Species-specific responses to land-use change in island insectivorous bats

Ferreira, Diogo F.; Gibb, Rory; López‐Baucells, Adrià; Nunes, Nuno; Jones, Kate E.; Rocha, Ricardo

doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2022.126177

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Several studies have documented the negative impacts of habitat modi cation on island bats (e.g., Davies et al 2016;Ferreira et al 2022;Moseley et al 2022). Here, we expand on these by showing that land-use change also leads to species-speci c shifts in the diel activity of insular insectivorous bats and that assemblage-level temporal overlap varies signi cantly across different land-use types.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 51%

“…The diurnal recording was intended to capture the diurnal activity of Hipposideros ruber (Russo et al 2011). Contiguous sampling sites were at least 250 m apart to minimise simultaneously recording the same individual (Ferreira et al 2022). AudioMoth devices were placed inside waterproof boxes and attached to vertical structures, between 1.5 and 2 m above the ground (López-Bosch et al 2022).…”

Section: Sampling Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet, despite the key ecological roles played by insular bats (e.g., seed dispersal and arthropod suppression; Florens et al 2017; Gonçalves et al 2024; Kemp et al 2019), they lag their mainland counterparts in terms of research attention (Conenna et al 2017). Fortunately, the increasing availability of affordable passive acoustic detectors now allows for more comprehensive island surveys of echolocating bats (e.g., Ferreira et al 2022;Nóbrega et al 2023), offering an opportunity to investigate how anthropogenic stressors impact insular bat communities more thoroughly. An increasing body of literature is adding support that echolocating bats are highly responsive to anthropogenic land-use change (Hazard et 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diel activity of insectivorous bats in response to land-use change in São Tomé Island, Gulf of Guinea

Araújo-Fernandes,

Castro-Fernandes,

Guedes

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Land-use change poses a significant threat to biodiversity, particularly in insular ecosystems where species exhibit higher levels of specialisation. Despite the importance of tropical islands for biodiversity conservation, the impacts of land-use change on the diel activity of insular species remain poorly understood. We addressed this gap by investigating the diel activity patterns of insectivorous bats in response to land-use change in São Tomé Island, Central West Africa. Using passive acoustic detectors, we surveyed insectivorous bats across forests, shaded plantations, oil palm plantations, agricultural and urban areas. We examined (1) how intraspecific diel activity varies between forest and human-altered land-use types, and (2) how interspecific diel activity varies within the same land-use type, by quantifying overlap coefficients in species activity. Based on 19,383 bat passes from four species, we found that the degree of overlap in species-specific activity between forests and human-altered land-use types varied between species, with the least overlap being observed between forests and urban areas for Miniopterus newtoni, and between forests and oil palm plantations for Chaerephon spp.. Overlap in the activity of different species was lower within less or not disturbed land-use types (forests and shaded plantations), where more species were present. Overall, diel activity of insectivorous bats altered according to the magnitude of structural land-use change. Such bat responses might be eventually due to the different temporal prey availability and interspecific competition in the altered land-use types. These findings comprise baseline knowledge informing evidence-based management actions across tropical island systems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 51%

Section: Sampling Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diel activity of insectivorous bats in response to land-use change in São Tomé Island, Gulf of Guinea

Araújo-Fernandes,

Castro-Fernandes,

Guedes

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…Despite some data on shrews in agricultural and anthropogenic habitats [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ], agro-ecological studies are mostly limited to rodent communities [ 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 ]. Studies on insectivores in anthropogenic habitats are mostly limited to birds and bats [ 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 ], and the same applies to agricultural areas [ 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 ]. As such, the problem is that in some cases, there is no reference point against which to compare recent data [ 71 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shrews Under-Represented in Fruit Farms and Homesteads

Balčiauskas

Stirkė

Garbaras

et al. 2023

Animals

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Shrews are a less studied group of small mammals than rodents. Between 2018 and 2022, we surveyed 23 sites in Lithuania, including natural and anthropogenic habitats, with the aim to assess the proportion of Soricidae in small mammal communities and their diet based on stable isotope analysis. The average representation of Soricidae was 3.1%, about half the long-term average in other habitats in the country. The highest proportions were in meadows and farmsteads, at 4.9% and 5.0% respectively. Shrews were not trapped on farms or in young orchards, and their relative abundance was very low in intensively managed orchards (0.006 individuals per 100 trap days). Neomys fodiens and N. anomalus were unexpectedly found in homesteads, including in outbuildings. Sorex araneus and S. minutus had similar diets. The trophic carbon/nitrogen discrimination factor between invertebrates and shrew hair was 2.74‰/3.98‰ for S. araneus, 1.90‰/3.78‰ for S. minutus in the orchards. The diet of N. fodiens and N. anomalus at the homesteads requires further investigation. We propose that the under-abundance of shrews may be due to contamination by plant protection products and a lack of invertebrates under intensive agricultural practices.

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“…The oceanic island of Madeira is home to 3 bat species: the Macaronesian endemic Madeira Pipistrelle Pipistrellus maderensis , the Lesser Noctule Nyctalus leisleri , and the Grey Long-eared Bat Plecotus austriacus ( Teixeira and Jesus 2009 ; Ferreira et al 2022 ). Although classified as Vulnerable by IUCN, the Madeiran population of P. maderensis is very flexible regarding its habitat requirements and forages over most of the island habitats, being particularly associated with forest, agricultural, and urban biotopes ( Ferreira et al 2022 ; Rocha 2023 ). Despite the lack of diet studies, it has been suggested that P. maderensis feeds mainly on mosquitoes (Diptera), caddisflies (Trichoptera), butterflies/moths (Lepidoptera), and small beetles (Coleoptera; Jesus et al 2009 ; Nóbrega et al 2023 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A metabarcoding assessment of the diet of the insectivorous bats of Madeira Island, Macaronesia

Gonçalves,

Nóbrega,

Rebelo

et al. 2024

Journal of Mammalogy

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Understanding the trophic structure of species assemblages is crucial in order to comprehend how syntropic species coexist in space and time. Bats are the second most taxonomically diverse group of mammals and display a wide range of dietary strategies. Due to their ability to disperse over water, ca. 60% of all extant bat species occur on islands and for the most part their interspecific ecological interactions are poorly known. Using DNA metabarcoding, this study offers the first insights into the diet of Macaronesian bats by providing a holistic overview of prey consumed by all 3 bat species found on Madeira Island (Pipistrellus maderensis, Nyctalus leisleri verrucosus, and Plecotus austriacus) and investigating both interspecific (between P. maderensis and N. l. verrucosus) and intraspecific (between female and male N. l. verrucosus) dietary differences. We identified a total of 110 species of arthropod prey in the diet of the 3 bat species, including multiple agriculture and forestry pest species, a human disease-relevant species, and numerous taxa not previously recorded on the island. Lepidoptera was the primary prey order for all 3 bat species. The diet composition of P. maderensis and N. l. verrucosus differed significantly, with P. maderensis consuming more Diptera and multiple prey taxa not found in the diet of N. l. verucosus. Moreover, male N. l. verrucosus exhibited a broader niche breadth than females. This study is among the first to use DNA metabarcoding to evaluate the diet of insular bats and thus greatly advances knowledge regarding the trophic ecology and pest suppression services of these poorly-known mammals.

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Species-specific responses to land-use change in island insectivorous bats

Cited by 17 publications

References 56 publications

Diel activity of insectivorous bats in response to land-use change in São Tomé Island, Gulf of Guinea

Diel activity of insectivorous bats in response to land-use change in São Tomé Island, Gulf of Guinea

Shrews Under-Represented in Fruit Farms and Homesteads

A metabarcoding assessment of the diet of the insectivorous bats of Madeira Island, Macaronesia

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