Barbastelle bats (Barbastella spp.) specialize in the predation of moths: implications for foraging tactics and conservation

Sierro, Antoine; Arlettaz, Raphaël

doi:10.1016/s1146-609x(97)80067-7

Cited by 62 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…B. barbastellus is classified as near threatened in the IUCN redlist (www.iucnredlist.org) and as vulnerable or endangered in many countries of Central Europe (Hutson, Mickleburgh & Racey, 2001). Barbastella barbastellus hunts for moths along forest edges and along the canopy surface (Sierro & Arlettaz, 1997;Vaughan, 1997). It occurs in different forest types, especially in European beech Fagus sylvatica forests but also in pine and spruce forests, where it roosts mainly in tree cavities and behind loose bark (Steinhauser et al, 2002;Russo et al, 2004;Russo, Cistrone & Jones, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beauty and the beast: how a bat utilizes forests shaped by outbreaks of an insect pest

Kortmann

Hurst

Brinkmann

et al. 2017

Animal Conservation

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The consequences of different management strategies following natural disturbances are a matter of global concern. In former production forests around the Northern Hemisphere, the abandonment of intervention, such as removal of dead wood, after outbreaks of bark beetles has been increasingly promoted to regain more natural conditions. However, many focal species of conservation, such as the barbastelle bat Barbastella barbastellus, do not primarily depend on dead wood but might respond indirectly to disturbance-induced changes of forest structural attributes. We investigated the response of B. barbastellus foraging activity and roost selection by combining acoustic surveys, radio telemetry, and airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) to characterize B. barbastellus habitat use on different scales. B. barbastellus foraging activity increased with increasing canopy opening. Maternity colonies were recorded exclusively in trees killed by bark beetles. Bats preferred roost trees with a higher volume (m 3 ha À1 ) of live trees in the surrounding, and trees with on average larger diameters than nearby control trees. Our results revealed that outbreaks of bark beetles result in forest structural attributes that are suitable habitat for B. barbastellus. Salvage logging, i.e., the removal of beetleaffected trees, generally deteriorates the positive effects of bark-beetle outbreaks on the foraging and roosting habitat of B. barbastellus. We recommend maintaining snags of large diameter if salvage logging is mandatory.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beauty and the beast: how a bat utilizes forests shaped by outbreaks of an insect pest

Kortmann

Hurst

Brinkmann

et al. 2017

Animal Conservation

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“…To account for the possible influence of differences in food availability between the two sites on the numbers of bats observed, we also recorded the occurrence of moths (favoured food of B. barbastellus: Rydell et al 1996;Sierro and Arlettaz 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconsidering the importance of harvested forests for the conservation of tree-dwelling bats

et al. 2010

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Intensively managed forests are often seen as of low priority to preserve forest bats. The main conservation strategy recommended, i.e. saving unmanaged ''habitat islands'' from logging to preserve some suitable habitat, detracts conservationists' attention from ameliorating conditions for bats in harvested sites. We studied the threatened bat Barbastella barbastellus, mostly roosting in snags, in two beech forests: an unmanaged forest-the main maternity site-and a nearby, periodically logged area. We compared roost availability, roost use, capture rates, food availability and movement between these areas. The managed forest had a greater canopy closure, fewer dead trees, a smaller tree diameter and trees bearing fewer cavities than the unmanaged one. These differences helped explain the larger number of bats recorded in the unmanaged forest, where the sex ratio was skewed towards females. Prey availability was similar in both areas. We radiotracked bats to 49 day roosts. Five individuals caught in the managed area roosted in the unmanaged one at 6.7-8.2 km from the capture site. Few bats roosted in the managed forest, but those doing so proved flexible, using live trees and even rock crevices. Therefore, bats utilise areas in the matrix surrounding optimal roosting sites and sometimes roost there, highlighting the conservation potential of harvested forests. Besides leaving unmanaged patches, at least small numbers of dead trees should be retained in logged areas to favour population expansion and landscape connectivity. Our findings also question the validity of adopting presence records as indicators of forest quality on a site scale.

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“…Because of their large size and lack of known adult toxins (21,22), sphingids are important prey for bats (23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28). Some hawkmoths possess specialized sound-receiving structures on the head, comprised of the labral pilifers and palps that are sensitive to the ultrasonic frequencies of bat sonar (29,30).…”

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confidence: 99%

Tempo and mode of antibat ultrasound production and sonar jamming in the diverse hawkmoth radiation

Kawahara

Barber

2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The bat-moth arms race has existed for over 60 million y, with moths evolving ultrasonically sensitive ears and ultrasound-producing organs to combat bat predation. The evolution of these defenses has never been thoroughly examined because of limitations in simultaneously conducting behavioral and phylogenetic analyses across an entire group. Hawkmoths include >1,500 species worldwide, some of which produce ultrasound using genital stridulatory structures. However, the function and evolution of this behavior remain largely unknown. We built a comprehensive behavioral dataset of hawkmoth hearing and ultrasonic reply to sonar attack using high-throughput field assays. Nearly half of the species tested (57 of 124 species) produced ultrasound to tactile stimulation or playback of bat echolocation attack. To test the function of ultrasound, we pitted big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) against hawkmoths over multiple nights and show that hawkmoths jam bat sonar. Ultrasound production was immediately and consistently effective at thwarting attack and bats regularly performed catching behavior without capturing moths. We also constructed a fossil-calibrated, multigene phylogeny to study the evolutionary history and divergence times of these antibat strategies across the entire family. We show that ultrasound production arose in multiple groups, starting in the late Oligocene (∼26 Ma) after the emergence of insectivorous bats. Sonar jamming and bat-detecting ears arose twice, independently, in the Miocene (18-14 Ma) either from earless hawkmoths that produced ultrasound in response to physical contact only, or from species that did not respond to touch or bat echolocation attack.acoustic | antipredator defense | bat-moth interactions | evolution | Sphingidae

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Barbastelle bats (Barbastella spp.) specialize in the predation of moths: implications for foraging tactics and conservation

Cited by 62 publications

References 21 publications

Beauty and the beast: how a bat utilizes forests shaped by outbreaks of an insect pest

Beauty and the beast: how a bat utilizes forests shaped by outbreaks of an insect pest

Reconsidering the importance of harvested forests for the conservation of tree-dwelling bats

Tempo and mode of antibat ultrasound production and sonar jamming in the diverse hawkmoth radiation

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