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Russo-Petrick K, Root KV. Factors impacting bat activity and species richness in protected parks in the oak openings region of Northwest Ohio. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 72:1086-1098. [PMID: 37368019 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-023-01849-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Protected areas are important for wildlife, especially in heavily developed areas. Bats are one group utilizing protected areas, but it is unclear what makes an ideal place for bats to live in parks, especially since preferences vary between open and forest foraging species and at different scales. The main objective of this study was to determine the landscape and vegetation factors at multiple scales most associated with higher bat activity and species richness in protected parks. Total bat activity, species richness, and activity for open and forested foraging species were compared to small-scale data vegetation structure collected in the field and larger-scale landscape data calculated in ArcGIS and FRAGSTATS. Bat activity and species richness increased with higher percentages of dry and open land cover types such as sand barrens, savanna, cropland, and upland prairie and decreased with higher percentages of forest and wet prairies. Patch richness, understory height, and clutter at the 3-6.5 m level were negatively associated with total bat activity. The most important variables for bats differed depending on spatial scale measured and if species were open or forest adapted. When managing for bats in parks, it would be advantageous to restore open land cover types such as savanna and mid-level clutter, and excessive fragmentation. Whether species are open or forest adapted and scale-specific differences should also be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly Russo-Petrick
- Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, 43403, USA.
| | - Karen V Root
- Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, 43403, USA
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Hermans C, Koblitz JC, Bartholomeus H, Stilz P, Visser ME, Spoelstra K. Combining acoustic tracking and LiDAR to study bat flight behaviour in three-dimensional space. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:25. [PMID: 37101233 PMCID: PMC10131301 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00387-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Habitat structure strongly influences niche differentiation, facilitates predator avoidance, and drives species-specific foraging strategies of bats. Vegetation structure is also a strong driver of echolocation call characteristics. The fine-scale assessment of how bats utilise such structures in their natural habitat is instrumental in understanding how habitat composition shapes flight- and acoustic behaviour. However, it is notoriously difficult to study their species-habitat relationship in situ. METHODS Here, we describe a methodology combining Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to characterise three-dimensional vegetation structure and acoustic tracking to map bat behaviour. This makes it possible to study fine-scale use of habitat by bats, which is essential to understand spatial niche segregation in bats. Bats were acoustically tracked with microphone arrays and bat calls were classified to bat guild using automated identification. We did this in multiple LiDAR scanned vegetation plots in forest edge habitat. The datasets were spatially aligned to calculate the distance between bats' positions and vegetation structures. RESULTS Our results are a proof of concept of combining LiDAR with acoustic tracking. Although it entails challenges with combining mass-volumes of fine-scale bat movements and vegetation information, we show the feasibility and potential of combining those two methods through two case studies. The first one shows stereotyped flight patterns of pipistrelles around tree trunks, while the second one presents the distance that bats keep to the vegetation in the presence of artificial light. CONCLUSION By combining bat guild specific spatial behaviour with precise information on vegetation structure, the bat guild specific response to habitat characteristics can be studied in great detail. This opens up the possibility to address yet unanswered questions on bat behaviour, such as niche segregation or response to abiotic factors in interaction with natural vegetation. This combination of techniques can also pave the way for other applications linking movement patterns of other vocalizing animals and 3D space reconstruction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Hermans
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Jens C Koblitz
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Constance, Germany
| | - Harm Bartholomeus
- Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Stilz
- Animal Physiology, Institute for Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marcel E Visser
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Kamiel Spoelstra
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
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3
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Ewert SP, Knörnschild M, Jung K, Frommolt KH. Structurally rich dry grasslands – Potential stepping stones for bats in open farmland. Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2023.995133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Agricultural intensification has caused decrease and fragmentation of European semi-natural dry grasslands. While a high biodiversity value of dry grasslands is acknowledged for plants and insects, locally and on landscape level, their relevance for mobile species, such as bats, is unknown. Here we investigate the use of dry grassland fragments by bats in an agriculturally intensified region in Germany and evaluate local and landscape factors influencing bat activity and assemblages. Specifically, we predicted that a combination of local dry grassland structural richness and landscape features as well as their interactions affect bat activity and foraging above dry grasslands. We also expected that these features influence compositions of local bat assemblages. We repeatedly sampled at 12 dry grassland plots with acoustic monitoring and assessed activity and foraging of bat species/sonotypes, which we grouped into guilds known for foraging in open land, at vegetation edges and in narrow spaces. We determined structural richness of the dry grassland plots in field and derived landscape features from digital landscape data. A relatively high proportion of bat species/sonotypes used dry grasslands regularly. The edge space foragers responded positively to higher local structural richness. Their dry grassland use increased when surrounding forests and woody features were less available, but they foraged more on dry grasslands closer to water bodies. Narrow space bat activity on dry grasslands decreased with less landscape connectivity. Open and narrow space foragers responded to local structural richness only in landscape context. For all bat guilds we found increased use of structurally richer dry grasslands when there was more open farmland in the surroundings. This was also the case for edge space foragers, when landscapes were more homogeneous. Lastly, with increasing structural richness, bat assemblages were more dominated by edge space foragers. We show the importance of European dry grassland fragments for the highly mobile group of bats under certain local structural and landscape compositional conditions. Our results underline the value of heterogeneous dry grassland fragments as potential stepping stones in intensively used farmland areas and contribute to evidence based decision making in dry grassland management and bat conservation.
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Cabral RCC, Appel G, de Oliveira LQ, López-Baucells A, Magnusson WE, Bobrowiec PED. Effect of environmental gradients on community structuring of aerial insectivorous bats in a continuous forest in Central Amazon. Mamm Biol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s42991-022-00343-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
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Potential of Airborne LiDAR Derived Vegetation Structure for the Prediction of Animal Species Richness at Mount Kilimanjaro. REMOTE SENSING 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/rs14030786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The monitoring of species and functional diversity is of increasing relevance for the development of strategies for the conservation and management of biodiversity. Therefore, reliable estimates of the performance of monitoring techniques across taxa become important. Using a unique dataset, this study investigates the potential of airborne LiDAR-derived variables characterizing vegetation structure as predictors for animal species richness at the southern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. To disentangle the structural LiDAR information from co-factors related to elevational vegetation zones, LiDAR-based models were compared to the predictive power of elevation models. 17 taxa and 4 feeding guilds were modeled and the standardized study design allowed for a comparison across the assemblages. Results show that most taxa (14) and feeding guilds (3) can be predicted best by elevation with normalized RMSE values but only for three of those taxa and two of those feeding guilds the difference to other models is significant. Generally, modeling performances between different models vary only slightly for each assemblage. For the remaining, structural information at most showed little additional contribution to the performance. In summary, LiDAR observations can be used for animal species prediction. However, the effort and cost of aerial surveys are not always in proportion with the prediction quality, especially when the species distribution follows zonal patterns, and elevation information yields similar results.
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Evaluating the Use of Lidar to Discern Snag Characteristics Important for Wildlife. REMOTE SENSING 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/rs14030720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Standing dead trees (known as snags) are historically difficult to map and model using airborne laser scanning (ALS), or lidar. Specific snag characteristics are important for wildlife; for instance, a larger snag with a broken top can serve as a nesting platform for raptors. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether characteristics such as top intactness could be inferred from discrete-return ALS data. We collected structural information for 198 snags in closed-canopy conifer forest plots in Idaho. We selected 13 lidar metrics within 5 m diameter point clouds to serve as predictor variables in random forest (RF) models to classify snags into four groups by size (small (<40 cm diameter) or large (≥40 cm diameter)) and intactness (intact or broken top) across multiple iterations. We conducted these models first with all snags combined, and then ran the same models with only small or large snags. Overall accuracies were highest in RF models with large snags only (77%), but kappa statistics for all models were low (0.29–0.49). ALS data alone were not sufficient to identify top intactness for large snags; future studies combining ALS data with other remotely sensed data to improve classification of snag characteristics important for wildlife is encouraged.
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Stachyra P, Piskorski M, Tchórzewski M, Łopuszyńska-Stachyra K, Mysłajek RW. Importance of anthropogenic winter roosts for endangered hibernating bats. JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.25225/jvb.21071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Michał Piskorski
- Department of Anatomy and Comparative Anthropology, Institute of Biology, University of Maria Sklodowska-Curie, Lublin, Poland; e-mail:
| | | | | | - Robert W. Mysłajek
- Department of Ecology, Institute of Functional Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Biological and Chemical Research Centre, Warszawa, Poland; e-mail:
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Summer Populations of Northern Long-eared Bat in an Eastern Kentucky Forest Following Arrival of White-nose Syndrome. AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 2022. [DOI: 10.1674/0003-0031-187.1.71] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Harrison PA, Camarretta N, Krisanski S, Bailey TG, Davidson NJ, Bain G, Hamer R, Gardiner R, Proft K, Taskhiri MS, Turner P, Turner D, Lucieer A. From communities to individuals: Using remote sensing to inform and monitor woodland restoration. ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT & RESTORATION 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/emr.12505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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10
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Vogeler AB, Otte I, Ferger S, Helbig‐Bonitz M, Hemp A, Nauss T, Böhning‐Gaese K, Schleuning M, Tschapka M, Albrecht J. Associations of bird and bat species richness with temperature and remote sensing‐based vegetation structure on a tropical mountain. Biotropica 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Insa Otte
- Department of Remote Sensing, Geography Julius‐Maximilians University Würzburg Würzburg Germany
| | - Stefan Ferger
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Frankfurt Germany
| | - Maria Helbig‐Bonitz
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics University of Ulm Ulm Germany
| | - Andreas Hemp
- Department of Plant Systematics University of Bayreuth Bayreuth Germany
| | - Thomas Nauss
- Department of Geography Environmental Informatics Philipps University of Marburg Marburg Germany
| | - Katrin Böhning‐Gaese
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Frankfurt Germany
- Department of Biological Sciences Goethe University Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | | | - Marco Tschapka
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics University of Ulm Ulm Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa Ancón Panama
| | - Jörg Albrecht
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Frankfurt Germany
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BakwoFils EM, Mongombe MA, Manfothang DE, Gomeh-Djame A, Takuo JM, Bilong BCF. Patterns of Bat Diversity in an Undisturbed Forest and Forest Mosaic Habitats of the Afromontane Forest Biome of Western Cameroon. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.761969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic activities continue to degrade natural montane ecosystems globally. Bats communities are altered by these changes. We analyzed how bats are affected by human-induced habitat changes by comparing the bat species diversity and functional diversity in undisturbed forest habitats and disturbed forest habitats of the Afromontane biome of Cameroon. We recorded 244 individuals from 13 species in the undisturbed forest, while 233 individuals from 16 species were recorded in the disturbed forest. Bat diversity was higher in disturbed habitats (D = 0.84) than undisturbed habitats (D = 0.67). Jackknife 1 species richness estimator suggests 21.53 species for the disturbed forest and 19.30 in the undisturbed forest. Closed-space forager insectivorous bats made up nearly half of the species in the undisturbed forest, but this dropped to 25% in the disturbed forest, meanwhile, edge-space foragers increased in the disturbed forest. Bat community analyses by ordination revealed a distinct bat community composition between the two forest types, demonstrated as a significant difference in diversity between the two forest types. The distribution of Rousettus aegyptiacus, Myonycteris angolensis, Hipposideros cf. ruber, and Micropteropus pusillus contribute the most to the difference in bat community composition between the two forest types. Edge and open-space species were likely to benefit from additional resources provided by the disturbed area, by expanding their range and distribution. However, this may not compensate for the decline in the population of forest species caused by the loss of pristine forests, thus measures to conserve montane forest remnants should be of utmost significance.
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Robinson CV, Robinson JM. Listen But Do Not Touch: Using a Smartphone Acoustic Device to Investigate Bat Activity, with Implications for Community-Based Monitoring. ACTA CHIROPTEROLOGICA 2021. [DOI: 10.3161/15081109acc2021.23.1.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Chloe V. Robinson
- Integrative Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road E, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Jessica M. Robinson
- Integrative Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road E, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
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Ervis MD, Eric-Moise BF, Aaron MM, Jules AP, Fernand-Nestor TF. Diversity pattern of bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in a modified tropical environment in the western region of Cameroon. AFRICAN ZOOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/15627020.2021.1932588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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14
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Effects of Environmental Clutter on Synthesized Chiropteran Echolocation Signals in an Anechoic Chamber. ACOUSTICS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/acoustics3020026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Ultrasonic bat detectors are useful for research and monitoring purposes to assess occupancy and relative activity of bat communities. Environmental “clutter” such as tree boles and foliage can affect the recording quality and identification of bat echolocation calls collected using ultrasonic detectors. It can also affect the transmission of calls and recognition by bats when using acoustic lure devices to attract bats to mist-nets. Bat detectors are often placed in forests, yet automatic identification programs are trained on call libraries using echolocation passes recorded largely from open spaces. Research indicates that using clutter-recorded calls can increase classification accuracy for some bat species and decrease accuracy for others, but a detailed understanding of how clutter impacts the recording and identification of echolocation calls remains elusive. To clarify this, we experimentally investigated how two measures of clutter (i.e., total basal area and number of stems of simulated woody growth, as well as recording angle) affected the recording and classification of a synthesized echolocation signal under controlled conditions in an anechoic chamber. Recording angle (i.e., receiver position relative to emitter) significantly influenced the probability of correct classification and differed significantly for many of the call parameters measured. The probability of recording echo pulses was also a function of clutter but only for the detector angle at 0° from the emitter that could receive deflected pulses. Overall, the two clutter metrics were overshadowed by proximity and angle of the receiver to the sound source but some deviations from the synthesized call in terms of maximum, minimum, and mean frequency parameters were observed. Results from our work may aid efforts to better understand underlying environmental conditions that produce false-positive and -negative identifications for bat species of interest and how this could be used to adjust survey accuracy estimates. Our results also help pave the way for future research into the development of acoustic lure technology by exploring the effects of environmental clutter on ultrasound transmission.
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Froidevaux JSP, Barbaro L, Vinet O, Larrieu L, Bas Y, Molina J, Calatayud F, Brin A. Bat responses to changes in forest composition and prey abundance depend on landscape matrix and stand structure. Sci Rep 2021; 11:10586. [PMID: 34011934 PMCID: PMC8134465 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-89660-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the key importance of the landscape matrix for bats, we still not fully understand how the effect of forest composition interacts at combined stand and landscape scales to shape bat communities. In addition, we lack detailed knowledge on the effects of local habitat structure on bat-prey relationships in forested landscapes. We tested the assumptions that (i) forest composition has interacting effects on bats between stand and landscape scales; and (ii) stand structure mediates prey abundance effects on bat activity. Our results indicated that in conifer-dominated landscapes (> 80% of coniferous forests) bat activity was higher in stands with a higher proportion of deciduous trees while bats were less active in stands with a higher proportion of deciduous trees in mixed forest landscapes (~ 50% of deciduous forests). Moth abundance was selected in the best models for six among nine bat species. The positive effect of moth abundance on Barbastella barbastellus was mediated by vegetation clutter, with dense understory cover likely reducing prey accessibility. Altogether, our findings deepen our understanding of the ecological processes affecting bats in forest landscapes and strengthen the need to consider both landscape context and trophic linkage when assessing the effects of stand-scale compositional and structural attributes on bats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jérémy S P Froidevaux
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, UMR DYNAFOR, Castanet-Tolosan, France. .,University of Bristol, School of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building, Bristol, UK. .,Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, UK.
| | - Luc Barbaro
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, UMR DYNAFOR, Castanet-Tolosan, France.,CESCO, Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne-Université, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Vinet
- Office National Des Forêts (ONF), Agence Etudes Midi-Méditerranée, Montpellier, France
| | - Laurent Larrieu
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, UMR DYNAFOR, Castanet-Tolosan, France.,CRPF-Occitanie, Antenne de Tarbes, Tarbes, France
| | - Yves Bas
- CESCO, Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne-Université, Paris, France.,Centre D'Ecologie Fonctionnelle Et Evolutive (CEFE), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France
| | - Jérôme Molina
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, UMR DYNAFOR, Castanet-Tolosan, France
| | | | - Antoine Brin
- Université de Toulouse, Ecole d'Ingénieurs de PURPAN, UMR INRAE-INPT DYNAFOR, Toulouse, France
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Bae S, Heidrich L, Levick SR, Gossner MM, Seibold S, Weisser WW, Magdon P, Serebryanyk A, Bässler C, Schäfer D, Schulze E, Doerfler I, Müller J, Jung K, Heurich M, Fischer M, Roth N, Schall P, Boch S, Wöllauer S, Renner SC, Müller J. Dispersal ability, trophic position and body size mediate species turnover processes: Insights from a multi‐taxa and multi‐scale approach. DIVERS DISTRIB 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Soyeon Bae
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
| | - Lea Heidrich
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
| | | | - Martin M. Gossner
- Forest Entomology WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute Birmensdorf Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Systems Science Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems ETH Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Seibold
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management Technical University of Munich Freising Germany
- Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Group Technical University of MunichFreising and Berchtesgaden National Park Berchtesgaden Germany
| | - Wolfgang W. Weisser
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management Technical University of Munich Freising Germany
| | - Paul Magdon
- Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany
| | - Alla Serebryanyk
- Department of Geoinformatics Munich University of Applied Sciences München Germany
| | - Claus Bässler
- Bavarian Forest National Park Grafenau Germany
- Faculty of Biological Sciences Institute for Ecology, Evolution and DiversityGoethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | | | | | - Inken Doerfler
- Plant Biodiversity Research Group Department of Ecology & Ecosystem Management Technical University of Munich Freising Germany
- Institute of Biology and Environmental Science Vegetation Science & Nature ConservationUniversity of Oldenburg Oldenburg Germany
| | - Jörg Müller
- Department of Nature Conservation Heinz Sielmann Foundation Wustermark Germany
- Institute of Biology and Biochemistry University of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
| | - Kirsten Jung
- Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics University Ulm Ulm Germany
| | - Marco Heurich
- Bavarian Forest National Park Grafenau Germany
- Chair of Wildlife Ecology and Wildlife Management University of Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau Germany
| | - Markus Fischer
- Institute of Plant Sciences University of Bern Bern Switzerland
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK‐F) Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - Nicolas Roth
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
- Forest Entomology WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute Birmensdorf Switzerland
- School of Agricultural Forest and Food Sciences Bern University of Applied Sciences Zollikofen Switzerland
| | - Peter Schall
- Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany
| | - Steffen Boch
- Research Unit Biodiversity & Conservation Biology WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute Birmensdorf Switzerland
| | - Stephan Wöllauer
- Faculty of Geography Philipps‐University Marburg Marburg Germany
| | - Swen C. Renner
- Head of Ornithology Natural History Museum Vienna Vienna Austria
| | - Jörg Müller
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
- Bavarian Forest National Park Grafenau Germany
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Abstract
Forests in Germany cover around 11.4 million hectares and, thus, a share of 32% of Germany’s surface area. Therefore, forests shape the character of the country’s cultural landscape. Germany’s forests fulfil a variety of functions for nature and society, and also play an important role in the context of climate levelling. Climate change, manifested via rising temperatures and current weather extremes, has a negative impact on the health and development of forests. Within the last five years, severe storms, extreme drought, and heat waves, and the subsequent mass reproduction of bark beetles have all seriously affected Germany’s forests. Facing the current dramatic extent of forest damage and the emerging long-term consequences, the effort to preserve forests in Germany, along with their diversity and productivity, is an indispensable task for the government. Several German ministries have and plan to initiate measures supporting forest health. Quantitative data is one means for sound decision-making to ensure the monitoring of the forest and to improve the monitoring of forest damage. In addition to existing forest monitoring systems, such as the federal forest inventory, the national crown condition survey, and the national forest soil inventory, systematic surveys of forest condition and vulnerability at the national scale can be expanded with the help of a satellite-based earth observation. In this review, we analysed and categorized all research studies published in the last 20 years that focus on the remote sensing of forests in Germany. For this study, 166 citation indexed research publications have been thoroughly analysed with respect to publication frequency, location of studies undertaken, spatial and temporal scale, coverage of the studies, satellite sensors employed, thematic foci of the studies, and overall outcomes, allowing us to identify major research and geoinformation product gaps.
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Finch D, Schofield H, Mathews F. Traffic noise playback reduces the activity and feeding behaviour of free-living bats. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2020; 263:114405. [PMID: 32320902 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2019] [Revised: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Increasing levels of road noise are creating new anthropogenic soundscapes that may affect wildlife globally. Bats, which form about a third of all mammal species, are sensitive bioindicators, and may be particularly vulnerable because of their dependency on echolocation. Here we present the first controlled field experiment with free-living bats. Using a Before-After-Control-Impact phantom road experimental design, we examine the impacts of traffic noise on their activity and feeding behaviour. Disentangling the impacts of traffic noise from other co-varying exposures such as habitat quality, the experiment demonstrates a significant negative effect on the activity of each of the five, ecologically different, species (genus for Myotis spp.) examined. This suggests that the results are widely applicable. The negative effects are largely attributable to noise in the sonic spectrum, which elicited aversive responses in all bat species tested,whereas responses to ultrasoundwere restricted to a single species. Our findings demonstrate that traffic noise can affect bat activity at least 20m away from the noise source. For Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus, feeding behaviour, as well as overall activity, was negatively affected. Ecological Impact Assessments are therfore needed wherever there are significant increases in traffic flow, and not just when new roads are built. Further research is required to identify effective mitigation strategies, to delineate the zone of influence of road noise, and to assess whether there is any habituation over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Domhnall Finch
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Henry Schofield
- Vincent Wildlife Trust, Bronsil Courtyard, Eastnor, Ledbury, Herefordshire, HR8 1EP, UK
| | - Fiona Mathews
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK.
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Heterogeneity-diversity relationships differ between and within trophic levels in temperate forests. Nat Ecol Evol 2020; 4:1204-1212. [PMID: 32661404 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-1245-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The habitat heterogeneity hypothesis predicts that biodiversity increases with increasing habitat heterogeneity due to greater niche dimensionality. However, recent studies have reported that richness can decrease with high heterogeneity due to stochastic extinctions, creating trade-offs between area and heterogeneity. This suggests that greater complexity in heterogeneity-diversity relationships (HDRs) may exist, with potential for group-specific responses to different facets of heterogeneity that may only be partitioned out by a simultaneous test of HDRs of several species groups and several facets of heterogeneity. Here, we systematically decompose habitat heterogeneity into six major facets on ~500 temperate forest plots across Germany and quantify biodiversity of 12 different species groups, including bats, birds, arthropods, fungi, lichens and plants, representing 2,600 species. Heterogeneity in horizontal and vertical forest structure underpinned most HDRs, followed by plant diversity, deadwood and topographic heterogeneity, but the relative importance varied even within the same trophic level. Among substantial HDRs, 53% increased monotonically, consistent with the classical habitat heterogeneity hypothesis but 21% were hump-shaped, 25% had a monotonically decreasing slope and 1% showed no clear pattern. Overall, we found no evidence of a single generalizable mechanism determining HDR patterns.
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Vasko V, Blomberg AS, Vesterinen EJ, Suominen KM, Ruokolainen L, Brommer JE, Norrdahl K, Niemelä P, Laine VN, Selonen V, Lilley TM. Within-season changes in habitat use of forest-dwelling boreal bats. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:4164-4174. [PMID: 32489639 PMCID: PMC7244798 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2019] [Revised: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Bats utilize forests as roosting sites and feeding areas. However, it has not been documented how bats utilize these habitats in the boreal zone with methods afforded by recent technological advances. Forest structure and management practices can create a variety of three-dimensional habitats for organisms capable of flight, such as bats. Here, we study the presence of boreal bats in a forest forming a mosaic of different age classes, dominant tree species, canopy cover, soil fertility, and other environmental variables, throughout their active season in the summer using passive ultrasound detectors. Our results indicate a preference for mature forest by Eptesicus nilssonii and a pooled set of Myotis bats. Both groups of bats also showed temporal changes in their habitat use regarding forest age. In June and July, both groups occurred more often in mature than young forests, but from August onwards, the difference in occurrence became less evident in Myotis and disappeared completely in E. nilssonii. In addition, E. nilssonii was more often present in forests with low canopy cover, and its occurrence shifted from coniferous forests to deciduous forests during the season. The results reflect the within-season dynamics of bat communities and their ability to utilize different types of forest as environmental conditions change. Yet, the results most importantly emphasize the importance of mature forests to bat diversity and the need to conserve such environments in the boreal zone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ville Vasko
- Finnish Museum of Natural HistoryUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
| | | | | | - Kati M. Suominen
- Finnish Museum of Natural HistoryUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
| | - Lasse Ruokolainen
- Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyFaculty of Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
| | | | - Kai Norrdahl
- Department of BiologyUniversity of TurkuTurkuFinland
| | | | - Veronika N. Laine
- Department of Animal EcologyNetherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW)WageningenThe Netherlands
| | - Vesa Selonen
- Department of BiologyUniversity of TurkuTurkuFinland
| | - Thomas M. Lilley
- Finnish Museum of Natural HistoryUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
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21
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Staples TL, Mayfield MM, England JR, Dwyer JM. Comparing the recovery of richness, structure, and biomass in naturally regrowing and planted reforestation. Restor Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.13077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Timothy L. Staples
- School of Biological SciencesThe University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland 4072 Australia
- EcoSciences PrecinctCSIRO Land and Water, Dutton Park Brisbane Queensland 4001 Australia
| | - Margaret M. Mayfield
- School of Biological SciencesThe University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland 4072 Australia
| | | | - John M. Dwyer
- School of Biological SciencesThe University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland 4072 Australia
- EcoSciences PrecinctCSIRO Land and Water, Dutton Park Brisbane Queensland 4001 Australia
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22
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Systematic Review of the Roost-Site Characteristics of North American Forest Bats: Implications for Conservation. DIVERSITY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/d12020076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Continued declines in North American bat populations can be largely attributed to habitat loss, disease, and wind turbines. These declines can be partially mitigated through actions that boost reproductive success; therefore, management aimed at promoting availability of high-quality roosting habitat is an important conservation goal. Following the principles of the umbrella species concept, if co-occurring species share similar roost-tree preferences, then management practices targeting one species may confer conservation benefits to another. We conducted a systematic review of roost-site characteristics of thirteen species inhabiting eastern temperate forests to: (1) synthesize existing knowledge across species; (2) assess niche overlap among co-occurring species; and (3) evaluate the potential for currently protected species to serve as conservation umbrellas. We performed multivariate ordination techniques to group species based on the seven most-reported roost-site characteristics, including tree species, diameter at breast height, tree health, roost type, tree height, canopy closure, and roost height. Species sorted into three roosting guilds: (1) southern wetland inhabitants; (2) foliage specialists; and (3) dead tree generalists. Myotis septentrionalis and Perimyotis subflavus had significant roost-niche overlap with five and four other species respectively, and their existing protections make them suitable umbrellas for other bats in the North American eastern temperate forests.
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23
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Effects of Forest Fragmentation on the Vertical Stratification of Neotropical Bats. DIVERSITY-BASEL 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/d12020067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Vertical stratification is a key component of the biological complexity of rainforests. Understanding community- and species-level responses to disturbance across forest strata is paramount for evidence-based conservation and management. However, even for bats, known to extensively explore multiple layers of the complex three-dimensional forest space, studies are biased towards understory-based surveys and only few assessments of vertical stratification were done in fragmented landscapes. Using both ground and canopy mist-nets, we investigated how the vertical structure of bat assemblages is influenced by forest fragmentation in the experimentally fragmented landscape of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, Central Amazon, Brazil. Over a three year-period, we captured 3077 individuals of 46 species in continuous forest (CF) and in 1, 10 and 100 ha forest fragments. In both CF and forest fragments, the upper forest strata sustained more diverse bat assemblages than the equivalent understory layer, and the midstory layers had significantly higher bat abundance in fragments than in CF. Artibeus lituratus and Rhinophylla pumilio exhibited significant shifts in their vertical stratification patterns between CF and fragments (e.g., R. pumilio was more associated with the upper strata in fragments than in CF). Altogether, our study suggests that fragmentation modulates the vertical stratification of bat assemblages.
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24
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Nelson JJ, Gillam EH. Influences of Landscape Features on Bat Activity in North Dakota. J Wildl Manage 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.21789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Josiah J. Nelson
- Department of Biological Sciences201 Stevens Hall, PO Box 6050, North Dakota State UniversityFargo ND 58108‐6050 USA
| | - Erin H. Gillam
- Department of Biological Sciences201 Stevens Hall, PO Box 6050, North Dakota State UniversityFargo ND 58108‐6050 USA
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25
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Ampoorter E, Barbaro L, Jactel H, Baeten L, Boberg J, Carnol M, Castagneyrol B, Charbonnier Y, Dawud SM, Deconchat M, Smedt PD, Wandeler HD, Guyot V, Hättenschwiler S, Joly F, Koricheva J, Milligan H, Muys B, Nguyen D, Ratcliffe S, Raulund‐Rasmussen K, Scherer‐Lorenzen M, van der Plas F, Keer JV, Verheyen K, Vesterdal L, Allan E. Tree diversity is key for promoting the diversity and abundance of forest‐associated taxa in Europe. OIKOS 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.06290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Evy Ampoorter
- Forest and Nature Lab, Campus Gontrode, Dept of Environment, Ghent Univ. Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267 BE‐9090 Melle‐Gontrode Belgium
| | - Luc Barbaro
- DYNAFOR, Univ. de Toulouse, INRA, INPT, INPT‐EL PURPAN Castanet‐Tolosan France
| | | | - Lander Baeten
- Forest and Nature Lab, Campus Gontrode, Dept of Environment, Ghent Univ. Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267 BE‐9090 Melle‐Gontrode Belgium
- CESCO, Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne‐Univ. Paris France
| | - Johanna Boberg
- Dept of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences Uppsala Sweden
| | - Monique Carnol
- Laboratory of Plant and Microbial Ecology, InBioS, Dept of Biology, Ecology, Evolution, Univ. of Liège Liège Belgium
| | | | | | - Seid Muhie Dawud
- Dept of Forestry, College of Agriculture, Wollo Univ. Dessie Ethiopia
| | - Marc Deconchat
- DYNAFOR, Univ. de Toulouse, INRA, INPT, INPT‐EL PURPAN Castanet‐Tolosan France
| | - Pallieter De Smedt
- Forest and Nature Lab, Campus Gontrode, Dept of Environment, Ghent Univ. Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267 BE‐9090 Melle‐Gontrode Belgium
| | - Hans De Wandeler
- Dept of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
| | - Virginie Guyot
- DYNAFOR, Univ. de Toulouse, INRA, INPT, INPT‐EL PURPAN Castanet‐Tolosan France
- Biogeco, INRA, Univ. de Bordeaux Cestas France
| | - Stephan Hättenschwiler
- Centre of Evolutionary and Functional Ecology, UMR5175, CNRS – Univ. of Montpellier – Univ. Paul‐Valéry Montpellier – EPHE 1919 Montpellier France
| | | | - Julia Koricheva
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway Univ. of London, Egham Surrey UK
| | - Harriet Milligan
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway Univ. of London, Egham Surrey UK
| | - Bart Muys
- Dept of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
| | - Diem Nguyen
- Dept of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences Uppsala Sweden
- Dept of Organismal Biology, Uppsala Univ. Uppsala Sweden
| | - Sophia Ratcliffe
- Dept of Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Univ. of Leipzig Leipzig Germany
| | | | | | - Fons van der Plas
- Dept of Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Univ. of Leipzig Leipzig Germany
| | | | - Kris Verheyen
- Forest and Nature Lab, Campus Gontrode, Dept of Environment, Ghent Univ. Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267 BE‐9090 Melle‐Gontrode Belgium
| | - Lars Vesterdal
- Dept of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Univ. of Copenhagen Frederiksberg Denmark
| | - Eric Allan
- Inst. of Plant Sciences, Univ. of Bern Bern Switzerland
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26
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27
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Núñez SF, López-Baucells A, Rocha R, Farneda FZ, Bobrowiec PED, Palmeirim JM, Meyer CFJ. Echolocation and Stratum Preference: Key Trait Correlates of Vulnerability of Insectivorous Bats to Tropical Forest Fragmentation. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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28
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Geschke J. Decrease in Bat Diversity Points towards a Potential Threshold Density for Black Cherry Management: A Case Study from Germany. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2019; 8:E320. [PMID: 31480683 PMCID: PMC6784187 DOI: 10.3390/plants8090320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Revised: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 08/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
In times of land use changes towards more close-to-nature forestry, the application of bioindicators becomes an interesting tool for effective land-use management schemes. Forest managers are increasingly confronted by alien tree species. Therefore, this case study aimed to investigate the influence of the invasive black cherry (Prunus serotina) on bats (Chiroptera: Verpertilionidae) in pine (Pinus sylvestris) forest ecosystems, in order to identify the potential of bats as bioindicators for a black cherry invasion. In three pre-classified succession stages of the black cherry, the diversity and relative abundance of bats were bioacoustically monitored for a period of 60 nights. From the bat call recordings made during the study period, eight bat species could be identified to species level. Within the succession stages of pine monoculture and light black cherry forest, a comparable bat diversity of eight bat species and three sonotypes with a similar relative abundance were observed. In dense black cherry forest, only four species and one sonotype were detected. Compared to the pine monoculture and light black cherry forest, the overall abundance of the bat community was significantly lower in the dense black cherry forest. Upon evaluation, those bat species associated with the edge and narrow space forager guilds were found to have a high sensitivity to a dense black cherry understory within naturally monocultural pine stands. Their activity patterns indicate that the transition from light to dense black cherry understory can be considered as a potential threshold value for a close-to-nature black cherry understory density in high canopy pine forest stands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Geschke
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland.
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29
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Kwon Y, Doty AC, Huffman ML, Rolland V, Istvanko DR, Risch TS. Implications of forest management practices for sex-specific habitat use by Nycticeius humeralis. J Mammal 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyz088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractNorth American bats are experiencing declines in part due to anthropogenic impacts resulting in habitat loss and disturbance. In eastern deciduous forests, bats rely on forest resources for all or part of the year. Therefore, to promote conservation of bats, it is essential to determine whether current forest management techniques are compatible with habitat use by bats. We evaluated the relative effect of landscape characteristics, including forest management variables, on sex-specific foraging habitat of an insectivorous forest-dwelling bat species, the evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis), and predicted areas of suitable habitat for N. humeralis. A total of 18 variables were assessed using a maximum-entropy (Maxent) machine-learning approach: eight land use–land cover classes, three stand types, two topography measures, normalized difference vegetation index, and four forest management variables. Females showed the highest probability of presence closer to stands treated with prescribed fire, whereas males showed the highest probability of presence closer to reforested stands. In general, males exhibited more flexibility than females in their habitat selection. The Maxent model further indicated that habitat associated with suitability of > 70% was ~4 times larger for males than females, and predicted an additional area of suitable foraging habitat where no presence locations had been recorded. Our modeling approach may be suitable for other researchers to derive models appropriate for a wide range of bat species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youngsang Kwon
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Anna C Doty
- Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University, State University, AR, USA
| | - Megan L Huffman
- Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University, State University, AR, USA
| | - Virginie Rolland
- Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University, State University, AR, USA
| | | | - Thomas S Risch
- Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University, State University, AR, USA
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30
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Torresani M, Rocchini D, Sonnenschein R, Zebisch M, Marcantonio M, Ricotta C, Tonon G. Estimating tree species diversity from space in an alpine conifer forest: The Rao's Q diversity index meets the spectral variation hypothesis. ECOL INFORM 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2019.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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31
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Rojo Cruz MA, Zuloaga-Aguilar S, Cuevas-Guzmán R, MacSwiney González MC, Iñiguez-Dávalos LI. Influence of vegetation and abiotic factors on habitat use by insectivorous bats in subtropical mountain forests. Mamm Biol 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mambio.2019.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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32
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Starik N, Göttert T, Heitlinger E, Zeller U. Bat Community Responses to Structural Habitat Complexity Resulting from Management Practices Within Different Land Use Types — A Case Study from North-Eastern Germany. ACTA CHIROPTEROLOGICA 2019. [DOI: 10.3161/15081109acc2018.20.2.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Starik
- Systematic Zoology Division, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany
| | - Thomas Göttert
- Systematic Zoology Division, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany
| | - Emanuel Heitlinger
- Department of Molecular Parasitology, Institute for Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ulrich Zeller
- Systematic Zoology Division, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany
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Kirkpatrick L, Graham J, McGregor S, Munro L, Scoarize M, Park K. Flexible foraging strategies in Pipistrellus pygmaeus in response to abundant but ephemeral prey. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0204511. [PMID: 30286111 PMCID: PMC6171852 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
There is growing recognition that with sympathetic management, plantation forests may contain more biodiversity than previously thought. However, the extent to which they may support bat populations is contentious. Many studies have demonstrated active avoidance of coniferous plantations and attributed this to the lack of available roost sites and low invertebrate density. In contrast, other work, carried out in plantation dominated landscapes have shown that certain bat species are able to exploit these areas. However, the extent to which bats use plantations for roosting and foraging, or simply move through the plantation matrix to access more favourable sites is unclear. We radio tracked female Pipistrellus pygmaeus over two summers to establish the extent to which individual bats use Sitka Spruce plantations in southern Scotland for foraging and roosting and assess the implications for felling operations on bats. Maternity roosts identified (n = 17) were in all in buildings and most were large (> 500 individuals). We found no evidence of bats roosting in mature Sitka Spruce crop trees, although several bats used roosts in old or dead beech and oak trees as an alternative to their main maternity roost. Home ranges were much larger (mean 9.6 ± 3.12 km2) than those reported from other studies (0.6–1.6 km2), and it is likely that roost availability rather than food abundance constrains P. pygmaeus use of Sitka Spruce plantations. At the landscape scale, most individuals selected coniferous habitats over other habitat types, covering large distances to access plantation areas, whilst at a local scale bats used forest tracks to access water, felled stands or patches of broadleaf cover within the plantation. Sitka Spruce plantations support a high abundance of Culicoides impuctatus, the Highland midge which may act as a reliable and plentiful food source for females during lactation, an energetically expensive period. The use of felled stands for foraging by bats has implications for forest management as wind turbines, following small-scale felling operations, are increasingly being installed in plantations; wind turbines have been associated with high bat mortality in some countries. Decisions about siting wind turbines in upland plantations should consider the likelihood of increased bat activity post felling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucinda Kirkpatrick
- Biological and Ecological Sciences, University of Stirling, Scotland
- EVECO, Universiteit Antwerpen, Antwerp, Belgium
- * E-mail:
| | - Jennifer Graham
- Biological and Ecological Sciences, University of Stirling, Scotland
- WDC, Scottish Dolphin Centre, Spey Bay, Fochabers, Moray, Scotland
| | | | - Lynn Munro
- Biological and Ecological Sciences, University of Stirling, Scotland
| | | | - Kirsty Park
- Biological and Ecological Sciences, University of Stirling, Scotland
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Calvert J, McGonigle C, Sethi SA, Harris B, Quinn R, Grabowski J. Dynamic occupancy modeling of temperate marine fish in area-based closures. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:10192-10205. [PMID: 30397458 PMCID: PMC6206187 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2018] [Revised: 07/14/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Species distribution models (SDMs) are commonly used to model the spatial structure of species in the marine environment, however, most fail to account for detectability of the target species. This can result in underestimates of occupancy, where nondetection is conflated with absence. The site occupancy model (SOM) overcomes this failure by treating occupancy as a latent variable of the model and incorporates a detection submodel to account for variability in detection rates. These have rarely been applied in the context of marine fish and never for the multiseason dynamic occupancy model (DOM). In this study, a DOM is developed for a designated species of concern, cusk (Brosme brosme), over a four-season period. Making novel use of a high-resolution 3-dimensional hydrodynamic model, detectability of cusk is considered as a function of current speed and algae cover. Algal cover on the seabed is measured from video surveys to divide the study area into two distinct regions: those with canopy forming species of algae and those without (henceforth bottom types). Modeled estimates of the proportion of sites occupied in each season are 0.88, 0.45, 0.74, and 0.83. These are significantly greater than the proportion of occupied sites measured from underwater video observations which are 0.57, 0.28, 0.43, and 0.57. Individual fish are detected more frequently with increasing current speed in areas lacking canopy and less frequently with increasing current speed in areas with canopy. The results indicate that, where possible, SDM studies for all marine species should take account of detectability to avoid underestimating the proportion of sites occupied at a given study area. Sampling closed areas or areas of conservation often requires the use of nonphysical, low impact sampling methods like camera surveys. These methods inherently result in detection probabilities less than one, an issue compounded by time-varying features of the environment that are rarely accounted for marine studies. This work highlights the use of modeled hydrodynamics as a tool to correct some of this imbalance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jay Calvert
- School of Geography & Environmental ScienceUniversity of UlsterColeraineUK
| | - Chris McGonigle
- School of Geography & Environmental ScienceUniversity of UlsterColeraineUK
| | - Suresh Andrew Sethi
- U.S. Geological SurveyNew York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research UnitCornell UniversityIthacaNew York
- Fisheries, Aquatic Science and Technology LaboratoryAlaska Pacific UniversityAnchorageAlaska
| | - Bradley Harris
- Fisheries, Aquatic Science and Technology LaboratoryAlaska Pacific UniversityAnchorageAlaska
| | - Rory Quinn
- School of Geography & Environmental ScienceUniversity of UlsterColeraineUK
| | - Jon Grabowski
- Marine Science CenterNortheastern UniversityNahantMassachusetts
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35
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Moore LH, Best TL. Impact of vegetation on activity of bats over wetlands in coastal South Carolina. J Mammal 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyy086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lydia H Moore
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, AL, USA
| | - Troy L Best
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, AL, USA
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Capaverde UD, Pereira LGDA, Tavares VDC, Magnusson WE, Baccaro FB, Bobrowiec PED. Subtle changes in elevation shift bat-assemblage structure in Central Amazonia. Biotropica 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ubirajara Dutra Capaverde
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia; Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia; Manaus AM 69080-971 Brazil
| | | | - Valéria da Cunha Tavares
- Departamento de Zoologia; Instituto de Ciências Biológicas; Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Belo Horizonte MG 31270-010 Brazil
| | - William E. Magnusson
- Coordenação de Biodiversidade; Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia; Manaus AM 69067-375 Brazil
| | | | - Paulo Estefano D. Bobrowiec
- Coordenação de Biodiversidade; Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia; Manaus AM 69067-375 Brazil
- Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project; Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia; Manaus AM 69011-970 Brazil
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Suarez-Rubio M, Ille C, Bruckner A. Insectivorous bats respond to vegetation complexity in urban green spaces. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:3240-3253. [PMID: 29607021 PMCID: PMC5869212 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2017] [Revised: 11/30/2017] [Accepted: 01/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Structural complexity is known to determine habitat quality for insectivorous bats, but how bats respond to habitat complexity in highly modified areas such as urban green spaces has been little explored. Furthermore, it is uncertain whether a recently developed measure of structural complexity is as effective as field‐based surveys when applied to urban environments. We assessed whether image‐derived structural complexity (MIG) was as/more effective than field‐based descriptors in this environment and evaluated the response of insectivorous bats to structural complexity in urban green spaces. Bat activity and species richness were assessed with ultrasonic devices at 180 locations within green spaces in Vienna, Austria. Vegetation complexity was assessed using 17 field‐based descriptors and by calculating the mean information gain (MIG) using digital images. Total bat activity and species richness decreased with increasing structural complexity of canopy cover, suggesting maneuverability and echolocation (sensorial) challenges for bat species using the canopy for flight and foraging. The negative response of functional groups to increased complexity was stronger for open‐space foragers than for edge‐space foragers. Nyctalus noctula, a species foraging in open space, showed a negative response to structural complexity, whereas Pipistrellus pygmaeus, an edge‐space forager, was positively influenced by the number of trees. Our results show that MIG is a useful, time‐ and cost‐effective tool to measure habitat complexity that complemented field‐based descriptors. Response of insectivorous bats to structural complexity was group‐ and species‐specific, which highlights the need for manifold management strategies (e.g., increasing or reinstating the extent of ground vegetation cover) to fulfill different species’ requirements and to conserve insectivorous bats in urban green spaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Suarez-Rubio
- Institute of Zoology University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Vienna Austria
| | - Christina Ille
- Institute of Zoology University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Vienna Austria
| | - Alexander Bruckner
- Institute of Zoology University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Vienna Austria
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Braun de Torrez EC, Wallrichs MA, Ober HK, McCleery RA. Mobile acoustic transects miss rare bat species: implications of survey method and spatio-temporal sampling for monitoring bats. PeerJ 2017; 5:e3940. [PMID: 29134138 PMCID: PMC5682100 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2017] [Accepted: 09/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to increasing threats facing bats, long-term monitoring protocols are needed to inform conservation strategies. Effective monitoring should be easily repeatable while capturing spatio-temporal variation. Mobile acoustic driving transect surveys ('mobile transects') have been touted as a robust, cost-effective method to monitor bats; however, it is not clear how well mobile transects represent dynamic bat communities, especially when used as the sole survey approach. To assist biologists who must select a single survey method due to resource limitations, we assessed the effectiveness of three acoustic survey methods at detecting species richness in a vast protected area (Everglades National Park): (1) mobile transects, (2) stationary surveys that were strategically located by sources of open water and (3) stationary surveys that were replicated spatially across the landscape. We found that mobile transects underrepresented bat species richness compared to stationary surveys across all major vegetation communities and in two distinct seasons (dry/cool and wet/warm). Most critically, mobile transects failed to detect three rare bat species, one of which is federally endangered. Spatially replicated stationary surveys did not estimate higher species richness than strategically located stationary surveys, but increased the rate at which species were detected in one vegetation community. The survey strategy that detected maximum species richness and the highest mean nightly species richness with minimal effort was a strategically located stationary detector in each of two major vegetation communities during the wet/warm season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth C Braun de Torrez
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America
| | - Megan A Wallrichs
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America
| | - Holly K Ober
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America
| | - Robert A McCleery
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America
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Paxton AB, Pickering EA, Adler AM, Taylor JC, Peterson CH. Flat and complex temperate reefs provide similar support for fish: Evidence for a unimodal species-habitat relationship. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0183906. [PMID: 28873447 PMCID: PMC5584758 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2017] [Accepted: 08/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Structural complexity, a form of habitat heterogeneity, influences the structure and function of ecological communities, generally supporting increased species density, richness, and diversity. Recent research, however, suggests the most complex habitats may not harbor the highest density of individuals and number of species, especially in areas with elevated human influence. Understanding nuances in relationships between habitat heterogeneity and ecological communities is warranted to guide habitat-focused conservation and management efforts. We conducted fish and structural habitat surveys of thirty warm-temperate reefs on the southeastern US continental shelf to quantify how structural complexity influences fish communities. We found that intermediate complexity maximizes fish abundance on natural and artificial reefs, as well as species richness on natural reefs, challenging the current paradigm that abundance and other fish community metrics increase with increasing complexity. Naturally occurring rocky reefs of flat and complex morphologies supported equivalent abundance, biomass, species richness, and community composition of fishes. For flat and complex morphologies of rocky reefs to receive equal consideration as essential fish habitat (EFH), special attention should be given to detecting pavement type rocky reefs because their ephemeral nature makes them difficult to detect with typical seafloor mapping methods. Artificial reefs of intermediate complexity also maximized fish abundance, but human-made structures composed of low-lying concrete and metal ships differed in community types, with less complex, concrete structures supporting lower numbers of fishes classified largely as demersal species and metal ships protruding into the water column harboring higher numbers of fishes, including more pelagic species. Results of this study are essential to the process of evaluating habitat function provided by different types and shapes of reefs on the seafloor so that all EFH across a wide range of habitat complexity may be accurately identified and properly managed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avery B. Paxton
- Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Morehead City, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Emily A. Pickering
- Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Morehead City, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Alyssa M. Adler
- Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Morehead City, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - J. Christopher Taylor
- National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Beaufort, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Charles H. Peterson
- Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Morehead City, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
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40
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Forest Structure and Composition Affect Bats in a Tropical Evergreen Broadleaf Forest. FORESTS 2017. [DOI: 10.3390/f8090317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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41
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Jaime-González C, Acebes P, Mateos A, Mezquida ET. Bridging gaps: On the performance of airborne LiDAR to model wood mouse-habitat structure relationships in pine forests. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0182451. [PMID: 28771566 PMCID: PMC5542549 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2017] [Accepted: 07/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
LiDAR technology has firmly contributed to strengthen the knowledge of habitat structure-wildlife relationships, though there is an evident bias towards flying vertebrates. To bridge this gap, we investigated and compared the performance of LiDAR and field data to model habitat preferences of wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) in a Mediterranean high mountain pine forest (Pinus sylvestris). We recorded nine field and 13 LiDAR variables that were summarized by means of Principal Component Analyses (PCA). We then analyzed wood mouse’s habitat preferences using three different models based on: (i) field PCs predictors, (ii) LiDAR PCs predictors; and (iii) both set of predictors in a combined model, including a variance partitioning analysis. Elevation was also included as a predictor in the three models. Our results indicate that LiDAR derived variables were better predictors than field-based variables. The model combining both data sets slightly improved the predictive power of the model. Field derived variables indicated that wood mouse was positively influenced by the gradient of increasing shrub cover and negatively affected by elevation. Regarding LiDAR data, two LiDAR PCs, i.e. gradients in canopy openness and complexity in forest vertical structure positively influenced wood mouse, although elevation interacted negatively with the complexity in vertical structure, indicating wood mouse’s preferences for plots with lower elevations but with complex forest vertical structure. The combined model was similar to the LiDAR-based model and included the gradient of shrub cover measured in the field. Variance partitioning showed that LiDAR-based variables, together with elevation, were the most important predictors and that part of the variation explained by shrub cover was shared. LiDAR derived variables were good surrogates of environmental characteristics explaining habitat preferences by the wood mouse. Our LiDAR metrics represented structural features of the forest patch, such as the presence and cover of shrubs, as well as other characteristics likely including time since perturbation, food availability and predation risk. Our results suggest that LiDAR is a promising technology for further exploring habitat preferences by small mammal communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Jaime-González
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- * E-mail:
| | - Pablo Acebes
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana Mateos
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Eduardo T. Mezquida
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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42
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Singh M, Tokola T, Hou Z, Notarnicola C. Remote sensing-based landscape indicators for the evaluation of threatened-bird habitats in a tropical forest. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:4552-4567. [PMID: 28690786 PMCID: PMC5496523 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2016] [Revised: 03/03/2017] [Accepted: 03/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Avian species persistence in a forest patch is strongly related to the degree of isolation and size of a forest patch and the vegetation structure within a patch and its matrix are important predictors of bird habitat suitability. A combination of space‐borne optical (Landsat), ALOS‐PALSAR (radar), and airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data was used for assessing variation in forest structure across forest patches that had undergone different levels of forest degradation in a logged forest—agricultural landscape in Southern Laos. The efficacy of different remote sensing (RS) data sources in distinguishing forest patches that had different seizes, configurations, and vegetation structure was examined. These data were found to be sensitive to the varying levels of degradation of the different patch categories. Additionally, the role of local scale forest structure variables (characterized using the different RS data and patch area) and landscape variables (characterized by distance from different forest patches) in influencing habitat preferences of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red listed birds found in the study area was examined. A machine learning algorithm, MaxEnt, was used in conjunction with these data and field collected geographical locations of the avian species to identify the factors influencing habitat preference of the different bird species and their suitable habitats. Results show that distance from different forest patches played a more important role in influencing habitat suitability for the different avian species than local scale factors related to vegetation structure and health. In addition to distance from forest patches, LiDAR‐derived forest structure and Landsat‐derived spectral variables were important determinants of avian habitat preference. The models derived using MaxEnt were used to create an overall habitat suitability map (HSM) which mapped the most suitable habitat patches for sustaining all the avian species. This work also provides insight that retention of forest patches, including degraded and isolated forest patches in addition to large contiguous forest patches, can facilitate bird species retention within tropical agricultural landscapes. It also demonstrates the effective use of RS data in distinguishing between forests that have undergone varying levels of degradation and identifying the habitat preferences of different bird species. Practical conservation management planning endeavors can use such data for both landscape scale monitoring and habitat mapping.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Timo Tokola
- School of Forest Sciences University of Eastern Finland Joensuu Finland
| | - Zhengyang Hou
- Department of Geography and Geographical Information Science University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign IL USA
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Kortmann M, Hurst J, Brinkmann R, Heurich M, Silveyra González R, Müller J, Thorn S. Beauty and the beast: how a bat utilizes forests shaped by outbreaks of an insect pest. Anim Conserv 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/acv.12359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M. Kortmann
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach; Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology; Biocenter University of Würzburg; Rauhenebrach Germany
| | - J. Hurst
- Freiburg Institute of Applied Animal Ecology; Freiburg Germany
| | - R. Brinkmann
- Freiburg Institute of Applied Animal Ecology; Freiburg Germany
| | - M. Heurich
- Bavarian Forest National Park; Zoology; Department of Conservation and Research; Grafenau Germany
- Chair of Wildlife Ecology and Management; University of Freiburg; Freiburg Germany
| | - R. Silveyra González
- Department of Biometry and Environmental System Analysis; University of Freiburg; Freiburg Germany
| | - J. Müller
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach; Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology; Biocenter University of Würzburg; Rauhenebrach Germany
- Bavarian Forest National Park; Zoology; Department of Conservation and Research; Grafenau Germany
| | - S. Thorn
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach; Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology; Biocenter University of Würzburg; Rauhenebrach Germany
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44
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Shazali N, Chew TH, Shamsir MS, Tingga RCT, Mohd-Ridwan AR, Khan FAA. Assessing Bat Roosts Using the LiDAR System at Wind Cave Nature Reserve in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. ACTA CHIROPTEROLOGICA 2017. [DOI: 10.3161/15081109acc2017.19.1.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nursyafiqah Shazali
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
| | - Teong Han Chew
- Department of Biosciences and Health Sciences, Faculty of Biosciences and Medical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
| | - Mohd Shahir Shamsir
- Department of Biosciences and Health Sciences, Faculty of Biosciences and Medical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
| | | | - A. R. Mohd-Ridwan
- Centre for Pre-University Studies, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
| | - Faisal Ali Anwarali Khan
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
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45
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46
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Downs NC, Cresswell WJ, Reason P, Sutton G, Wells D, Wray S. Sex-Specific Habitat Preferences of Foraging and Commuting Lesser Horseshoe BatsRhinolophus hipposideros(Borkhausen, 1797) in Lowland England. ACTA CHIROPTEROLOGICA 2016. [DOI: 10.3161/15081109acc2016.18.2.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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47
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Gossner MM, Lewinsohn TM, Kahl T, Grassein F, Boch S, Prati D, Birkhofer K, Renner SC, Sikorski J, Wubet T, Arndt H, Baumgartner V, Blaser S, Blüthgen N, Börschig C, Buscot F, Diekötter T, Jorge LR, Jung K, Keyel AC, Klein AM, Klemmer S, Krauss J, Lange M, Müller J, Overmann J, Pašalić E, Penone C, Perović DJ, Purschke O, Schall P, Socher SA, Sonnemann I, Tschapka M, Tscharntke T, Türke M, Venter PC, Weiner CN, Werner M, Wolters V, Wurst S, Westphal C, Fischer M, Weisser WW, Allan E. Land-use intensification causes multitrophic homogenization of grassland communities. Nature 2016; 540:266-269. [PMID: 27919075 DOI: 10.1038/nature20575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 210] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2016] [Accepted: 10/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Land-use intensification is a major driver of biodiversity loss. Alongside reductions in local species diversity, biotic homogenization at larger spatial scales is of great concern for conservation. Biotic homogenization means a decrease in β-diversity (the compositional dissimilarity between sites). Most studies have investigated losses in local (α)-diversity and neglected biodiversity loss at larger spatial scales. Studies addressing β-diversity have focused on single or a few organism groups (for example, ref. 4), and it is thus unknown whether land-use intensification homogenizes communities at different trophic levels, above- and belowground. Here we show that even moderate increases in local land-use intensity (LUI) cause biotic homogenization across microbial, plant and animal groups, both above- and belowground, and that this is largely independent of changes in α-diversity. We analysed a unique grassland biodiversity dataset, with abundances of more than 4,000 species belonging to 12 trophic groups. LUI, and, in particular, high mowing intensity, had consistent effects on β-diversity across groups, causing a homogenization of soil microbial, fungal pathogen, plant and arthropod communities. These effects were nonlinear and the strongest declines in β-diversity occurred in the transition from extensively managed to intermediate intensity grassland. LUI tended to reduce local α-diversity in aboveground groups, whereas the α-diversity increased in belowground groups. Correlations between the β-diversity of different groups, particularly between plants and their consumers, became weaker at high LUI. This suggests a loss of specialist species and is further evidence for biotic homogenization. The consistently negative effects of LUI on landscape-scale biodiversity underscore the high value of extensively managed grasslands for conserving multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. Indeed, biotic homogenization rather than local diversity loss could prove to be the most substantial consequence of land-use intensification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin M Gossner
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, Freising D-85354, Germany.,Institute of Ecology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Dornburger Str 159, Jena D-07743, Germany.,Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf CH-8903, Switzerland
| | - Thomas M Lewinsohn
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, Freising D-85354, Germany.,Department of Animal Biology, IB, UNICAMP-University of Campinas, Campinas, Sao Paulo, CEP, 13083-970, Brazil
| | - Tiemo Kahl
- Chair of Silviculture, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacherstraße 4, Freiburg im Breisgau D-79106, Germany.,Biosphere Reserve Vessertal-Thuringian Forest, Brunnenstr 1, Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig D-98711, Germany
| | - Fabrice Grassein
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, Bern CH-3013, Switzerland
| | - Steffen Boch
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, Bern CH-3013, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Prati
- Biosphere Reserve Vessertal-Thuringian Forest, Brunnenstr 1, Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig D-98711, Germany
| | - Klaus Birkhofer
- Department of Biology, Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, Lund S-22362, Sweden.,Chair of Ecology, Faculty Environment and Natural Sciences, BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, Großenhainer Str 57, Senftenberg D-01968, Germany
| | - Swen C Renner
- Institute of Zoology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Wien A-1180, Austria.,Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm D-89069, Germany
| | - Johannes Sikorski
- Leibniz-Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Inhoffenstraße 7B, Braunschweig D-38302, Germany
| | - Tesfaye Wubet
- Department of Soil Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Halle-Saale D-06120, Germany.,Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, Leipzig D-04103, Germany
| | - Hartmut Arndt
- Biocentre, Institute for Zoology, General Ecology, University of Cologne, Zuelpicher Str 47b, Cologne (Köln) D-50674, Germany
| | - Vanessa Baumgartner
- Leibniz-Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Inhoffenstraße 7B, Braunschweig D-38302, Germany
| | - Stefan Blaser
- Biosphere Reserve Vessertal-Thuringian Forest, Brunnenstr 1, Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig D-98711, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Department of Biology, Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 3, Darmstadt D-64287, Germany
| | - Carmen Börschig
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocentre, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, Würzburg D-97074, Germany
| | - Francois Buscot
- Department of Soil Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Halle-Saale D-06120, Germany.,Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, Leipzig D-04103, Germany
| | - Tim Diekötter
- Animal Ecology, Justus-Liebig-University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, Giessen D-35392, Germany.,Landscape Ecology, Institute for Natural Resource Conservation, Kiel University, Olshausenstr 75, Kiel D-24118, Germany
| | - Leonardo Ré Jorge
- Department of Animal Biology, IB, UNICAMP-University of Campinas, Campinas, Sao Paulo, CEP, 13083-970, Brazil
| | - Kirsten Jung
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm D-89069, Germany
| | - Alexander C Keyel
- Department of Ecosystem Modelling, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 4, Göttingen D-37077, Germany
| | - Alexandra-Maria Klein
- Chair of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacherstraße 4, Freiburg im Breisgau D-79106, Germany
| | - Sandra Klemmer
- Department of Soil Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Halle-Saale D-06120, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, Leipzig D-04103, Germany
| | - Jochen Krauss
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocentre, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, Würzburg D-97074, Germany
| | - Markus Lange
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, Freising D-85354, Germany.,Institute of Ecology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Dornburger Str 159, Jena D-07743, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knoell-Str 10, Jena D-07745, Germany
| | - Jörg Müller
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Maulbeerallee 1, Potsdam D-14469, Germany
| | - Jörg Overmann
- Leibniz-Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Inhoffenstraße 7B, Braunschweig D-38302, Germany
| | - Esther Pašalić
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, Freising D-85354, Germany.,Institute of Ecology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Dornburger Str 159, Jena D-07743, Germany
| | - Caterina Penone
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, Bern CH-3013, Switzerland
| | - David J Perović
- Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China.,Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen D-37077, Germany
| | - Oliver Purschke
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, Leipzig D-04103, Germany.,Department of Computer Science, Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale) D-06120, Germany.,Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale) D-06108, Germany
| | - Peter Schall
- Department Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, University of Göttingen, Göttingen D-37077, Germany
| | - Stephanie A Socher
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Botanical Garden, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, Salzburg 5020, Austria
| | - Ilja Sonnemann
- Functional Biodiversity, Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 1-3, Berlin D-14195, Germany
| | - Marco Tschapka
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm D-89069, Germany
| | - Teja Tscharntke
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen D-37077, Germany
| | - Manfred Türke
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, Freising D-85354, Germany.,Institute of Ecology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Dornburger Str 159, Jena D-07743, Germany.,Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, Leipzig D-04103, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, Leipzig D-04103, Germany
| | - Paul Christiaan Venter
- Biocentre, Institute for Zoology, General Ecology, University of Cologne, Zuelpicher Str 47b, Cologne (Köln) D-50674, Germany
| | - Christiane N Weiner
- Department of Biology, Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 3, Darmstadt D-64287, Germany
| | - Michael Werner
- Department of Biology, Ecological Networks, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 3, Darmstadt D-64287, Germany
| | - Volkmar Wolters
- Animal Ecology, Justus-Liebig-University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, Giessen D-35392, Germany
| | - Susanne Wurst
- Functional Biodiversity, Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 1-3, Berlin D-14195, Germany
| | - Catrin Westphal
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen D-37077, Germany
| | - Markus Fischer
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, Freising D-85354, Germany
| | - Wolfgang W Weisser
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, Freising D-85354, Germany.,Institute of Ecology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Dornburger Str 159, Jena D-07743, Germany
| | - Eric Allan
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, Bern CH-3013, Switzerland.,Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern, Hallerstrasse, 10, Bern CH-3012, Switzerland
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Treitler JT, Heim O, Tschapka M, Jung K. The effect of local land use and loss of forests on bats and nocturnal insects. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:4289-97. [PMID: 27386075 PMCID: PMC4930980 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2016] [Revised: 03/31/2016] [Accepted: 04/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Land‐use intensification at local and landscape level poses a serious threat to biodiversity and affects species interactions and ecosystem function. It is thus important to understand how interrelated taxa respond to land‐use intensification and to consider the importance of different spatial scales. We investigated whether and how local land‐use intensity and landscape features affect the predator–prey interaction of bats and insects. Bats and nocturnal insects were assessed on 50 grassland sites in the Schorfheide‐Chorin. We analyzed the effect of local land use and distance to forested areas as a proxy for site accessibility on bats and insects and their biological interaction measured in bat's feeding activity. Insect abundance increased with higher land‐use intensity, while size and diversity of insects decreased. In contrast, bat activity, diversity, and species composition were determined by the distance to forested areas and only slightly by land‐use intensity. Feeding attempts of bats increased with higher insect abundance and diversity but decreased with insect size and distance to forested areas. Finally, our results revealed that near forested areas, the number of feeding attempts was much lower on grassland sites with high, compared to those with low land‐use intensity. In contrast, far from forests, the feeding attempts did not differ significantly between intensively and extensively managed grassland sites. We conclude that the two interrelated taxa, bats and insects, respond to land‐use intensification on very different scales. While insects respond to local land use, bats are rather influenced by surrounding landscape matrix. Hereby, proximity to forests reveals to be a prerequisite for higher bat species diversity and a higher rate of feeding attempts within the area. However, proximity to forest is not sufficient to compensate local high land‐use intensity. Thus, local land‐use intensification in combination with a loss of forest remnants weakens the interaction of bats and insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia T Treitler
- Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics University Ulm Ulm Germany; Present address: RG Ecology and Environmental Education Institute of Biology and Chemistry University of Hildesheim Hildesheim Germany
| | - Olga Heim
- Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics University Ulm Ulm Germany; Present address: Leibniz Institute for Zoo- and Wildlife Research (IZW) Berlin Germany
| | - Marco Tschapka
- Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics University Ulm Ulm Germany; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa Panama
| | - Kirsten Jung
- Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics University Ulm Ulm Germany
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Charbonnier YM, Barbaro L, Barnagaud JY, Ampoorter E, Nezan J, Verheyen K, Jactel H. Bat and bird diversity along independent gradients of latitude and tree composition in European forests. Oecologia 2016; 182:529-37. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-016-3671-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2015] [Accepted: 06/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Hooton L, Dzal Y, Veselka N, Fenton M. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs): impact on bat activity and foraging behaviour along the upper Hudson River, New York. CAN J ZOOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2015-0162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Sediments of the upper Hudson River, New York, USA, contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Consequently, elevated levels of PCBs have been found in the tissues of bats and their insect prey along this region. However, it is not clear whether bat activity and foraging behaviour have been affected. To assess possible effects of PCBs on bat activity and foraging behaviour, we measured the activity of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus (LeConte, 1831)) and hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus (Palisot de Beauvois, 1796)) along the upper Hudson River, as well as abundance of insect prey at the same locations. We also measured foraging duration and distances travelled by radio-tagged M. lucifugus. We found that bat activity and insect abundance did not differ with PCB concentration. We did, however, find that foraging behaviour along the Hudson River differed from a control site. Specifically, M. lucifugus foraging along PCB-contaminated areas of the Hudson River travelled shorter distances from their roosts and spent less time foraging than bats at an uncontaminated site. Our results show that while bats roost and forage in areas historically exposed to PCBs, this exposure has not adversely affected bat activity, foraging behaviour, or abundance of insect prey.
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Affiliation(s)
- L.A. Hooton
- Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
- Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Y.A. Dzal
- Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
- Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - N. Veselka
- Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
- Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - M.B. Fenton
- Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
- Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
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