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Kruszynski C, Bailey LD, Bach L, Bach P, Fritze M, Lindecke O, Teige T, Voigt CC. High vulnerability of juvenile Nathusius' pipistrelle bats (Pipistrellus nathusii) at wind turbines. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2513. [PMID: 34877754 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Revised: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Large numbers of bats are killed by wind turbines globally, yet the specific demographic consequences of wind turbine mortality are still unclear. In this study, we compared characteristics of Nathusius' pipistrelles (Pipistrellus nathusii) killed at wind turbines (N = 119) to those observed within the live population (N = 524) during the summer migration period in Germany. We used generalized linear mixed-effects modeling to identify demographic groups most vulnerable to wind turbine mortality, including sex (female or male), age (adult or juvenile), and geographic origin (regional or long-distance migrant; depicted by fur stable hydrogen isotope ratios). Juveniles contributed with a higher proportion of carcasses at wind turbines than expected given their frequency in the live population suggesting that juvenile bats may be particularly vulnerable to wind turbine mortality. This effect varied with wind turbine density. Specifically, at low wind turbine densities, representing mostly inland areas with water bodies and forests where Nathusius' pipistrelles breed, juveniles were found more often dead beneath turbines than expected based on their abundance in the live population. At high wind turbine densities, representing mostly coastal areas where Nathusius' pipistrelles migrate, adults and juveniles were equally vulnerable. We found no evidence of increased vulnerability to wind turbines in either sex, yet we observed a higher proportion of females than males among both carcasses and the live population, which may reflect a female bias in the live population most likely caused by females migrating from their northeastern breeding areas migrating into Germany. A high mortality of females is conservation concern for this migratory bat species because it affects the annual reproduction rate of populations. A distant origin did not influence the likelihood of getting killed at wind turbines. A disproportionately high vulnerability of juveniles to wind turbine mortality may reduce juvenile recruitment, which may limit the resilience of Nathusius' pipistrelles to environmental stressors such as climate change or habitat loss. Schemes to mitigate wind turbine mortality, such as elevated cut-in speeds, should be implemented throughout Europe to prevent population declines of Nathusius' pipistrelles and other migratory bats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Kruszynski
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Liam D Bailey
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Lothar Bach
- Bach Freilandforschung, zoologische Gutachten, Bremen, Germany
| | - Petra Bach
- Bach Freilandforschung, zoologische Gutachten, Bremen, Germany
| | - Marcus Fritze
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Oliver Lindecke
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tobias Teige
- Büro für faunistische Fachgutachten, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christian C Voigt
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Gómez-Corea W, España FG, Mejía-Quintanilla D, Alvarez MRDV. Bat fly (Diptera: Streblidae) and common vampire bat (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) association in Honduras: prevalence, mean intensity, infracommunities and influence of the biological characteristics of the host. ZOOLOGIA 2022. [DOI: 10.1590/s1984-4689.v39.e21018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Guillaume B, Jérôme T, Philippe L, Eduardo C, François-Joseph L, Eric B. Aging at evolutionary crossroads: longitudinal gene co-expression network analyses of proximal and ultimate causes of aging in bats. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 39:6400255. [PMID: 34662394 PMCID: PMC8763092 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
How, when, and why do organisms, their tissues, and their cells age remain challenging issues, although researchers have identified multiple mechanistic causes of aging, and three major evolutionary theories have been developed to unravel the ultimate causes of organismal aging. A central hypothesis of these theories is that the strength of natural selection decreases with age. However, empirical evidence on when, why, and how organisms age is phylogenetically limited, especially in natural populations. Here, we developed generic comparisons of gene co-expression networks that quantify and dissect the heterogeneity of gene co-expression in conspecific individuals from different age-classes to provide topological evidence about some mechanical and fundamental causes of organismal aging. We applied this approach to investigate the complexity of some proximal and ultimate causes of aging phenotypes in a natural population of the greater mouse-eared bat Myotis myotis, a remarkably long-lived species given its body size and metabolic rate, with available longitudinal blood transcriptomes. M. myotis gene co-expression networks become increasingly fragmented with age, suggesting an erosion of the strength of natural selection and a general dysregulation of gene co-expression in aging bats. However, selective pressures remain sufficiently strong to allow successive emergence of homogeneous age-specific gene co-expression patterns, for at least 7 years. Thus, older individuals from long-lived species appear to sit at an evolutionary crossroad: as they age, they experience both a decrease in the strength of natural selection and a targeted selection for very specific biological processes, further inviting to refine a central hypothesis in evolutionary aging theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernard Guillaume
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Teulière Jérôme
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Lopez Philippe
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Corel Eduardo
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Lapointe François-Joseph
- Département de sciences biologiques, Complexe des sciences, 1375 avenue Thérèse-Lavoie-Roux, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec), H2V 0B3, Canada (
| | - Bapteste Eric
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, 75005, France
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Preble JH, Vincenot CE, Saito K, Ohte N. Roosting ecology of endangered plant-roosting bats on Okinawa Island: Implications for bat-friendly forestry practices. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:13961-13971. [PMID: 34707831 PMCID: PMC8525085 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Revised: 08/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Roosting information is crucial to guiding bat conservation and bat-friendly forestry practices. The Ryukyu tube-nosed bat Murina ryukyuana (Endangered) and Yanbaru whiskered bat Myotis yanbarensis (Critically Endangered) are forest-dwelling bats endemic to the central Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. Despite their threatened status, little is known about the roosting ecology of these species and the characteristics of natural maternity roosts are unknown. To inform sustainable forestry practices and conservation management, we radio-tracked day roosts of both species in the subtropical forests of Okinawa's Kunigami Village District. We compared roost and roost site characteristics statistically between M. ryukyuana nonmaternity roosts (males or nonreproductive females), maternity roosts, and all M. yanbarensis roosts. Generalized linear models were used to investigate roost site selection by M. ryukyuana irrespective of sex and age class. Lastly, we compiled data on phenology from this and prior studies. Nonreproductive M. ryukyuana roosted alone and primarily in understory foliage. Murina ryukyuana maternity roosts were limited to stands >50 years old, and ~60% were in foliage. Myotis yanbarensis roosted almost entirely in cavities along gulch bottoms and only in stands >70 years old (~1/3 of Kunigami's total forest area). Murina ryukyuana maternity roosts were higher (4.3 ± 0.6 m) than conspecific nonmaternity roosts (2.3 ± 0.5 m; p < .001) and M. yanbarensis roosts (2.7 ± 0.5 m; not significant). Model results were inconclusive. Both species appear to be obligate plant roosters throughout their life cycle, but the less flexible roosting preferences of M. yanbarensis may explain its striking rarity. To conserve these threatened bats, we recommend the following forestry practices: (a) reduce clearing of understory vegetation, (b) refrain from removing trees along streams, (c) promote greater tree cavity densities by protecting old-growth forests and retaining snags, and (d) refrain from removing trees or understory between April and July, while bats are pupping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason H Preble
- Department of Social Informatics Graduate School of Informatics Kyoto University Kyoto Japan
- Island Bat Research Group (IBRG) Kyoto Japan
| | - Christian E Vincenot
- Department of Social Informatics Graduate School of Informatics Kyoto University Kyoto Japan
- Island Bat Research Group (IBRG) Kyoto Japan
| | - Kazuhiko Saito
- Kansai Research Center, Forestry and Forest Research Products Institute Fushimi Kyoto Japan
| | - Nobuhito Ohte
- Department of Social Informatics Graduate School of Informatics Kyoto University Kyoto Japan
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