Summary1. Riparian zones serve several ecological functions for bats. They provide a source of prey and likely provide favourable structural habitats and shelter from predators. Many studies have shown that bats use the space above streams, ponds or riparian vegetation as feeding habitat. These studies, however, have never distinguished between the effects of habitat structure and prey availability on the foraging activities of bats. Such effects can only be distinguished by an experimental approach. We predicted that bat activity along a stream is influenced by the number of emerged aquatic insects. 2. We evaluated the response of terrestrial consumers, insectivorous bats, to changes in the abundance of emergent aquatic insects by conducting a manipulative field experiment. In a deciduous riparian forest in Japan, aquatic insect flux from the stream to the riparian zone was controlled with an insect-proof cover over a 1·2 km stream reach. 3. We estimated the abundance of emergent aquatic and flying terrestrial arthropods near the treatment and control reaches using Malaise traps. The foraging activity of bats was evaluated in both treatment and control reaches using ultrasonic detectors. 4. The insect-proof cover effectively reduced the flux of emergent aquatic insects to the riparian zone adjacent to the treatment reach. Adjacent to the control reach, adult aquatic insect biomass was highest in spring, and then decreased gradually. Terrestrial insect biomass increased gradually during the summer at both treatment and control reaches. 5. Foraging activity of bats was correlated with insect abundance. In spring, foraging activity of bats at the control reach was significantly greater than at the treatment reach, and increased at both sites with increasing terrestrial insect abundance. 6. Our result suggests that the flux of aquatic insects emerging from streams is one of the most important factors affecting the distribution of riparian-foraging bats. As is the case with other riparian consumers, resource subsidies from streams can directly enhance the performance or population density of riparian-dependent bats. To conserve and manage bat populations, it is important to protect not only forest ecosystems, but also adjacent aquatic systems such as streams.

D uring the past 20 years, coronaviruses belonging to the genus Betacoronavirus have caused multiple human epidemic or pandemic diseases, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Two viruses of the subgenus Sarbecovirus are severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), which causes SARS, and SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. Although Rhinolophus spp. bats in Asia, Europe, and Africa are considered natural reservoirs of sarbecoviruses (1-3), the epidemiology and distribution of these viruses remain largely unknown, especially outside China. Previously, partial RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) genes of betacoronaviruses were detected in little Japanese horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus cornutus) (4). However, limited sequence information left the genetic and virological properties unclear. We detected and determined the entire genome sequence of a bat sarbecovirus belonging to a phylogenetic clade that includes SARS-CoV-2 from R. cornutus bats in Japan. Further, we used a pseudotyped virus system to characterize an entry step of this virus into cells. The Study R. cornutus is an endemic bat species in Japan and is found nationwide. These bats primarily inhabit caves and abandoned tunnels in the countryside during daytime and capture insects at night outside their roosts. R. cornutus bats often cohabit with other insectivorous bats, such as R. ferrumequinum or Myotis macrodactylus, and occasionally with wild animals, such as the masked palm civet (Paguma larvata), in their daytime roosts. In 2013, we captured 4 R. cornutus bats in a cave in Iwate prefecture, Japan, and extracted RNA from fresh feces. Then, we used real-time reverse transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) to detect the partial RdRp gene of sarbecovirus from 2 samples by using a pair of primers designed to detect betacoronavirus. In 2020, we performed RNA sequencing and determined the full genome sequence of 1 sample, Rc-o319, which exhibited lower cycle threshold value by rRT-PCR. We performed a BLAST (https://blast.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/Blast.cgi) analysis of the full genome of Rc-o319, which showed Rc-o319 had the highest nucleotide homology to SARS-CoV-2 HKG/HKU-904a/2020 strain (GenBank accession no. MT365032) with a query cover of 96% and sequence identity of 81.47%. The maximum-likelihood analysis with sarbecoviruses demonstrated that the full genome and spike protein (S) gene of Rc-o319 were positioned within a specific clade that included SARS-CoV-2 (Figure 1, panels A, B). Amino acid sequences of open reading frame 1ab (ORF1ab) and S of Rc-o319 also were positioned within the SARS-CoV-2 clade (Figure 1 panels C and D). The phylogenetic trees maintained the same topology between ORF1ab and S, indicating that no recombination event occurred in Rc-0319, which was supported by similarity plot analysis (Appendix Fig

Food habits of the brown bear (Ursus aretos yesoeruis) were studied from 1975 to 1984 in 4 diverse areas on Hokkaido Island. Foods of bears varied seasonally in each area and differed among areas largely because of differences in foods available. Bears ate mainly succulent herbs in spring and summer and fruits in tbe fall in northern Hokkaido. Hog's-fennel (Peucedanum multivittatum) dominated the bears' diet in August and September in the alpine areas or the Daisetsu Mountains. Foods of bears on the Shiretoko Peninsula included those from the sea, but were otherwise similar to northern Hollaido. The diet of bears on the Oshimo Peninsula was dominated by beech (Fagus crenata) buds in the spring in terms of frequency of occurrence, and actinidia (Aclinidia u'TUta) fruit in the fall.Brown ~rs occur only in Hokkaido in Japan. The population status is largely unknown, though we believe they are generally declining as a result of habitat loss and overharvest.In 1975, a brown bear ecology project was initiated to gather information necessary to properly manage the species and its habitat (Aoi 1985a(Aoi , 1985b Mountains, Shiretoko Peninsula, and Oshima Peninsula (Fig. 1). Black bears (Selenarctos thibetanus) are not present of Hokkaido.The Northern Hokkaido study area included most of Northern Hokkaido, but most searches were conducted on the 220-km2 Teshio Exp. FOOD HABITS OF BROWN BEARS IN HOKKAIDO, JAPAN

Abstract. In eastern Hokkaido, Japan, occurrences of human-brown bear (Ursus arctos yesoensis) conflict have increased during the last decade. Locals speculate that these conflicts have been caused by an increase in the bear population and/or changes in bear ecology, although no evidence is available to support either hypothesis. We compared scat densities and the diets of bears for the years 1978 and 1998-2000 in Urahoro, eastern Hokkaido. The scat density in 2000 tended to be lower than in 1978, suggesting that bear density has not increased over the last two decades. In 1978, herbaceous plants were the dominant early and late summer foods of bears. Berries, including Rubus spp. and Actinidia kolomicta, were dominant late summer foods. In contrast, sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis) meat appeared frequently in bear scats in all seasons in 1998-2000, at a much higher percentage than in 1978. Crops, including sugar beet and corn, also increased in early and late summer. These results suggest that the diet of bears has changed over the last two decades, and that bears have become more dependent on deer and on crops. We conclude that the increase in humanbear conflicts is not because of an increase in the bear population, but because of the increased dependence of bears on deer and crops as food sources.

No abstract