BackgroundTwo or more species are cryptic, if they are morphologically similar, biologically distinct, and misclassified as a single species. Cryptic species complexes were recently discovered within many bat species and we suspect that the bent-wing bat, Miniopterus schreibersii, found in Europe, northern Africa, and Asia Minor, could also form such a complex. Populations of M. schreibersii decline in most of the European countries and the species is currently listed as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List. Finding that M. schreibersii is not a single species, but a species complex, would have a considerable impact on its conservation strategies, as the abundance of each component taxon would be much smaller than the one estimated for the nominal species.ResultsMiniopterus schreibersii in Asia Minor consists of two genetically diverged lineages, which are reciprocally monophyletic on three mitochondrial DNA markers, have a diagnostic set of multilocus allele frequencies, and show a marked difference in their population structures. The lineages differ slightly in their size, wing shape, and echolocation call parameters. Although these differences are sufficient to discriminate between the lineages, they are not fully diagnostic in reference to individuals. We suggest that the lineages endured the major Northern Hemisphere glaciations in different glacial refugia and colonized Asia Minor after the last glacial maximum. The lineages are allopatric, which is neither delineated by the presence of geographical barriers nor associated with the specific climatic conditions, and which we link to competitive exclusion.ConclusionsThe distinctions between the lineages comply with most of the criteria required for species delineation imposed by various species concepts. Accordingly, we conclude that M. schreibersii in Asia Minor is represented by two cryptic species. Our results imply that the distributional range of the nominal species is almost exclusively limited to Europe and the coastal zones of Asia Minor. As populations of M. schreibersii seem to be much smaller than currently assumed, conservation strategies regarding this taxon need to be revised. The exact distributional range and the vulnerability of the suggested sister species to M. schreibersii is yet to be assessed.
Caves offer bats refuges for hibernation, breeding and other social events. Their quality is important for species distribution. The role of cave microclimate as well as other environmental factors influencing the distribution of cave-dwelling species, is poorly known. We tested the significance of cave variables (length, temperature, elevation, occurrence of water) and geographical location for the presence of bats during hibernation and the breeding season in five regions in Romania. To detect species' environmental relationships, we used canonical correspondence analyses for winter bat aggregations and principal components analysis for maternity colonies. We analysed the factors influencing the distribution of bats by using two sets of explanatory variables reflecting cave characteristics and geographical locations. Winter aggregation was divided into three groups: (1) bat species that prefer high temperatures (Rhinolophus euryale, Myotis cappacinii) and hibernate at a low altitude; (2) species ranging from mid-to high elevation and low temperature (Myotis myotis/oxygnathus group); (3) species that hibernate in large, cold cave systems with a constant flow of the water (Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Nyctalus noctula, Barbastella barbastellus). Maternity colonies were divided into those that select either high (rhinolophids) or low temperatures (My. myotis/oxygnathus and Miniopterus schreibersii). The most important factors influencing the distribution of bats are the temperature in caves and their geographical location. This information was combined with IUCN's Red List data as well as with the number of individuals occurring in caves with the aim of identifying the key sites for conservation. The majority of these sites, which also constitute the refuges for vulnerable species, are located in west and south-western Romania. Seven caves provide shelter throughout the year for 122 000 individuals of 14 species.
In the Dupnisa Cave System (Sulu, Kuru and Kýz Caves in Turkey), between April 2002 and December 2005 34 surveys were conducted. The total number of species found there was 11. Five species of the Dupnisa Cave bat population constitute 99% of the fauna: M. schreibersii (78.0%), M. myotis/blythii (7.9%), R. euryale (6.9%), R. ferrumequinum (4.5%) and M. capaccinii (1.8%). During the winter months (November-March) the maximum number of bats recorded there amount to over 54 000, although in summer (April-October) the total was over 10 000 individuals. The different parts of the cave system are used differently according to the season (winter or summer): Sulu Cave is used almost solely by hibernating bats (70.6% vs 0.1%), Kuru Cave is used as a nursery (0.2% vs 10.6%), while Kýz Cave is used both for hibernation and as a nursery (13.5% vs 5.0%). We found correlations between the species composition and the temperature recorded during the investigated season in particular parts of the system, although no influence of humidity was observed on M.myotis/blythii, M. capaccinii, R. ferrumequinum and M. schreibersii. Sulu Cave (the coldest in summer and in winter) is a hibernaculum, but Kuru Cave is used for breeding purposes as well as for hibernation by R. mehelyi and R. euryale. The Dupnisa Cave System is the most important shelter in theThrace region of Turkey.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.