Municipal greenery can mitigate the negative impact of urbanization on biodiversity, including bats, by providing a migration corridor, food base and roosts. Our study aimed to evaluate the species composition and diversity, test the differences in activity between seasons, and identify the atmospheric conditions influencing the bats’ activity in the Planty Park (Cracow). Fieldworks were conducted in 2016 and 2017. We recorded 10 species, two new for this part of Poland: the Kuhl’s pipistrelle (Pipistrellus kuhlii) and the Savi’s pipistrelle (Hypsugo savii). Taxa were divided into three ecological guilds. Myotis group’s activity was insufficient to perform statistical analyses. The activity of Nyctalus, Eptesicus and Vespertilio group peaked in late summer. A similar insignificant trend was observed for Pipistrellus and Hypsugo. Temperature enhanced the activity of Nyctalus, Eptesicus and Vespertilio group in spring and early summer, while cloud cover suppressed their activity in autumn. Temperature also enhanced Pipistrellus and Hypsugo group activity in spring and autumn, but it suppressed their summer activity. Our study is one of the first to investigate temperate urban bats’ phenology and may serve as a preface for further research to introduce detailed urban landscape planning recommendations.
Nest boxes for dormice (Gliridae) can significantly increase the habitat’s carrying capacity for these species in areas under high anthropopressure and facilitate the long-term monitoring of populations. As part of the active protection of dormice in the Carpathian Landscape Parks in Małopolska, in August and September 2019, 575 boxes of two different sizes were checked for the presence of adults, young or nests. Additionally, habitat conditions within a 25 m radius were recorded (e.g. forest stand, estimated understory cover, the approximate number of natural shelters, fruiting plant species). The vast majority of all nest boxes – 79% – were used by dormice, but also birds and insects frequently occupied these shelters. Out of four species of dormice that occur in Poland, two were recorded in the study area: hazel dormice Muscardinus avellanarius and fat dormice Gli sglis. They were found in all surveyed landscape parks and inhabited mainly fir stands. Hazel dormice preferred smaller nest boxes and were generally more common than fat dormice, which preferred large boxes. On the other hand, fat dormice were more common in areas rich in fruiting plant species. Our research thus confirmed the usefulness of artificial shelters for dormouse in active protection.
The echolocation calls emitted by stationary bats are characterised by their resting frequency (RF). The ecological role of RF has been widely discussed across the literature concerning the Rhinolophidae family, where it has been found that the RF may vary depending on many factors, although its role in shaping the variability of different populations remains unclear, and the data for many species – including Rhinolophus hipposideros – is scarce. In this study, we aimed to determine how sex, age and biometric parameters (body mass, forearm length and the body condition index) affected the RF in a R. hipposideros population and to investigate the individual variability in this parameter. Bats were captured in front of two Carpathian caves in Southern Poland during the mating season. The echolocation calls of the hand-held bats were recorded, and later their peak frequency was measured with computer software. The analyses showed higher RF values for females than for males, but (in contrast to previous reports) no differences between the age classes were identified. RF did not correlate with any biometric parameters in the studied population, which rules out the possibility of quality characteristic signalling through this parameter. However, we observed significant individual differences in RF within the sex-age groups, which might reflect some communication potential. The discrepancies among the research results available for this topic indicate the need for further studies aimed at investigating the variability of RF and its role across species distribution ranges and their phenology.
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