to relatively stable environments‎.‎ As such they might be expected to exist in communities heavily influenced by biotic interactions‎.‎ This book begins with an overview of bat biology‎,‎ including their systematic diversity and methodological problems in bat research‎.‎ This is followed by examples of local bat community surveys from the major biogeographic regions‎.‎ The evidence bearing upon resource limitation and competition in bats is reviewed‎.‎ Then patterns in species richness‎,‎ taxonomic‎,‎ packing‎,‎ biomass‎,‎ numerical density‎,‎ trophic and morphological diversity are described‎.‎ The relevance of these to the nature of bat communities is examined‎.‎ Major habitats and their histories are shown to be powerful predictors of important aspects of bat community structure‎.‎