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Bats of Greece have been studied since the second half of the 19th century. Their distribution and ecology, however, remain poorly understood. Conservation efforts for the protection of the roosting and foraging habitats of their populations in Greece are limited. To date, 35 bat species have been recorded from Greece. Four species (Eptesicus anatolicus, Plecotus auritus, Myotis brandtii and Rousettus aegyptiacus) have a limited distribution in the country and the presence of one species (Myotis mystacinus) requires verification. The present study summarises all existing knowledge and adds several hundred new records on the distribution of bats of Greece. Additionally, it provides a summary of new insights on various aspects of their roosting ecology, foraging habitat use, altitudinal distribution, winter activity and landscape characteristics around major roosts. Finally, it discusses the current research and conservation needs of Greek bats.

Mediterranean temporary ponds are recognized as conservation priority habitats that face anthropogenic threats and are important habitats for a number of aquatic and terrestrial animals and plants. Bats are a diverse group of animals that use ponds for drinking and feeding on emerging aquatic insects and terrestrial insects in the riparian zone. We investigated the importance of temporary ponds for bats in Greece by acoustically sampling bat community structures and activity at temporary ponds throughout the year. We sampled monthly, from 3 to 13 months in 2019–2020, at sites at the pond edge and approximately 150–300 m away from the edge, at four temporary ponds in northern and southern Greece. Our results confirm the importance of temporary ponds for bats as activity was recorded year-round and was high in all but the winter months. In general, the distance to the edge of the pond and the presence of water in the pond explained bat activity together with air temperature. Importantly, whether dry or not, all ponds supported bat activity, independent of their particular characteristics. This study highlights the urgent need for the conservation of temporary ponds, especially in areas with limited water availability.

Abstract Background The Schreiber’s bat, Miniopterus schreibersii, is adapted to long-distance flight, yet long distance movements have only been recorded sporadically using capture-mark-recapture. In this study, we used the hydrogen isotopic composition of 208 wing and 335 fur specimens from across the species' European range to test the hypothesis that the species migrates over long distances. Results After obtaining the hydrogen isotopic composition (δ2H) of each sample, we performed geographic assignment tests by comparing the δ2H of samples with the δ2H of sampling sites. We found that 95 bats out of 325 showed evidence of long-distance movement, based on the analysis of either fur or wing samples. The eastern European part of the species range (Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia) had the highest numbers of bats that had moved. The assignment tests also helped identify possible migratory routes, such as movement between the Alps and the Balkans. Conclusions This is the first continental-scale study to provide evidence of migratory behaviour of M. schreibersii throughout its European range. The work highlights the need for further investigation of this behaviour to provide appropriate conservation strategies.

Simple Summary: We review and summarise all published and unpublished information currently available on the distribution and ecology of the bats of Greece and provide updated distribution maps of all bat species in the country. Additionally, we provide information on the bat species ecology, in terms of roost and foraging/commuting habitat use, altitudinal distribution, winter activity and landscape characteristics around major roosts. Finally, we highlight the current research and conservation needs for the bats of Greece. Bats of Greece have been studied since the second half of the 19th century. Their distribution and ecology, however, remain poorly understood. Conservation efforts for the protection of the roosting and foraging habitats of their populations in Greece are limited. To date, 35 bat species have been recorded from Greece. Four species (Eptesicus anatolicus, Plecotus auritus, Myotis brandtii and Rousettus aegyptiacus) have a limited distribution in the country and the presence of one species (Myotis mystacinus) requires verification. The present study summarises all existing knowledge and adds several hundred new records on the distribution of bats of Greece. Additionally, it provides a summary of new insights on various aspects of their roosting ecology, foraging habitat use, altitudinal distribution, winter activity and landscape characteristics around major roosts. Finally, it discusses the current research and conservation needs of Greek bats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mediterranean temporary ponds are recognized as conservation priority habitats that face anthropogenic threats and are important habitats for a number of aquatic and terrestrial animals and plants. Bats are a diverse group of animals that use ponds for drinking and feeding on emerging aquatic insects and terrestrial insects in the riparian zone. We investigated the importance of temporary ponds for bats in Greece by acoustically sampling bat community structures and activity at temporary ponds throughout the year. We sampled monthly, from 3 to 13 months in 2019–2020, at sites at the pond edge and approximately 150–300 m away from the edge, at four temporary ponds in northern and southern Greece. Our results confirm the importance of temporary ponds for bats as activity was recorded year-round and was high in all but the winter months. In general, the distance to the edge of the pond and the presence of water in the pond explained bat activity together with air temperature. Importantly, whether dry or not, all ponds supported bat activity, independent of their particular characteristics. This study highlights the urgent need for the conservation of temporary ponds, especially in areas with limited water availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The Mediterranean Basin is a global biodiversity hotspot, hosting a number of native species belonging to families that are found almost exclusively in tropical climates. Yet, whether or not these taxa were able to survive in the Mediterranean region during the Quaternary climatic oscillations remains unknown. Focusing on the European free‐tailed bat (Tadarida teniotis), we aimed to (a) identify potential ancient populations and glacial refugia; (b) determine the post‐glacial colonization routes across the Mediterranean; and (c) evaluate current population structure and demography. Mitochondrial and nuclear markers were used to understand T. teniotis evolutionary and demographic history. We show that T. teniotis is likely restricted to the Western Palearctic, with mitochondrial phylogeny suggesting a split between an Anatolian/Middle East clade and a European clade. Nuclear data pointed to three genetic populations, one of which is an isolated and highly differentiated group in the Canary Islands, another distributed across Iberia, Morocco, and France, and a third stretching from Italy to the east, with admixture following a pattern of isolation by distance. Evolutionary and demographic reconstruction supports a pre‐Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) colonization of Italy and the Anatolian/Middle East, while the remaining populations were colonized from Italy after the Younger Dryas. We also found support for demographic expansion following the Iberian colonization. The results show that during the LGM T. teniotis persisted in Mediterranean refugia and has subsequently expanded to its current circum‐Mediterranean range. Our findings raise questions regarding the physiological and ecological traits that enabled species with tropical affinities to survive in colder climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miniopterus schreibersii is a cave-dwelling bat species with a wide distribution in the western Palearctic spanning southern and central Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, the Middle East, and the Caucasus. We investigated the social structure and its effects on the genetic makeup of this species, using 10 nuclear microsatellite markers and a partial fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Samples were examined from the species' entire circum-Mediterranean range. Local structuring that was previously detected among populations of M. schreibersii using mitochondrial markers was not observed for microsatellite markers, indicating male-biased dispersal for the species. Some support was found for postglacial expansions in Europe, with Anatolia potentially acting as the primary refugium during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). However, support for this hypothesis is not as strong as that previously detected using mitochondrial DNA markers. This is likely due to the diminishing effect of male-mediated dispersal, replenishing the nuclear diversity faster than the mitochondrial diversity in regions that are relatively far from the glacial refugia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The interaction between agricultural production and wildlife can shape, and even condition, the functioning of both systems. In this study, we i) explored the degree to which a widespread European bat, namely the common bent‐wing bat Miniopterus schreibersii, consumes crop‐damaging insects at a continental scale, and ii) tested whether its dietary niche is shaped by the extension and type of agricultural fields. We employed a dual‐primer DNA metabarcoding approach to characterize arthropod 16S and COI DNA sequences within bat faecal pellets collected across 16 Southern European localities, to first characterize the bat species’ dietary niche, second measure the incidence of agricultural pests across their ranges and third assess whether geographical dietary variation responds to climatic, landscape diversity, agriculture type and vegetation productivity factors. We detected 12 arthropod orders, among which lepidopterans were predominant. We identified >200 species, 44 of which are known to cause agricultural damage. Pest species were detected at all but one sampling site and in 94% of the analysed samples. Furthermore, the dietary diversity of M. schreibersii exhibited a negative linear relation with the area of intensive agricultural fields, thus suggesting crops restrict the dietary niche of bats to prey taxa associated with agricultural production within their foraging range. Overall, our results imply that M. schreibersii might be a valuable asset for biological pest suppression in a variety of agricultural productions and highlight the dynamic interplay between wildlife and agricultural systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Metabarcoding of environmental samples has many challenges and limitations that require carefully considered laboratory and analysis workflows to ensure reliable results. We explore how decisions regarding study design, laboratory set‐up, and bioinformatic processing affect the final results, and provide guidelines for reliable study of environmental samples. We evaluate the performance of four primer sets targeting COI and 16S regions characterizing arthropod diversity in bat faecal samples, and investigate how metabarcoding results are affected by parameters including: (1) number of PCR replicates per sample, (2) sequencing depth, (3) PCR replicate processing strategy (i.e. either additively, by combining the sequences obtained from the PCR replicates, or restrictively, by only retaining sequences that occur in multiple PCR replicates for each sample), (4) minimum copy number for sequences to be retained, (5) chimera removal, and (6) similarity thresholds for Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU) clustering. Lastly, we measure within‐ and between‐taxa dissimilarities when using sequences from public databases to determine the most appropriate thresholds for OTU clustering and taxonomy assignment. Our results show that the use of multiple primer sets reduces taxonomic biases and increases taxonomic coverage. Taxonomic profiles resulting from each primer set are principally affected by how many PCR replicates are carried out per sample and how sequences are filtered across them, the sequence copy number threshold and the OTU clustering threshold. We also report considerable diversity differences between PCR replicates from each sample. Sequencing depth increases the dissimilarity between PCR replicates unless the bioinformatic strategies to remove allegedly artefactual sequences are adjusted according to the number of analysed sequences. Finally, we show that the appropriate identity thresholds for OTU clustering and taxonomy assignment differ between markers. Metabarcoding of complex environmental samples ideally requires (1) investigation of whether more than one primer sets targeting the same taxonomic group is needed to offset primer biases, (2) more than one PCR replicate per sample, (3) bioinformatic processing of sequences that balance diversity detection with removal of artefactual sequences, and (4) empirical selection of OTU clustering and taxonomy assignment thresholds tailored to each marker and the obtained taxa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim We used an integrative approach to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the alpine long-eared bat, Plecotus macrobullaris, to test whether the variable effects of Pleistocene climatic oscillations across geographical regions led to contrasting population-level demographic histories within a single species. Location The Western Palaearctic. Methods We sequenced the complete mitochondrial genomes of 57 individuals from across the distribution of the species. The analysis integrated ecological niche modelling ( ENM), approximate Bayesian computation ( ABC), measures of genetic diversity and Bayesian phylogenetic methods. Results We identified two deep lineages: a western lineage, restricted to the Pyrenees and the Alps, and an eastern lineage, which expanded across the mountain ranges east of the Dinarides (Croatia). ENM projections of past conditions predicted that climatic suitability was reduced during cold stages in the areas inhabited by the western lineage, while the opposite trend was observed in the mountains inhabited by the eastern lineage. The palaeodemographic scenario that best fitted our data is consistent with the western lineage population size having shrunk repeatedly because of the extensive glaciation events that occurred in the Alps and Pyrenees during the Pleistocene. In contrast, the eastern lineage maintained a constant population size as is consistent with more limited glaciation in the mountains of south-eastern Europe and the Middle East. Main conclusions This study shows that the demographic response of populations to Pleistocene climatic oscillations depended on their geographical location, offering an example of population-level variations in the effects and long-term consequences of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind turbines (WT) cause bird and bat mortalities which depend on the WT and landscape features. The effects of WT features and environmental variables at different spatial scales associated to bat deaths in a mountainous and forested area in Thrace, NE Greece were investigated. Initially, we sought to quantify the most lethal WT characteristic between tower height, rotor diameter and power. The scale of interaction distance between bat deaths and the land cover characteristics surrounding the WTs was quantified. A statistical model was trained and validated against bat deaths and WT, land cover, and topography features. Variance partitioning between bat deaths and the explanatory covariates was conducted. The trained model was used to predict bat deaths attributed to existing and future wind farm development in the region. Results indicated that the optimal interaction distance between WT and surrounding land cover was 5 km, the larger distance than the ones examined. WT power, natural land cover type and distance from water explained 40 %, 15 % and 11 % respectively of the total variance in bat deaths by WTs. The model predicted that operating but not surveyed WTs comprise of 377.8 % and licensed but not operating yet will contribute to 210.2 % additional deaths than the ones recorded. Results indicate that among all WT features and land cover characteristics, wind turbine power is the most significant factor associated to bat deaths. In addition, WTs located within 5 km buffer comprised of natural land cover types have substantial higher deaths. More WT power will result in more deaths. Wind turbines should not be licensed in areas where natural land cover at a radius of 5 km exceeds 50 %. These results are discussed in the climate-land use-biodiversity-energy nexus., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Elzbieta Kret & Eleftherios Kapsalis reports financial support was provided by MAVA Foundation. Elzbieta Kret & Eleftherios Kapsalis reports financial support was provided by BirdLife International. Aristides Moustakas reports financial support was provided by Society for the Protection of Biodiversity of Thrace. Panagiotis Georgiakakis reports financial support was provided by Society for the Protection of Biodiversity of Thrace. Aristides Moustakas & Panaqgiotis Georgiakakis report a relationship with Society for the Protection of Biodiversity of Thrace that includes: consulting or advisory., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)