Habitat selection and spatial use by the trawling bat Myotis capaccinii (Bonaparte, 1837)

Almenar, David; Aihartza, Joxerra; Goiti, Urtzi; Salsamendi, Egoitz; Garin, Iñazio

doi:10.3161/1733-5329(2006)8[157:hsasub]2.0.co;2

Cited by 37 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…This species is not effectively represented by any protected area system (Fig. 1), probably because it is a cave-dwelling bat that shows a preference for riparian habitats (Almenar et al 2006(Almenar et al , 2009Biscardi et al 2007). SACs designated to protect cave-dwelling species are limited to the entrances of caves.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are species listed in the Annex II of the Habitats Directive better represented in Natura 2000 network than the remaining species? A test using Spanish bats

2015

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One of the main aims of protected areas is to be effective in the conservation of target species, i.e. those of the highest conservation concern. The Natura 2000 network (N2000) of protected areas is the main pillar of European action to halt biodiversity loss. Within N2000, special areas of conservation (SACs) are designated to protect habitats and species of the highest conservation interest, i.e. habitats from Annex I and species (other than birds) listed in Annex II of the Habitat Directive. Thus, a critical and urgent task is to assess the effectiveness of N2000 in the protection of these species. Here, we used distribution data for Spanish bats to test whether the species included in Annex II are better represented in N2000 than the remaining bats found in Spain, since SAC sites were specifically designated to protect the former species. In general, we found significantly high overlapping values between species distribution and N2000 sites (both groups of species are in general over-represented in N2000). However, contrary to our expectations, N2000 (even when only SACs were considered) did not offer higher representation values for the species listed in Annex II than for other species. We found that N2000 performed well even for non-target species, and that species from Annex II could have acted as effective umbrella species for the remaining bat species. Finally, the usefulness of including a species in Annex II is discussed, and guidelines to improve the efficiency of the N2000 for bat conservation are offered. Communicated by Danna J. Leaman. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are species listed in the Annex II of the Habitats Directive better represented in Natura 2000 network than the remaining species? A test using Spanish bats

2015

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“…capaccinii from different colonies. They are located 32 km apart from each other, beyond the maximum foraging range recorded for the species [15] and a radio-tracking study [16] as well as the lack of captures in each cave of individuals ringed in the other colony (unpublished data) suggest small or nonexistent contact between both populations. The first pond, full of Gambusia holbrooki fish and located in a golf course, is the only site reported as fishing ground of the long-fingered bat in the Iberian Peninsula [17].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fishing Technique of Long-Fingered Bats Was Developed from a Primary Reaction to Disappearing Target Stimuli

et al. 2016

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Behavioral plasticity is a key feature allowing animals to broaden their dietary niche when novel food resources become available, and long-fingered bats provide an appropriate model system to study the underpinnings of behavioral plasticity, since although generally being an insectivorous species, some individuals have been reported to catch fish. Aiming to get insight into the origin of fishing behavior in long-fingered bats, we studied in the field the differences in sensorial and mechanical reactions to insect-like (stationary) and fish-like (temporary) prey stimuli between well-known piscivorous and strictly insectivorous individuals. Both piscivorous and insectivorous individuals exhibited a qualitatively similar reaction to temporary target stimuli (longer and deeper dips and terminal echolocation phase skewed towards buzz I compared to stationary stimuli). Nevertheless, the quantitative differences observed in the sensorial and mechanical features (the intensity of the shift was significantly greater in piscivorous than in insectivorous individuals) show that piscivorous individuals have honed their capture technique likely enhancing the fishing success. Thus, our results suggest that the fishing technique was developed from a primary reaction shared by all long-fingered bats. All individuals seem to be mechanically and sensorially adapted to detect and capture fish, although under appropriate environmental conditions, they would further improve their technique by experience and/or social learning.

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“…We predict that associative learning between abundance of insect prey and specific locations or shapes plays little role in the hunting behavior of water foraging bats. As a representative of water foraging bats, we chose M. capaccinii, a species found in the Mediterranean region that hunts over water surfaces, with a preference for slow running rivers [30], [31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging Ecology Predicts Learning Performance in Insectivorous Bats

et al. 2013

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Bats are unusual among mammals in showing great ecological diversity even among closely related species and are thus well suited for studies of adaptation to the ecological background. Here we investigate whether behavioral flexibility and simple- and complex-rule learning performance can be predicted by foraging ecology. We predict faster learning and higher flexibility in animals hunting in more complex, variable environments than in animals hunting in more simple, stable environments. To test this hypothesis, we studied three closely related insectivorous European bat species of the genus Myotis that belong to three different functional groups based on foraging habitats: M. capaccinii, an open water forager, M. myotis, a passive listening gleaner, and M. emarginatus, a clutter specialist. We predicted that M. capaccinii would show the least flexibility and slowest learning reflecting its relatively unstructured foraging habitat and the stereotypy of its natural foraging behavior, while the other two species would show greater flexibility and more rapid learning reflecting the complexity of their natural foraging tasks. We used a purposefully unnatural and thus species-fair crawling maze to test simple- and complex-rule learning, flexibility and re-learning performance. We found that M. capaccinii learned a simple rule as fast as the other species, but was slower in complex rule learning and was less flexible in response to changes in reward location. We found no differences in re-learning ability among species. Our results corroborate the hypothesis that animals’ cognitive skills reflect the demands of their ecological niche.

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Habitat selection and spatial use by the trawling bat Myotis capaccinii (Bonaparte, 1837)

Cited by 37 publications

References 2 publications

Are species listed in the Annex II of the Habitats Directive better represented in Natura 2000 network than the remaining species? A test using Spanish bats

Are species listed in the Annex II of the Habitats Directive better represented in Natura 2000 network than the remaining species? A test using Spanish bats

Fishing Technique of Long-Fingered Bats Was Developed from a Primary Reaction to Disappearing Target Stimuli

Foraging Ecology Predicts Learning Performance in Insectivorous Bats

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