One of the main aims of protected areas is to be effective in the conservation of target species, i.e. those of the highest conservation concern. The Natura 2000 network (N2000) of protected areas is the main pillar of European action to halt biodiversity loss. Within N2000, special areas of conservation (SACs) are designated to protect habitats and species of the highest conservation interest, i.e. habitats from Annex I and species (other than birds) listed in Annex II of the Habitat Directive. Thus, a critical and urgent task is to assess the effectiveness of N2000 in the protection of these species. Here, we used distribution data for Spanish bats to test whether the species included in Annex II are better represented in N2000 than the remaining bats found in Spain, since SAC sites were specifically designated to protect the former species. In general, we found significantly high overlapping values between species distribution and N2000 sites (both groups of species are in general over-represented in N2000). However, contrary to our expectations, N2000 (even when only SACs were considered) did not offer higher representation values for the species listed in Annex II than for other species. We found that N2000 performed well even for non-target species, and that species from Annex II could have acted as effective umbrella species for the remaining bat species. Finally, the usefulness of including a species in Annex II is discussed, and guidelines to improve the efficiency of the N2000 for bat conservation are offered. Communicated by Danna J. Leaman. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (
The Natura 2000 Network represents the greatest step forward yet in conservation in Europe, although its effectiveness is sometimes questioned, especially in Mediterranean regions. Bats are protected by the Habitat Directive and the presence of certain species is a prerequisite before Special Areas Conservation (SAC sites) can be included as such in the Natura 2000 Network. However, the effectiveness of SAC sites as regards the protection they offer to bats, especially cave-dwelling species, remains to be evaluated. We assess the effectiveness of the SAC system for protecting the roosts of six species of cave-dwelling bats and for protecting suitable and optimal habitats, using ecological niche models. Gap analyses indicate that c. 60% of roosts are protected by SAC sites, with values ranging from 45.8% for Miniopterus schreibersii to 72.2% for Rhinolophus hipposideros. The protection offered to suitable and optimal habitats was found to be much lower in general, with values of below 40% in all cases. Our results emphasize the potential value of non-natural caves (e.g. mines and buildings) for the conservation of bat populations, and the importance of assessing the efficiency of protected areas by considering distribution models that incorporate different types of information (e.g. roosts and use habitat) concerning species occurrence.
1. Semi-arid and arid landscapes (dry-lands) cover 41% of the Earth's land surface over five continents. These areas are home to 55% of mammal species. Bats have the second highest species richness among mammals, and, although many species are adapted to arid conditions, they are particularly sensitive in these habitats and require conservation priority. 2. Information on bats in arid and semi-arid landscapes is scattered, patchy and focused on small-scale studies; therefore, we undertook a systematic review using the PRISMA protocol to identify the current knowledge status, detect knowledge gaps and propose future research priorities. 3. We analysed 346 published articles and evaluated 40 topics within five topic categories (taxa studied, methodologies used, biology, ecology and conservation). The most commonly studied topic categories were ecology and biology. However, we found a gap in the topic category conservation (including topics such as conservation status and roost conservation). Our network analysis of topics within the categories showed that most ecology papers were focused on distribution, species richness and habitat use. 4. When we analysed keywords, we found that phylogeny, taxonomy and distribution demonstrated relatively high presence. Moreover, comparison of the percentage of studies conducted in dry-lands and the percentage of land surface area covered by dry-lands in the continents revealed that dry-lands in Africa and Australia were especially under-represented. Our review shows that knowledge of bats in semi-arid and arid landscapes is biased towards new records of the distribution of species, as well as covering systematic/ taxonomic and morphological aspects of bat biology.
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