This study presents information about the year-round phenology of bats of temperate zones in a city area for the first time. In total, 967 individuals of 5 bat species (Nyctalus noctula [87.5%], Eptesicus serotinus [10.6%], Pipistrellus kuhlii [0.8%], Vespertilio murinus [0.9%], and Plecotus auritus [0.1%]) were recorded during 2013 in Kharkiv. The population structures of temperate bat species are complex; segregation of sex and age groups varies spatially and seasonally. Most of the bats (88%) were collected during the hibernation period (January-March and November-December) and the autumn invasion (August-mid-September). The breeding period saw a lower number of bats collected, making up 0.5% of records (May-July). The degree of tolerance to urbanization is species-specific. The bats were found indoors (68.6%), between window frames (26.6%), outdoors (2.8%), in basements (1.05%), and on balconies (0.95%). Bats of temperate latitudes inhabit big cities in significantly increasing numbers in winter, spring, and autumn. They avoid urban areas in both the breeding period and the period of fat-store accumulation before hibernation.
Urbanization is one of the main drivers of ecological change in the modern world. In most cases, species diversity in urban landscapes is lower than in natural ones; however, some groups of animals are able to exploit and benefit from urban habitat. Pipistrellus kuhlii s.l. is (P. k. lepidus according to recent taxonomic review), a common European urban bat, whose range has expanded on a wide scale in the last 40 years. Thought to originate in Central Asia, this species has extended its range throughout Eastern and Central and Europe (a distance of more than 2,500 km2) in part by using human settlements as a habitat. This study examines the ecological features of P. k. lepidus in wintertime in the Eastern part of Ukraine, where this species has been living for 20 years. Thirty-nine winter records of P. k. lepidus(1,301 individuals totally) were selected from the database of the Bat Rehabilitation Center of Feldman Ecopark, 19 of which were groups from 2 to 641 individuals. Pipistrellus k. lepidus was found in various types of structures, but most often in administrative buildings (school buildings - 69%). Records were usually obtained during renovation works (85%), and the roosting sites were cavities between the wooden planks of window frames and a wall (75%). The records were obtained in 26 settlements, from a village (0,293 kmand 252 people) to the biggest cities in the country (Kharkiv and Odessa). The sex ratio in winter aggregation in adults varied from 47% to 61% of females and for this-year individuals from 48% to 58%, respectively. The body mass at the end of the hibernation period (February/March) decreases for 17–20% compared to the beginning of the period (December). Adult females have bigger body size (body mass and forearm length) (p-value < 0.05). Our results showed that P. k. lepidus is capable of forming homogeneous, sedentary populations in all types of settlements in Ukraine for these twenty years. However, this choice of habitat means that the species faces a high mortality risk from humans during building renovation and insulation works or pest control actions.
Bats are volant and highly mobile mammals that could cover up to 2000 km seasonally (one-way migration). But the level of mobility among diff erent roosts sites in a breeding season, and among breeding areas and hibernation sites is poorly studied. With this communication, we aimed to present results of recaptures (51 cases with a distance of 0.5 km and more) of bats ringed in Kharkiv Region, Ukraine, from 2006 to 2018. Th e recaptures were obtained of three main study areas (NNP "Homilsha Forests" -17 cases, Izium District -5, Kharkiv City and surroundings -27) and at two other localities of the Kharkiv Region. One recapture was obtained in Lugansk Region. Th e recaptures were received for fi ve bat species (Nyctalus noctula-35, Myotis daubentonii-11, Eptesicus serotinus -1, Pipistrellus nathusii -1 and Pipistrellus pygmaeus -3). Th e maximum distances were obtained to diff erent species as follow N. noctula -209.7 km, M. daubentonii -24.8, E. serotinus -14.5 km, P. nathusii -1.1 km and P. pygmaeus -1.2 km. For the fi rst time, we confi rmed that N. noctula that were born in forested areas of Kharkiv City surroundings moved to the built-up area of the city for hibernation. It is the fi rst direct evidence of the existence of the resident population of this species in Ukraine.
The Brandt’s Bat (Myotis brandtii Eversmann, 1845) is one of the rarest bat species in Ukraine. There are only a few known locations of this species in summer and less known hibernacula in the whole country. Moreover, for territory of the north-eastern Ukraine are known only two underground bat hibernation sites with aggregation more than several tens of individuals. We undertook population surveys of winter aggregations in newly discovered and dug up abandoned sandstone mines in the Chuguev district of the Kharkiv Region (49°54′ N, 36°43′ E) from 2007 through 2015. We also surveyed summer bat assemblages in the forests surrounding these mines in 2012. The mines’ microclimate conditions were as follows: temperature +6 °C - +10 °C and humidity 60-80 %. M. brandtii, M. daubentonii (Kuhl, 1817) and Plecotus auritus (Linnaeus, 1758) hibernate in the mines; the first species is most abundant by number of individuals. In midsummer 9 bat species were recorded including the three previously mentioned. M. daubentonii and P. auritus breed in surrounding forest, but M. brandtii does not. One recaptured individual of M. brandtii was minimum 6 years old, providing us the first recorded information on longevity of this species for Ukraine. The total number of bats hibernating in these mines is estimated to be up to 100 individuals; a hibernaculum with several tens of M. brandtii could be classified as more numerous for this species in Ukraine. For this reason, the system of mines in the Kharkiv region needs species protection status and an action plan for monitoring and management.
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