JOURNAL OF BAT RESEARCH & CONSERVATION 7

Pier Paolo De Pasquale, Andrea Galimberti

Abstract: The Alcathoe bat (Myotis alcathoe) is a recently described cryptic species; in Europe its distribution range is poorly known. In Italy this species has been recorded in a small number of locations in Abruzzo (central Italy) and Campania (southern Italy). Our report refers to three bats captured in a mountainous area dominated by forest habitats in the Appennino Lucano Val d’Agri Lagonegrese National Park (Basilicata region). The identification of bats captured was confirmed by molecular analysis using the technique of DNA barcoding. In this paper we present new recordings that highlight the presence of the species in other regions of southern Italy and that help define its distributional status in Europe.

Abstract: In 2012 we began working to determine the distribution and conservation status of Myotis bechsteinii in Aragon. We surveyed 18 sites with potentially suitable habitat in the Aragonese Pyrenees and 231 individuals of 23 bat species were netted. We confirmed the presence of the Myotis bechsteinii in the Aragonese Pyrenees, providing the first data on breeding in Aragón and the northeast Iberian Peninsula. 16 individuals of Myotis bechsteinii were caught in five locations relatively close to each other. Breeding females and juveniles were captured in a single location, which is also a breeding roost located on an old specimen oak Quercus gr cerrioides with large diameter in a monospecific open woodland (dehesa), with dominance of ancient hollow trees. Counting during emergence showed that the colony was formed by 64 females and juveniles. We only trapped adult males in the other localities sample all of them within or in the vicinity of well-preserved spots Quercus gr cerrioides. The oak forests are highly degraded in Aragonese Pyrenees, with very few and small patches of healthy forest with adult specimens. This results in a very low habitats suitability for Myotis bechsteinii and a high degree of fragmentation.

Abstract: While most work on bat research in the Brazilian Amazon has been held in forests, few studies were placed in Amazonian savannas and even less in urban areas, resulting in a subsampling of these mammals distribution. The study surveyed the bats that inhabit the urban area of Boa Vista, Roraima and contributed to the data growth occurring in Brazil. It is a non-experimental research but exploratory and descriptive, with quantitative focus. We identified 23 species in the urban area, distributed in five families and showing predominantly frugivorous diet. This figure is similar to the number of species that have been recorded in inventories from other Brazilian capitals.

Abstract: Four adults Noctule Bat (Nyctalus noctula) were recently netted over a pond in the Monasterio de Piedra (Nuévalos, Aragón, NE Spain). These are the first unambiguous catches of this species in the Autonomous Community of Aragón. Besides, this site is one of the few localities in the Iberian Peninsula with groups of this bat species.

Abstract: The main goal of this study was to contribute for the knowledge of the use of under-roads passageways by bats in northern of Portugal. We selected five underpasses in a road stretch of 8.250 m located in a rural agricultural and grazing area. The average dimensions of underpasses were, 9 m wide, 4.25 m high and 34 m deep. The data was obtained through acoustic detection, mist net capture and roost inspection. Acoustic and mist netting results confirm the use of the underpasses by at least 12 species (Pipistrellus pipistrellus, P. kuhlii, P. pygmaeus, Myotis daubentonii, M. escalerai, M. myotis, Nyctalus leisleri, Plecotus austriacus, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, R. hipposideros, R. mehelyi/R. euryale and Eptesicus serotinus/E. isabellinus). Data from roost inspection in all the underpasses showed the presence of at least six species (M. daubentonii, M. myotis, N. leisleri, P. austriacus, Eptesicus serotinus/E. isabellinus y Pipistrellus sp.), they used fissure within the tunnels of between 1.2 and 1.9 cm. For the same height (4.2-4.3 m) and width (9m), the underpasses most used were the longest. These results stress the importance of underpasses in improving the connectivity and permeability between areas, along with its potential to offer new roosts for bats. We encourage further monitoring and detailed ecological studies to better understand the physical and environmental characteristics that underpin the usage of such structures by bats.

Abstract: In June 1999, a colony of soprano pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pygmaeus Leach, 1825) was found in a dead white poplar (Populus alba L., 1753) in Lodosa, Navarre (Northern Spain). More than 717 bats roosted in the same tree. This tree was cut down, and the colony finally disappeared. In 2003, six bat-boxes (Schwegler, 1FF model) were placed in the same area by the regional authorities (Dept. of Environment, Gov. of Navarre) to provide alternative roosts for this species. In July 2008, five bat-boxes were occupied by new breeding colonies of soprano pipistrelles, ranging approximately from 20 to 40 individuals each one. This year, we observed that many red wood ants (Formica rufa L., 1761) collected the bat guano from the ground, below one bat-box, and they took it up the tree trunk, to their nest, located 2 m above the bat-box. Similar behaviour has been mentioned by other researchers for some different ant species and other insects, but until now, always in caves. As red wood ants normally feed on other insects, we think that they could collect bat guano as a food resource, in an opportunistic behaviour. Thus, soprano pipistrelles have a positive effect on the ant colony.

Abstract: Other than events caused by wind turbines, the accidental mortality of European free-tailed bats in Spain has never been reported in the literature. The discovery on five occasions of European free-tailed bats trapped in boxes on a small balcony in the city of Valencia is described here. In two cases, high mortality was recorded. The findings follow a similar pattern: all involve a large number of bats of both sexes, which are found dead in a box with an open top, always in the month of October. Given the number of cases found over the years in a small area and the number of specimens involved, these mortality events could become a determining factor for some colonies.

Abstract: The placing of bat boxes has become a very popular method of monitoring bats and also an educational tool used by conservation groups and government departments alike to explain the value of bats to human societies. As a result, thousands of bat boxes have been sold or made by bat enthusiasts throughout Europe in past decades. However, very few papers have ever analysed the importance of temperatures inside bat boxes in light of the expected effects of climate change. This paper is a first attempt to explore the possible effects of extreme heat on bats roosting in boxes. Based on our experience in monitoring bat boxes since 1999, our research team decided to place 10 data loggers in new bat boxes randomly distributed amongst our established box stations to monitor the maximum recorded temperatures in boxes. We established that there was a risk of overheating when temperatures rose above 40ºC. Throughout the whole summer we recorded box temperatures every hour (17,560 readings). Overheating episodes occurred in six of ten boxes and in 2% of all samples (429 hours). Furthermore, in July 2013 we observed an overheating event in situ when 22 bats fell from a bat box while they were trying to emerge in the evening. Most European bat boxes models are small, have no ventilation and are usually located in places that are exposed to the sun for several hours a day. However, it has been assumed that bats avoid overheating in bat boxes by roost-switching. Nevertheless, in July 2013 we observed bats suffering from overheating in a wetlands where there were many alternative roosting sites (trees and other boxes). In the Mediterranean area, average summer temperatures are rising annually and we believe it is important to alert bat conservationists to the possibility of overheating events in bat boxes. This preliminary study has indicated that very high temperatures can be reached inside boxes and it is not clear to what extent bats will be able to adapt to these events. Future research should address this issue in the coming years.