Habitat Use by Bats (Chiroptera) Assessed by Means of a Broad-Band Acoustic Method

Vaughan, N. D.; Jones, Gareth; Harris, Stephen

doi:10.2307/2404918

Cited by 266 publications

(271 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…In fact, in Portugal, temperature and bat activity seem to be positively related (Amorim et al 2012), a pattern also described in another locations (Vaughan et al 1997, Erickson & West 2002 which may suggest that temperature is a good predictor of bat activity. High levels of humidity have been reported to provide good conditions for bats to forage (Amorim et al 2012) possibly because high levels of humidity increase the abundance of insects (Roche 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Roosting behaviour and phenology of the Lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) in a breeding colony in Sintra, Portugal

Lino¹,

Fonseca²,

Mendes³

et al. 2015

Galemys

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Almost all bats are exclusively nocturnal. However, the activity patterns throughout the night can differ between species and also within the same species from place to place. Rhinolophus hipposideros (Bechstein, 1800) has suffered a severe decline in many countries along its distribution area, including Portugal. In this study we aimed to describe the roosting behaviour during spring, summer and autumn of one of the largest maternity colonies of R. hipposideros known in Portugal. We analysed roost occupancy, activity patterns inside the roost, birth periods, and post-natal behaviour. We also tested the influence of ambient factors on the patterns of roost use. All information was obtained through the analyses of video recorded using cameras placed inside the roost, while climatic data were gathered using a meteorological station. We found that this roost has higher occupation during August and that in October it is only occupied during the night. Females gave birth from late May to early June, and in August juveniles became independent and undistinguishable from the adults. This colony presented a bimodal pattern of activity throughout the months of the study, which seems to be related with sunset and sunrise. Our results indicate that individuals of this colony prefer higher temperatures, but low humidity and wind speed to leave the roost. Key Words: Rhinolophus hipposideros, paternal care, roost use, Portugal. ResumenCasi todos los murciélagos tienen hábitos nocturnos pero los patrones de actividad durante la noche pueden variar entre las especies y dentro de la misma especie en diferentes lugares. El murciélago pequeño de herradura Rhinolophus hipposideros (Bechstein, 1800) sufrió un severo declive en muchos países de su área de distribución, incluyendo Portugal. En este estudio, se pretende describir el comportamiento de refugio durante la primavera, verano y otoño de una de las colonias de cría más grande de R. hipposideros en Portugal. Asimismo, se analizó la ocupación y los patrones de actividad en el refugio, el periodo de nacimientos, y el comportamiento postnatal. También se comprobó el efecto de los factores ambientales en el uso del refugio. Toda la información se obtuvo a partir del análisis de los videos grabados en el interior del refugio. Los datos climáticos se obtuvieron mediante una estación meteorológica. Se observó que el refugio tiene una mayor ocupación durante el mes de agosto y que en octubre sólo se ocupa durante la noche. Las hembras dan a luz entre finales de mayo y principios de junio, y en agosto los juveniles parecen ser independientes e indistinguibles de los adultos. Esta colonia presenta un patrón bimodal de actividad que parece estar relacionado con el atardecer y amanecer. Nuestros resultados también indican que esta colonia de murciélagos prefiere altas temperaturas pero baja humedad y una cierta velocidad del viento para abandonar el refugio. Palabras clave: Rhinolophus hipposideros; cuidado paternal; uso de abrigo; Portugal. Galemys 27, 2015 2

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Roosting behaviour and phenology of the Lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) in a breeding colony in Sintra, Portugal

Lino¹,

Fonseca²,

Mendes³

et al. 2015

Galemys

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“…Bats are 'multi-habitat' animals, using a number of different habitats that provide the functions of daily roosts, breeding sites, winter roosts, commuting routes, drinking and foraging sites. Despite significant plasticity in the choice of roost and foraging sites, as well as a broad spectrum of diet (Vaughan 1997), these mammals prefer some particular habitats during night-time activity (Vaughan et al 1997a). These include some prominent structures that appear only after heavy transformation of the landscape by humans, most notably tree lines (Verboom and Huitema 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, abundant studies (e.g. Walsh and Harris 1996;Vaughan et al 1997a;Russ and Montgomery 2002) on bat habitat preferences conducted in Western Europe, which has the heaviest anthropogenic transformation of the landscape and is strongly influenced by the oceanic climate, are not sufficient for establishing the conservation needs for central and eastern parts of the continent. Differences in the diet of noctule Nyctalus noctula between Great Britain (significant share of terrestrial insects -Jones 1995) and Latvia (almost exclusively aquatic insects-Rydell and Petersons 1998) appear to confirm this hypothesis, and similar differences can be expected in habitat preferences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat preferences of bats in anthropogenically altered, mosaic landscapes of northern Poland

Ciechanowski

2015

Eur J Wildl Res

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Few studies refer to the large-scale habitat preferences of bat assemblages in temperate mainland Europe. The study aimed at habitat associations of bats in the postglacial lakelands of northern Poland. Sixty-nine walking transects were divided into sections belonging to 36 habitat classes. Broadband ultrasound detectors were applied to record bat echolocation calls, identified to the species level by spectral analysis. Selection or avoidance of habitat categories was tested using Z statistic with a Bonferroni adjustment, and niche breadth was estimated by calculating Levin's formula and niche overlap-Pianka index. All bats (except Eptesicus serotinus) selected water bodies. They avoided arable land, coniferous and mixed forests, their edges and suburbs. Nyctalus noctula was the most eurytopic species, using most habitats in proportion to their availability. E. serotinus selected villages and roads in coniferous forests. Narrower habitat niches were occupied by morphologically similar pipistrelles. Pipistrellus pipistrellus preferred tree lines, Pipistrellus nathusii avoided tree lines and villages, and Pipistrellus pygmaeus preferred roads in deciduous forests but avoided tree lines. The most stenotopic Myotis sp. avoided roads in mixed and coniferous forests, tree lines and built-up areas. Most species strongly overlapped in habitat niches, and thus, their resource partitioning was probably based on using different hunting tactics. P. pygmaeus, although considered a sibling species of P. pipistrellus, overlapped in habitat niche much more with P. nathusii. In the latter case, resource partitioning may result from larger differences in body size and frequency of echolocation calls. The importance of water bodies for bats was higher than in Western Europe, and importance of woodland was lower, presumably due to much higher limnicity. The results provide a base for regionspecific landscape planning guidelines, applicable to bat conservation.

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“…The first, apparently more obvious, is flooding (i.e., increase in water table and creation of beaver ponds, covering former terrestrial habitats). All four species that revealed significant differences between sections of the transect at site 1 (P. pipistrellus, P. pygmaeus, P. nathusii, N. noctula) are known to prefer water bodies or riparian zones (Rachwald 1992;Rydell et al 1994;Vaughan et al 1997a;Mickevičiené and Mickevičius 2001;Russ and Montgomery 2002;Downs and Racey 2006;Kaňuch et al 2007). As beavers extend riparian habitats, they improve the habitat quality for bats and provide them with large areas where prey is much more abundant than over the shallow and narrow streams.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are almost exclusively insectivorous (Vaughan 1997) and concentrate their foraging activity in habitats of the highest prey abundance (e.g., in river valleys), where they benefit from emerging aquatic insects (Fukui et al 2006). Riparian zones and water bodies usually hold the highest diversity of bats and the highest density of foraging individuals (Rachwald 1992;Rydell et al 1994;Walsh and Harris 1996;Vaughan et al 1997a;Grindal et al 1999;Russ and Montgomery 2002;Ellison et al 2005;Menzel et al 2005a). In the diet of several species, like Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentonii), pipistrelles (Pipistrellus spp.)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reintroduction of beavers Castor fiber may improve habitat quality for vespertilionid bats foraging in small river valleys

et al. 2010

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Beavers strongly modify their environment by not only building dams and creating ponds, which slow the water flow, but also by selective cutting and removing of trees, which change the spatial structure of the forest. We aimed to test the hypothesis that beaver activity promotes new foraging sites for insectivorous bats. The beaver's influence can be especially significant on aerial hawkers that prefer moderate structural clutter, like the Pipistrellus species (by creating new canopy gaps), and on water-surface foragers, like Myotis daubentonii (by creating ponds with smooth water surface). The study was conducted on small streams in forest areas of northern Poland, which were colonized by the European beaver (Castor fiber). Bat activity was recorded with a Pettersson D-980 ultrasound detector on line transects. The number of bat passes was significantly higher in the stream sections modified by beavers (flooded and subjected to intensive tree cutting) than in the unmodified sections (for Pipistrellus nathusii, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Pipistrellus pygmaeus, Nyctalus noctula, and all species lumped together). Contrary to our expectations, the activity of the Myotis species was significantly lower on the transect with the largest beaver ponds, possibly due to the blanket of duckweed (Lemnaceae), which is known to produce clutter echoes, thereby reducing prey detection by echolocating M. daubentonii.

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Habitat Use by Bats (Chiroptera) Assessed by Means of a Broad-Band Acoustic Method

Cited by 266 publications

References 41 publications

Roosting behaviour and phenology of the Lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) in a breeding colony in Sintra, Portugal

Roosting behaviour and phenology of the Lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) in a breeding colony in Sintra, Portugal

Habitat preferences of bats in anthropogenically altered, mosaic landscapes of northern Poland

Reintroduction of beavers Castor fiber may improve habitat quality for vespertilionid bats foraging in small river valleys

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