Swarming of Bats at Different Elevations in the Carpathian Mountains

Piksa, Krzysztof; Bogdanowicz, Wiesław; Tereba, Anna

doi:10.3161/150811011x578660

Cited by 46 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 36 publications

(56 reference statements)

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“…The swarming activity pattern of the Natterer's bat in the Skamieniałe Miasto Reserve, with relatively late maximum (late September), resembles that reported from a bat hibernacula in Poland (Furmankiewicz and Górniak 2002;Piksa 2008;Piksa et al 2011), but also in Latvia (Šuba et al 2008) and UK (Parsons et al 2003;Rivers et al 2006;Glover and Altringham 2008). Adult individuals prevailed over young bats as in other studies (Furmankiewicz and Górniak 2002;Glover and Altringham 2008;Piksa 2008;Gottfried 2009).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 50%

“…It means that a bat has to compromise between spending time and energy on both activities, because an individual success (survival and reproduction) depends on the effect of proper investment. Males usually outnumber females during the entire swarming season (Rivers et al 2006;Gottfried 2009;Piksa et al 2011). This is interpreted as males spend more time at swarming sites than females to increase the number of copulations, which enhances their reproductive success (Rivers et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Species efficiency of food resources exploitation may be crucial in fat accumulation strategy before hibernation. Bat species differ in timing of their activity peaks in the swarming season, which lasts from the middle of summer to the late autumn (Furmankiewicz and Górniak 2002;Parsons et al 2003;Piksa et al 2011). An explanation of the late activity peak of the Natterer's bat proposed by Parsons et al (2003) was its gleaning strategy, which makes foraging activity independent of low air temperature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Activity pattern and fat accumulation strategy of the Natterer’s bat (Vespertilionidae, Chiroptera) swarming population indicate the exact time of male mating effort

et al. 2016

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Studies concerning bat autumn swarming behavior suggest that the main purpose of this phenomenon is mating. However, the process of fat accumulation is crucial for surviving winter, and it seems to be in clear conflict with a need to strive for the opportunity to mate prior to hibernation. Investment in one activity limits the other one creating a trade-off between them. The aim of our study was to describe the activity pattern of each sex-age group (adult males, adult females, subadults) of the Natterer's bat during swarming period and to investigate the fat accumulation process of adult males in the context of their reproductive strategy. Bats were captured by mist nets at the swarming site fortnightly from the early August until the late November. The age, sex, reproductive status, and body condition index (mass to forearm ratio, BCI) were recorded. The activity peak of both sexes, adults, and subadults was observed in the late September. That time in season, BCI of adult males was the lowest, and there was no correlation between the hour of an adult male capture and its BCI value within one night (r s = 0.23; p = 0.157). Such correlation was observed later in the season (early October: r s = 0.44; p = 0.020; late October: r s = 0.48; p = 0.002). A negative correlation between adult males' BCI and proportion of adult females was found (r = 0.44; p = 0.000). We conclude that the activity peak of females is likely to be responsible for the effort of the mating behavior of the males, which is reflected by their low condition index. We suggest that the gleaning foraging strategy of Natterer's bat allows the males to postpone their fat accumulation until just before hibernation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 50%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Activity pattern and fat accumulation strategy of the Natterer’s bat (Vespertilionidae, Chiroptera) swarming population indicate the exact time of male mating effort

et al. 2016

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“…The lack of suitable roosts in BNP, mainly church attics, may partly account for the absence of two synanthropic species M. emarginatus and R. hipposideros. These four expected species are frequently captured in mist nets during swarming at caves in the Carpathians (Piksa et al 2011) and have been recorded at the cave Dolna w Nasicznem (K. Sachanowicz, unpubl. data), located ca.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Summer activity of bats and their assemblages in the Carpathians are poorly known, mainly due to very limited use of effective sampling methods, such as mist netting. Swarming activity of bats at cave entrances, related to mating and roost selection, was studied recently mainly in the Tatras, which are the highest Polish mountains and the only ones of the alpine type (Piksa et al 2011). Occasional mist netting at caves was also conducted in the Beskids (Szkudlarek et al 2008), which are lower and middle ranges [500-1400 m above sea level (a.s.l.)]…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assemblage structure and use of anthropogenic roosts by bats in the Eastern Carpathians: Case study in the Bieszczady National Park (SE Poland)

Sachanowicz

Wower²

2013

Italian Journal of Zoology

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In relation to almost completely reduced anthropogenic pressure after 1944 and the consequently low number of present settlements, impoverishment of the bat (Mammalia: Chiroptera) fauna has been suggested for the Western Bieszczady Mountains (Mts), southeast Poland. During a field study in 2009-2011, we recorded 15 bat species within the Bieszczady National Park and 19 in total (i.e. all but one or two expected for the Bieszczady Mts), including a locality at a cave near the park border. At 26 (72%) of 36 localities sampled over water, forest roads and glades, in 278 mist net hours, we captured 159 bats representing 12 species. Species most frequently sampled and most abundant in captures were Myotis brandtii and M. daubentonii (both over 50% of localities and 80% of bats in total). Most of the captured bats were males (73%) and adult individuals (85%). Fifty percent of M. daubentonii (both sexes) and several males of M. brandtii, netted over streams, were soiled with fresh clay, indicating day roosts of these bats were likely located in rocky crevices at river banks. We found bats (six species) or their faeces in 28 (48%) of 58 inspected roosts in buildings. Vespertilio murinus was the most abundant and most frequent species. The same number of species (five) used farm buildings and houses. Most bats found at roosts were adult males either solitary or in two colonies of V. murinus. Despite the high number of species recorded, we confirmed the impoverishment of the attic dwelling species set. Although no church attics, frequently utilized by colonies of Rhinolophus hipposideros and M. myotis in the other Carpathian regions, are present in the Bieszczady National Park, local buildings as a limited source of roosting site are important for bat conservation.

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Optimizing bat bioacoustic surveys in human‐modified Neotropical landscapes

López‐Baucells

Yoh

Rocha

et al. 2021

Ecological Applications

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During the last decades, the use of bioacoustics as a non-invasive and costeffective sampling method has greatly increased worldwide. For bats, acoustic surveys have long been known to complement traditional mist-netting, however, appropriate protocol guidelines are still lacking for tropical regions. Establishing the minimum sampling effort needed to detect ecological changes in bat assemblages (e.g., activity, composition, and richness) is crucial in view of workload and project cost constraints, and because detecting such changes must be reliable enough to support effective conservation management. Using one of the most comprehensive tropical bat acoustic data sets, collected in the Amazon, we assessed the minimum survey effort required to accurately assess the completeness of assemblage inventories and habitat selection in fragmented forest landscapes for aerial insectivorous bats. We evaluated a combination of 20 different temporal sampling schemes, which differed regarding number of hours per night, number of nights per site, and sampling only during the wet or dry season, or both. This was assessed under two different landscape scenarios: in primary forest fragments embedded in a matrix of secondary forest and in the same forest fragments, but after they had been re-isolated through clearing of the secondary forest. We found that the sampling effort required to achieve 90% inventory completeness varied considerably depending on the research aim and the landscape scenario evaluated, averaging~80 and 10 nights before and after fragment re-isolation, respectively. Recording for more than 4 h per night did not result in a substantial reduction in the required number of sampling nights. Regarding the effects of habitat selection, except for assemblage composition, bat responses in terms of richness, diversity, and activity were similar across all sampling schemes after fragment re-isolation. However, before re-isolation, a minimum of four to six sampling hours per night after dusk and three to five nights of sampling per site were needed to detect significant effects that could otherwise go unnoticed. Based on our results, we propose guidelines that will aid to optimize sampling protocols for bat acoustic surveys in the Neotropics.

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Swarming of Bats at Different Elevations in the Carpathian Mountains

Cited by 46 publications

References 36 publications

Activity pattern and fat accumulation strategy of the Natterer’s bat (Vespertilionidae, Chiroptera) swarming population indicate the exact time of male mating effort

Activity pattern and fat accumulation strategy of the Natterer’s bat (Vespertilionidae, Chiroptera) swarming population indicate the exact time of male mating effort

Assemblage structure and use of anthropogenic roosts by bats in the Eastern Carpathians: Case study in the Bieszczady National Park (SE Poland)

Optimizing bat bioacoustic surveys in human‐modified Neotropical landscapes

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