Bats in urbanising landscapes: habitat selection and recommendations for a sustainable future

Gili, Fabrizio; Newson, Stuart E.; Gillings, Simon; Chamberlain, Dan; Border, Jennifier A.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108343

Cited by 31 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 70 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…We rarely recorded Myotis bats in our study, which is similar to other studies carried out in urban parks [16,19,20]. Myotis bats are prone to negative effects of urbanization; they are usually recorded in suburban areas [48,49], particularly in the vicinity of rivers [11].…”

Section: Species Composition and Activitysupporting

confidence: 88%

Seasonal Activity of Urban Bats Populations in Temperate Climate Zone—A Case Study from Southern Poland

Kohyt

Pierzchała

Pereswiet-Soltan

et al. 2021

Animals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Municipal greenery can mitigate the negative impact of urbanization on biodiversity, including bats, by providing a migration corridor, food base and roosts. Our study aimed to evaluate the species composition and diversity, test the differences in activity between seasons, and identify the atmospheric conditions influencing the bats’ activity in the Planty Park (Cracow). Fieldworks were conducted in 2016 and 2017. We recorded 10 species, two new for this part of Poland: the Kuhl’s pipistrelle (Pipistrellus kuhlii) and the Savi’s pipistrelle (Hypsugo savii). Taxa were divided into three ecological guilds. Myotis group’s activity was insufficient to perform statistical analyses. The activity of Nyctalus, Eptesicus and Vespertilio group peaked in late summer. A similar insignificant trend was observed for Pipistrellus and Hypsugo. Temperature enhanced the activity of Nyctalus, Eptesicus and Vespertilio group in spring and early summer, while cloud cover suppressed their activity in autumn. Temperature also enhanced Pipistrellus and Hypsugo group activity in spring and autumn, but it suppressed their summer activity. Our study is one of the first to investigate temperate urban bats’ phenology and may serve as a preface for further research to introduce detailed urban landscape planning recommendations.

show abstract

Section: Species Composition and Activitysupporting

confidence: 88%

Seasonal Activity of Urban Bats Populations in Temperate Climate Zone—A Case Study from Southern Poland

Kohyt

Pierzchała

Pereswiet-Soltan

et al. 2021

Animals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In our study, we were able to only explore the response of fast-flying species such as Pipistrellus species often described as light-tolerant at the street light scale (Lacoeuilhe et al, 2014), but the response of other bat groupssuch as slow-flying light-shy batsthat also rely on aquatic corridors as we tested here will be highly interesting as well. Such negative effects on Pipistrellus species thus raise numerous questions about less tolerant species, especially in more rural landscapes where light-shy bats are regularly more abundant than in urban landscape (Gili et al, 2020). In addition, P. pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus may respond differently to light as these species are smaller than P. kuhlii/ nathusii (Dietz et al, 2009), and hence have different flight characteristics (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Artificial light may change flight patterns of bats near bridges along urban waterways

Barré

Spoelstra

Bas

et al. 2020

Animal Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is considered as a major threat to biodiversity, especially to nocturnal species, as it reduces availability, quality and functionality of habitats. However, its effects on the way species use landscape elements such as rivers are still largely understudied, especially the effect of crossing infrastructure lighting on bridges. These elements are nevertheless key commuting and foraging habitats in heavily urbanised landscapes for several taxa such as bats that are particularly affected by ALAN. We studied the effects of the illumination of facades and undersides of bridges on the relative abundance of pipistrelle bats, on their 3D distribution and their behavioural response (i.e. flight speed) close to bridges. We setup an innovative approach based on a microphone-array to reconstruct positions and flight trajectories in 3D. We studied the effect of lighting on bats in the close proximity of six similar bridges, mostly differentiated by the presence or absence of lighting (3 lit and 3 unlit). All bridges cross the same waterway, within a uniformly and highly urbanized agglomeration (Toulouse, France). We found that bat activity was 1.7 times lower in lit sites. Bats tended to keep a larger distance, and to fly faster close to illuminated bridges. These results suggest that bridge lighting strongly reduces habitat availability and likely connectivity for bats. In that case, results call for switching off the illumination of such bridges crossing riverine ecosystems to preserve their functionality as habitats and corridors for bats.

show abstract

“…This level of k was chosen through visual assessment of the residuals, to ensure sufficient smoothing while at the same time avoiding overfitting. To maintain relatively simple models for running the scenarios, and to minimize overfitting, smoothed terms were not used for the other continuous explanatory environmental variables (e.g., Gili et al 2020 ). The following predictor variables were included in the models to be tested: tree species, tree height, trunk diameter, trunk height, tree spacing, and distance to footpath.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rubbing behavior of European brown bears: factors affecting rub tree selectivity and density

González-Bernardo

Bagnasco

Bombieri

et al. 2021

Journal of Mammalogy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Scent-mediated communication is considered the principal communication channel in many mammal species. Compared with visual and vocal communication, odors persist for a longer time, enabling individuals to interact without being in the same place at the same time. The brown bear (Ursus arctos), like other mammals, carries out chemical communication, for example, by means of scents deposited on marking (or rub) trees. In this study, we assessed rub tree selectivity of the brown bear in the predominantly deciduous forests of the Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain). We first compared the characteristics of 101 brown bear rub trees with 263 control trees. We then analyzed the potential factors affecting the density of rub trees along 35 survey routes along footpaths. We hypothesized that: (1) bears would select particular trees, or tree species, with characteristics that make them more conspicuous; and (2) that bears would select trees located in areas with the highest presence of conspecifics, depending on the population density or the position of the trees within the species’ range. We used linear models and generalized additive models to test these hypotheses. Our results showed that brown bears generally selected more conspicuous trees with a preference for birches (Betula spp.). This choice may facilitate the marking and/or detection of chemical signals and, therefore, the effectiveness of intraspecific communication. Conversely, the abundance of rub trees along footpaths did not seem to depend on the density of bear observations or their relative position within the population center or its border. Our results suggest that Cantabrian brown bears select trees based on their individual characteristics and their location, with no influence of characteristics of the bear population itself. Our findings can be used to locate target trees that could help in population monitoring.

show abstract

Bats in urbanising landscapes: habitat selection and recommendations for a sustainable future

Cited by 31 publications

References 70 publications

Seasonal Activity of Urban Bats Populations in Temperate Climate Zone—A Case Study from Southern Poland

Seasonal Activity of Urban Bats Populations in Temperate Climate Zone—A Case Study from Southern Poland

Artificial light may change flight patterns of bats near bridges along urban waterways

Rubbing behavior of European brown bears: factors affecting rub tree selectivity and density

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About