New bat species and records for the Adriatic Islands Vis and Biševo (Croatia)

Abstract

The bat fauna of the Adriatic islands is relatively poorly known. Seven species were documented so far on the remote Adriatic islands of Vis and Biševo (Croatia). This study aims to increase knowledge on the bat communities on these islands. Bat echolocations were recorded between 30 April and 11 May 2018 at seven sites showing bat presence. Calls were identified to genus and species level where possible, which confirmed the presence of eight bat taxa on the islands. Three taxa were observed for the first time: Tadarida teniotis, Myotis sp. and Nyctalus sp. Results of this study increase the number of documented bat taxa on Vis from seven to ten and on Biševo from one to six. This study highlights the importance and benefits of utilizing passive acoustic devices at remote locations. Our findings suggest that bat communities and diversity might also be understudied on other islands in the Mediterranean, which could have important implications for bat conservation.