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Bat species show global ecological importance, yet their numbers are declining worldwide. Understanding bat-habitat interactions is crucial in terms of developing effective conservation plans. In an effort to model bat habitat suitability in the Cassadaga Creek watershed, long-term bioacoustic bat data (spanning 2009-2020) was compiled, georeferenced and statistically analyzed using logistic regression techniques. In total, 1600 bat occurrence records from five species of bat (559 Eptesicus fuscus, 560 Lasionycteris noctivagans, 143 Lasiurus borealis, 260 Lasiurus cinereus, and 78 Myotis lucifugus) were paired with pseudo-absence points to study the relationship between bat calling behavior and land cover. All bats but Myotis lucifugus had a statistically significant relationship with forested land cover, and all bats had negative interactions with agricultural habitats. Geospatial data was coupled with the statistical output to create maps of habitat suitability and echolocation calling density. This work provides a model that can be employed worldwide to evaluate bat habitat needs or patterns in echolocation behavior. Future research will incorporate a more recently collected dataset that is of greater geographic diversity with a larger number of environmental variables in the species distribution model., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors of this manuscript declare that they have no known financial interest or personal relationships that would influence the content or outcome of this research., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We examine the genetic history and population status of Hawaiian hoary bats (Lasiurus semotus), the most isolated bats on Earth, and their relationship to northern hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus), through whole-genome analysis of single-nucleotide polymorphisms mapped to a de novo-assembled reference genome. Profiles of genomic diversity and divergence indicate that Hawaiian hoary bats are distinct from northern hoary bats, and form a monophyletic group, indicating a single ancestral colonization event 1.34 Ma, followed by substantial divergence between islands beginning 0.51 Ma. Phylogenetic analysis indicates Maui is central to the radiation across the archipelago, with the southward expansion to Hawai'i and westward to O'ahu and Kaua'i. Because this endangered species is of conservation concern, a clearer understanding of the population genetic structure of this bat in the Hawaiian Islands is of timely importance., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution 2020.)

Riparian areas around streams are those areas in which biological communites are directly influenced by the stream. The size of protected riparian areas and their conservation has become a controversial topic after changes implemented in the Brazilian Forest Code (BFC): a set of laws that regulates the size of Permanent Protection Areas (PPA). Here, we investigate the influence of distance from water bodies on bat-species and guild composition in a lowland Amazonian rainforest. Our hypotheses were that bat assemblages would change depending on the distance to the water body and that the abundance of herbivorous bats (frugivorous and nectarivorous) would be greater in areas close to water. Bats were captured with mist-nets in 24 riparian and 25 non-riparian plots within a trail grid in an old-growth terra-firme forest, northeast of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. Each plot was sampled three times in a total of 7056 net-hours. We captured 1191 bats, comprising 51 species. We used model selection based on AIC (Akaike Information Criterion) to compare linear and piecewise regressions to estimate the ecological thresholds for different bat assemblages. Piecewise models with one breakpoint were more parsimonious than linear models for abundance data, and the species and guild composition of animalivorous and frugivorous bats. Animalivorous-bat abundance increased from the stream to about 181 m, and frugivorous-bat abundance decreased within 50 m of the stream. The patterns of guild abundance suggest that frugivorous bats may need greater access to streams than animalivorous bats. The most conservative model suggests that most of the variation in bat composition occurs close to the stream and extends to up 114 m from the banks. Therefore, the 30 m wide strip of riparian forest protected by Brazilian law would maintain a relatively small fraction of bat-species assemblages in Ducke Reserve, and is insufficient to represent most of the assemblage-composition variation within the riparian zone. The suggestion to reduce the width of the protected riparian zone from 30 to 15 m for streams smaller than 10 m wide, as is under discussion, would likely be prejudicial for bat assemblages., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Urbanization can hinder movement and restrict landscape permeability for wildlife. However, there is the potential to improve landscape connectivity by establishing and maintaining movement corridors throughout urban areas. One way to achieve this is through the urban forest; the collection of trees in an urban area. Specifically, it is the characteristics of trees within this forest that can provide the structural and functional connectivity that enables wildlife to move effectively through urban areas. To investigate this, we explored the influence of four tree characteristics, alone and in combination, on bat commuting activity along 30 potential movement corridors in an urban setting in north central Texas. Along 10, 30, and 50 m corridor sections, we calculated percent canopy cover, maximum gap distance between canopies, and canopy rugosity using a 60 cm resolution tree canopy layer, while maximum tree height was determined in situ. We then conducted behavioral observations using thermal cameras and acoustic monitoring along the 10 m section of each site between March and September of 2022 and 2023 to determine the amount of time bats were observed commuting/h and species present. Our analysis revealed that increasing percent canopy cover and rugosity positively influenced commuting activity up to a certain threshold (> 60% and > 1.3, respectively), beyond which they may became detrimental. In contrast, the presence of gaps in the canopy lowered commuting, while tree heights > 11 m increased this activity. When considered together, bats in our study area showed a preference for commuting routes with tall trees and straighter, less cluttered canopies with no gaps. Additionally, sites with these features had a greater species diversity. These findings suggest that we can manage and plan the urban forest by establishing an interconnecting network of tree‐lines and forest edges to enhance landscape permeability for bats and subsequently aid urban bat conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural caves play a crucial role in providing habitat for numerous bat species in temperate regions. While the potential of man-made structures to support biodiversity gains attention, there is a lack of information regarding the suitability of artificial tunnels as viable alternatives to natural ones. In this study, we assessed the use of artificial tunnels of hydroelectric power plants by bats in the NE Iberian Peninsula (Spain) during the breeding season for most species. Between 2013 and 2014, we monitored bat activity in 37 individualized tunnel entrances using harp traps and mist nets. To understand factors influencing their habitat use, we built competitive models to assess the effect of surrounding landscape, environment and tunnel factors on the richness and abundance of both cave-dwelling and generalist species, as well as on its suitability as breeding habitat for bats. We captured and identified a total of 738 bats representing 60% of species occurring in the South-West countries of Europe, including three regionally and two globally threatened species. Of the total, 67% of surveyed tunnels were used by bats. Our findings highlight that tunnel characteristics such as tunnel height, absence of grilles, and cover of surface runoff influenced all bat groups. Relative humidity primarily favours richness and abundance of females with pups. When properly designed and managed, man-made tunnels of hydroelectric power plants can play an important role in bat conservation by offering essential roosts and breeding sites; however, other potential ecological impacts of these infrastructures on local ecosystems must be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Urbanization that occurs across a gradient from low‐ to high‐density development, is a primary driver of landscape change that can affect biodiversity. Animals balance trade‐offs in obtaining resources and avoiding anthropogenic disturbances across the gradient of urbanization to maximize their fitness. However, additional research is necessary to understand seasonal variations in how animals respond to urbanization, particularly in arid regions, where resource availability shifts drastically across seasons. Our objective was to evaluate the response of a suite of bat species to urbanization and whether species shift their response to urbanization across seasons. We predicted that the response of bats to urbanization would differ among species, with some species being more sensitive to urbanization than others. We also predicted that bat species would increase the use of moderate and highly urbanized areas in the summer season where food and water resources were assumed to be greater compared with wildland areas. To evaluate these predictions, we used a stratified random sampling design to sample 50 sites with stationary acoustic bat monitors across the gradient of urbanization in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Arizona, USA during four seasons. We identified a total of 14 bat species during 1000 survey nights. Consistent with predictions, bat species exhibited different responses to urbanization, with most species exhibiting a negative relationship with urbanization, and some species exhibiting a quadratic or positive relationship with urbanization. Counter to predictions, most species did not appear to shift their response to urbanization across seasons. Consistent with predictions, plant productivity and water were important for some species in the summer season. Differences in the response of bat species to urbanization was likely related to species traits (e.g., wing morphology and echolocation call characteristics) and behavioral strategies that influence a species' sensitivity to anthropogenic disturbances and ability to access available resources in urbanized areas. Ultimately, to promote the management and conservation of bats, it is likely important to maintain resources in urbanized areas for bats that are more tolerant of urbanization and to conserve areas of undeveloped high‐quality habitat with low anthropogenic disturbance in wildland areas for bats that are sensitive to urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bats are typically nocturnal. However, daylight activity (ie between one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset) is known for a small subset of species, often associated with small oceanic islands with no diurnal avian predators. Here, we describe numerous observations of diurnal activity of Horsfield's bat (Myotis horsfieldii), in Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia. Between 2015 and 2020, bats were repetitively observed flying along streams and rivers at 14 localities during various hours of the day. Daylight active bats exhibited a flight pattern concurrent with prey hunting strategies and, through bioacoustics, foraging was confirmed by the presence of feeding buzzes. Despite the occurrence of numerous sympatric avian diurnal predators known to hunt bats (eg bat hawk Macheiramphus alcinus) and avian competitors (eg cave swiftlet Aerodramus spp.), the relatively wide temporal and spatial coverage of the records suggests that diurnal activity of this water-associated bat might be a common phenomenon in the area. We speculate that this atypical behaviour might have arisen to circumvent night-time competition with the high numbers of bats roosting in nearby caves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While Bulgaria has a rich bat fauna, with large colonies found in caves, mines and other underground roosts, only a small proportion of bat nursery colony roosts have been documented in buildings. During recent field research in the Madzharovo region, however, we discovered the world's largest nursery colony of lesser horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus hipposideros) and Geoffroy's bats (Myotis emarginatus). About 15 000 to 18 500 individuals of eight species use the complex of anthropogenic structures (an abandoned water reservoir and two buildings) as a summer roost, representing around half of all the bat species registered in the region. We strongly suggest that regular monitoring programmes and Species Action Plans are established in Bulgaria, which will ensure the conservation of nursery colonies, not only in Madzharovo, but also in the entire Eastern Rhodope mountains and help prevent future bat population declines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bats are often associated with several zoonotic diseases, including helminth infections. Despite their potential detrimental effects on both human and bat populations, information on helminth parasites of Philippine bats remains scarce. Here, we identify gastrointestinal helminths parasitizing bats collected from a cave complex in Cavinti, Laguna Province, Philippines, determine their prevalence (P) and mean intensity (MI), and investigate relationship of helminth prevalence and intensity with bat host characteristics including sex, diet, age, and roosting habit. We isolated 581 individuals of helminths representing six taxa (three trematodes, two nematodes, one cestode) from the gastrointestinal tract of sampled bats. Helminths were observed in 82 out of 172 bats captured (P = 47.67%), with Miniopteruspaululus having the highest infection rate (P = 91.3%) and highest MI (18 ± 4.5/infected bat). Helminths parasitizing endemic bat species from the Philippines, such as Rhinolophus rufus, Rhinolophus inops, Hipposideros pygmaeus, and Ptenochirus jagori were reported here for the first time. We provide new host records for other helminth species and report the presence of two parasites, Plagiorchis sp. and Toxocara sp., known for their zoonotic potential. These data will contribute to efforts in identifying parasites and diseases harbored by bats in the country and develop additional conservation measures for bats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bats are the second largest mammalian order and are an endangered species group with a strong need for contamination monitoring. To facilitate non-invasive monitoring of the ecological burden in bat populations, a multiresidue method for the simultaneous quantification of 119 analytes including pesticides, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), UV blockers, plasticizers, and other emerging pollutants in bat guano with gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) was developed. Sample preparation and clean-up were performed with a modified QuEChERS approach based on DIN EN 15662. The method uses 1.00 g bat guano as sample with acetonitrile and water for liquid-liquid extraction. Phase separation is assisted by citrate-buffered salting out agent. For clean-up of the extract, primary secondary amine (PSA) was combined with graphitized carbon black (GCB). The lower limits of quantification (LLOQ) ranged between 2.5 and 250 µg kg−1. Linearity was shown in a concentration range from the respective LLOQs to 1250 µg kg−1. The median of the mean recovery was 102.4%. Precision was tested at three concentrations. Method and injection precision were adequate with a relative standard deviation (RSD) below 20%. Furthermore, the comparative analysis with LC-MS/MS demonstrated the reliability of the results and provided a valuable extension of the analytical scope. As proof of concept, three guano samples from a German nursery roost of Myotis myotis were analysed. The results show a time-dependent change in contaminant concentration, highlighting the strong need for non-invasive contamination monitoring of whole bat populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The order Chiroptera includes 55 species in Nepal, which have been recorded within a wide range of elevation between 64 and 4154 m above sea level. Assessing the potential distribution ranges in present climatic scenarios and forecasting changes in distribution ranges in future climate have been adopted to predict likely adverse impacts on biodiversity and natural ecosystems. However, very few studies have assessed the impact of climate change on bats globally and locally. We assessed the current potential distribution ranges of six representative species of bats occurring in Nepal using species distribution models (SDMs) and predicted their responses in future climatic scenarios. The occurrences of the representative species of bats were projected with six to eight environmental variables under the different climatic scenarios; present, and socioeconomic pathways 4.5 and 8.5 for the years of 2050 and 2070 deploying maximum entropy modeling. We used Arc GIS 10.7.1 to calculate the distribution range, area, and elevation for the bat species. Among 18 uncorrelated bioclimatic variables eight variables significantly contributed to the SDMs. Among the six species, two showed a wider range of current distribution. Under the future climatic scenarios, distribution ranges and latitudinal and elevation shifting were found to be species specific. Future distribution ranges for two species are predicted to be constricted, but no significant changes are predicted for the others. Major parts of the current and future distribution ranges of the bat species lie outside the current protected areas of the country. Landscape level and species‐specific conservation policies are necessary for bat conservation, and future surveys of bats should be targeted in western Nepal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperate insectivorous bats value high prey abundance and appropriate vegetative structure when selecting foraging habitats. Forests, particularly in the eastern United States, provide prime foraging habitats for bats but can be heavily impacted by non-native plants, which may alter arthropod diversity and abundance, as well as vegetative structure. To investigate the associations between non-native plants and insect abundance, vegetative structure, and, consequently, bat activity, we performed vegetation surveys, insect trapping, and acoustic monitoring at 23 forested plots in northern New Jersey, USA. We predicted that non-native vegetation would either positively influence bat activity by increasing structural openness (thus, facilitating flight) or negatively influence bat activity by lowering the abundance of putative prey. We also hypothesized that vegetative characteristics, and therefore non-native vegetation, impact bats differently depending on their foraging habitat preferences. The percent of non-native cover of the ground and midstory vegetative layers of our study plots ranged from 0 to 92.92% ( x ¯ = 46.94 ± 5.77 SE) and was significantly correlated with structural vegetative characteristics, such as midstory clutter (β = 0.01 ± 0.006 SE), but not putative prey abundance (β = −0.81 ± 2.57 SE). Generalized linear models with only vegetative characteristics best predicted overall bat activity and foraging, which were greatest in areas with a high percent non-native vegetation and low midstory clutter. Although percent non-native vegetation and midstory clutter were also significant effects for bats that prefer to forage in open areas, neither vegetative characteristics nor prey abundance were significant effects for clutter-loving bats. Such findings suggest that vegetative structure is more important than prey availability for predicting overall insectivorous bat activity, but other factors, such as foraging strategy and life history traits, can impact how bat guilds respond to non-native vegetation. Therefore, more research is required to reveal additional mechanisms by which non-native plants impact bats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common reed (Phragmites australis), an exotic invasive plant in North America, alters wetlands and thus affects the abundance, development and behavior of many animal species. We evaluated the effect of common reed invasion on 1) the abundance of nocturnal flying insects, and 2) the activity of one of their predators, insectivorous bats. As bats are highly mobile, they can be affected by parameters at a broad scale. Therefore, we considered 3) the effect of habitats and roads around invaded and non-invaded sites on bat activity. We selected 28 paired sites located in wetlands in southwestern Quebec: 14 control sites and 14 common reed-dominated sites. Nocturnal flying insects were collected in some sites, using light traps. The activity of bats was measured in all sites using acoustic detectors. Habitats and high-traffic roads around the sampled sites were characterized over several spatial scales, using ArcGISPro. Our results showed that the number of nocturnal flying insects was reduced by 53% in common reed-dominated sites, but there was no influence on the overall activity of insectivorous bats. Instead, a larger relative area of aquatic and woodland habitats, within a respective radius of 1 and 2 km in the vicinity of our study sites, favoured the overall activity of bats. Moreover, bat activity decreased with an increase in the length of high-traffic roads within a radius of 200 m around the studied wetland sites. Our results suggest that invasive plants despite reducing insect prey may not represent a major threat to insectivorous bats. They also highlight the importance of protecting forests and aquatic habitats, as well as the need to implement road mitigation measures for the conservation of insectivorous bats.

Background: The timing of behavior and habitat use of nocturnal animals can be influenced by the lunar cycle in nature. The prevalence of artificial light at night (ALAN) has been recognized as a source of environmental pollution. The interaction between ALAN and the lunar cycle on bat behavior is important for understanding anthropogenic effects on bats. We utilized a decade (2012–2022) of acoustic monitoring data collected in North Carolina, United States, to investigate the relationship between bat activity, lunar cycle, and light pollution. We examined whether the amount of lunar illumination affected species-specific nightly activity and whether hourly bat activity patterns varied between nights with different moon phases. We further investigated if the relationship between bat activity and the lunar cycle might be altered by light pollution. Results: We found that seven bat species showed activity variation across nights in relation to the amount of moon illumination when ALAN was absent. In general, bats were less active on full moon nights compared to new moon nights. Light pollution interacted with the bat–lunar relationship in five of the seven species, masking the effect of the lunar cycle. We identified delayed bat activity patterns on nights with a full or waxing moon in seven species, and light pollution altered that pattern in four species. Overall, ALAN was associated with decreased bat activity independent of lunar cycle effects. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that at a broad spatial scale, ALAN negatively affected many North American temperate bat species and altered their lunar chronobiology. As light pollution is spreading to historically dark areas and habitats, ALAN might couple with other threats, such as the white-nose syndrome or climate change, to cause cascading damage in the environment that depends on ecosystem services such as pest control provided by bats. We argue that further research and conservation actions are needed to mitigate the impact of light pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bats frequently inhabit caves and other subterranean habitats and play a critical role in subterranean food webs. With escalating threats to subterranean ecosystems, identifying the most effective measures to protect subterranean‐roosting bats is critical. We conducted a meta‐analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation and management interventions for subterranean‐roosting bats. We used network analyses to determine to what extent interventions for bats overlap those used for other subterranean taxa. We conducted our analyses with data extracted from 345 papers recommending a total of 910 conservation interventions. Gating of roost entrances was applied to preserve bat populations in 21 studies, but its effectiveness was unclear. Habitat restoration and disturbance reduction positively affected bat populations and bat behavior, respectively, in ≤4 studies. Decontamination was assessed in 2 studies and positively affected bat populations, particularly in studies focused on reducing fungal spores associated with white‐nose syndrome in North America. Monitoring of bat populations as an effective conservation strategy was unclear and infrequently tested. Only 4% of bat studies simultaneously considered other subterranean organisms. However, effective interventions for bat conservation had similarities with all other organisms. If other subterranean organisms are considered when applying interventions to conserve bats, they might also benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Woodland bat assemblages are usually structured in a space according to the distance from the ground, water, and obstacles, features that often define chiropteran hunting tactics. Consequently, the bat species composition differs strongly among various habitats, even within the same forest patch. However, when conducting local bat surveys in Wolin National Park (WPN), we revealed an unexpected uniformity in the qualitative and quantitative structure of bat assemblages, based on mist netting and ultrasound recording. In total, 10 vespertilionid species were detected. Across all methods and sampled habitats, a single species, Pipistrellus pygmaeus, predominated, while no Barbastella barbastellus, an old forest specialist, were detected, despite the abundance of their preferred daily roosts. We also reviewed the literature for mist-netted bat samples in four different habitats in lowland Polish forests. The samples usually clustered based on habitats, and the same habitat classes often clustered very closely despite representing geographically distant forests. The exception was WPN, where all four habitat classes formed a tightly packed cluster. We hypothesize that P. pygmaeus might act as a hyperabundant native species, a successful generalist that reduces the contribution of more specialized taxa in the assemblage. It probably benefits from both forest renaturation and anthropogenic cross-boundary subsidy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial discusses the human impacts on bats in tropical ecosystems and explores sustainable actions and alternatives to mitigate these effects. The extensive conversion of natural ecosystems, particularly in tropical developing countries, poses a significant threat to bat populations. The loss of habitat and environmental degradation resulting from land use changes have led to the decline in bat species diversity and the disruption of ecosystem services provided by bats. The editorial highlights the critical role of forest cover in bat conservation, the interactions between bats and other organisms, and the impacts of environmental transformation on ecosystem service provision by bats. It emphasizes the importance of preserving intact forests, restoring secondary forests, and implementing initiatives with local populations and producers to protect bat biodiversity and promote sustainable alternatives. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract Automated monitoring technologies can increase the efficiency of ecological data collection and support data‐driven conservation. Camera traps coupled with infrared light barriers can be used to monitor temperate‐zone bat assemblages at underground hibernacula, where thousands of individuals of multiple species can aggregate in winter. However, the broad‐scale adoption of such photo‐monitoring techniques is limited by the time‐consuming bottleneck of manual image processing. Here, we present BatNet, an open‐source, deep learning‐based tool for automated identification of 13 European bat species from camera trap images. BatNet includes a user‐friendly graphical interface, where it can be retrained to identify new bat species or to create site‐specific models to improve detection accuracy at new sites. Model accuracy was evaluated on images from both trained and untrained sites, and in an ecological context, where community‐ and species‐level metrics (species diversity, relative abundance, and species‐level activity patterns) were compared between human experts and BatNet. At trained sites, model performance was high across all species (F1‐score: 0.98–1). At untrained sites, overall classification accuracy remained high (96.7–98.2%), when camera placement was comparable to the training images (3 m or >45° angle), retraining the detector model with 500 site‐specific annotations achieved an accuracy of over 95% at all sites. In the ecological case study, all investigated metrics were nearly identical between human experts and BatNet. Finally, we exemplify the ability to retrain BatNet to identify a new bat species, achieving an F1‐score of 0.99 while maintaining high classification accuracy for all original species. BatNet can be implemented directly to scale up the deployment of camera traps in Europe and enhance bat population monitoring. Moreover, the pretrained model can serve as a baseline for transfer learning to automatize the image‐based identification of bat species worldwide.

In this study, we aim to uncover diet preferences for the insectivorous bat Nyctalus leisleri (Leisler's bat, the lesser noctule) and to provide recommendations for conservation of the species, based on the analysis of prey source habitats. Using a novel guano trap, we sampled bat faeces at selected roosts in a forest in Germany and tested two mitochondrial markers (COI and 16S) and three primer pairs for the metabarcoding of bat faecal pellets.We found a total of 17 arthropod prey orders comprising 358 species in N. leisleri guano. The most diverse orders were Lepidoptera (126 species), Diptera (86 species) and Coleoptera (48 species), followed by Hemiptera (28 species), Trichoptera (16 species), Neuroptera (15 species) and Ephemeroptera (10 species), with Lepidoptera species dominating in spring and Diptera in summer. Based on the ecological requirements of the most abundant arthropod species found in the bat guano, we propose some recommendations for the conservation of N. leisleri that are relevant for other insectivorous bat species.

The little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) is an endangered species that occurs throughout most of North America. The recovery strategy for little brown bats in Canada identifies a need to understand habitat use and protect important bat habitat across the species' Canadian range; however, bat roosting habitat requirements have not been well studied in mountainous environments within the northern part of the species' range. Our objective was to understand the use of building and natural roosts by female little brown bats in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Over two summers, we captured little brown bats in Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks, in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, and tracked 49 females to their day roosts. Buildings were the only roost type used by radio‐tagged bats of all reproductive stages, the dominant roost type used throughout the reproductive period, and the only structures in which we located maternity colonies. Buildings also appeared to shape the distribution of foraging female and reproductive female bats such that few were captured at long distances from towns and building clusters. Compared with bats in more southern and in non‐mountainous areas, bats in our study area had delayed juvenile weaning and volancy, began hibernation early, and had low reproductive rates. We suggest that buildings are a key habitat for female little brown bats to persist at their current levels in our study area, by providing thermal conditions that promote overwinter survival; additional reproductive delays caused by torpor use in cool natural roosts would likely reduce juvenile and adult female overwinter survival below the levels required to sustain populations. Nevertheless, building colonies were unusually small, and bats had relatively low fidelity to particular building roosts, suggesting that building roosts may not consistently meet bats' needs. Some nonreproductive and pregnant females also frequently used natural roosts, particularly after colder nights; these roosts may be important in facilitating torpor and energy conservation for these bats. Because bats are long‐lived with low reproductive output and low juvenile survival, addressing the needs of both reproductive and nonreproductive individuals is important for population persistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automated monitoring technologies can increase the efficiency of ecological data collection and support data‐driven conservation. Camera traps coupled with infrared light barriers can be used to monitor temperate‐zone bat assemblages at underground hibernacula, where thousands of individuals of multiple species can aggregate in winter. However, the broad‐scale adoption of such photo‐monitoring techniques is limited by the time‐consuming bottleneck of manual image processing. Here, we present BatNet, an open‐source, deep learning‐based tool for automated identification of 13 European bat species from camera trap images. BatNet includes a user‐friendly graphical interface, where it can be retrained to identify new bat species or to create site‐specific models to improve detection accuracy at new sites. Model accuracy was evaluated on images from both trained and untrained sites, and in an ecological context, where community‐ and species‐level metrics (species diversity, relative abundance, and species‐level activity patterns) were compared between human experts and BatNet. At trained sites, model performance was high across all species (F1‐score: 0.98–1). At untrained sites, overall classification accuracy remained high (96.7–98.2%), when camera placement was comparable to the training images (<3 m from the entrance; <45° angle relative to the opening). For atypical camera placements (>3 m or >45° angle), retraining the detector model with 500 site‐specific annotations achieved an accuracy of over 95% at all sites. In the ecological case study, all investigated metrics were nearly identical between human experts and BatNet. Finally, we exemplify the ability to retrain BatNet to identify a new bat species, achieving an F1‐score of 0.99 while maintaining high classification accuracy for all original species. BatNet can be implemented directly to scale up the deployment of camera traps in Europe and enhance bat population monitoring. Moreover, the pretrained model can serve as a baseline for transfer learning to automatize the image‐based identification of bat species worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the use of anthropogenic resources by wildlife in degraded habitats has been frequently documented, the use of such alternative resources in natural and semi‐natural habitats is not yet well understood. We explored the use of artificial water sources by bats in a semi‐natural habitat by conducting acoustic monitoring surveys at swimming pools on Amakhala Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape of South Africa from 2018 to 2020. We identified 7 of 23 local species in 24,909 recorded activities associated with resource use at the swimming pools, including 1,374 feeding buzzes and 9,286 drinking buzzes. This study confirmed that bats were using swimming pools in the game reserve as a foraging and drinking resource and indicates that such anthropogenic features could be of value to bats and potentially other wildlife in natural and semi‐natural habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Colombia, 217 bat species have been recorded of which at least 22 species occur in Andean and sub-Andean ecosystems. To evaluate the richness of bats in an Andean elevational range at the Municipality of Manizales, Central Andes of Colombia, we performed surveys supplemented with incidental captures from 2018 to 2022 at different urban and peri-urban areas, and reviewed specimens in biological collections. We evaluated the perception and knowledge that local people have about bats using an online survey. We reported 33 species in the study area. Phyllostomidae showed the highest richness (20 species), followed by Vespertilionidae (11 species), and Molossidae (2 species). For the survey, we obtained responses from 219 people who showed a good knowledge about bats and their ecological importance. We did not find significant differences between ages and levels of schooling in the perception about bats. Our results highlight the relevance of conserving the green areas of Manizales and the need for environmental education programs to reduce possible bat-human conflicts and negative perceptions. Manizales has the potential as an Area of Importance for the Conservation of Bats, due to its high bat richness and that reproduction is occurring within the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we aim to uncover diet preferences for the insectivorous bat Nyctalus leisleri (Leisler's bat, the lesser noctule) and to provide recommendations for conservation of the species, based on the analysis of prey source habitats. Using a novel guano trap, we sampled bat faeces at selected roosts in a forest in Germany and tested two mitochondrial markers (COI and 16S) and three primer pairs for the metabarcoding of bat faecal pellets. We found a total of 17 arthropod prey orders comprising 358 species in N. leisleri guano. The most diverse orders were Lepidoptera (126 species), Diptera (86 species) and Coleoptera (48 species), followed by Hemiptera (28 species), Trichoptera (16 species), Neuroptera (15 species) and Ephemeroptera (10 species), with Lepidoptera species dominating in spring and Diptera in summer. Based on the ecological requirements of the most abundant arthropod species found in the bat guano, we propose some recommendations for the conservation of N. leisleri that are relevant for other insectivorous bat species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate population estimates are crucial to developing successful conservation policy, but the underlying data remain difficult to collect for many taxa. This is especially true for elusive species, such as temperate‐zone bats, where visual counts in hibernacula underestimate their population to an unknown extent. Infrared light barriers that count all entering and exiting bats at the entrance of a hibernaculum could offer a more accurate alternative for bat population monitoring. We used infrared video recordings to quantify light barrier accuracy (i.e., concordance between light barrier and video registration of entries and exits) at five hibernacula over 30 weeks during autumn and spring. Subsequently, we developed a standardized methodology to estimate light barrier‐based population sizes based on the number of emerging bats in spring, and compared these estimates to visual counts at 12 sites. Finally, we calculated confidence intervals around the estimated population sizes, and used these to evaluate population trends using 6‐year‐long light barrier datasets from four sites. Light barrier accuracy varied based on the model and precise location of the installation, with the best combination achieving near‐perfect accuracy across the entire emergence phase. When compared to the resulting light barrier‐based population estimates, winter hibernation counts markedly underestimated population totals, recovering less than 10% of the bats at the most complex sites. Moreover, light barrier‐based population trends showed regional patterns of growth and decline, which were not evident in the visual counts. This study demonstrates that light barriers can estimate the population size and trends of bat assemblages with unprecedented accuracy, even at large, complex, or inaccessible hibernacula that cannot be precisely assessed with visual hibernation counts. Installing light barriers at a representative network of sites, where their installation does not require large‐scale entrance modifications, has the potential to revolutionize bat monitoring and contribute to data‐driven conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperate insectivorous bats value high prey abundance and appropriate vegetative structure when selecting foraging habitats. Forests, particularly in the eastern United States, provide prime foraging habitats for bats but can be heavily impacted by non-native plants, which may alter arthropod diversity and abundance, as well as vegetative structure. To investigate the associations between non-native plants and insect abundance, vegetative structure, and, consequently, bat activity, we performed vegetation surveys, insect trapping, and acoustic monitoring at 23 forested plots in northern New Jersey, USA. We predicted that non-native vegetation would either positively influence bat activity by increasing structural openness (thus, facilitating flight) or negatively influence bat activity by lowering the abundance of putative prey. We also hypothesized that vegetative characteristics, and therefore non-native vegetation, impact bats differently depending on their foraging habitat preferences. The percent of non-native cover of the ground and midstory vegetative layers of our study plots ranged from 0 to 92.92% (x¯ = 46.94 ± 5.77 SE) and was significantly correlated with structural vegetative characteristics, such as midstory clutter (β = 0.01 ± 0.006 SE), but not putative prey abundance (β = −0.81 ± 2.57 SE). Generalized linear models with only vegetative characteristics best predicted overall bat activity and foraging, which were greatest in areas with a high percent non-native vegetation and low midstory clutter. Although percent non-native vegetation and midstory clutter were also significant effects for bats that prefer to forage in open areas, neither vegetative characteristics nor prey abundance were significant effects for clutter-loving bats. Such findings suggest that vegetative structure is more important than prey availability for predicting overall insectivorous bat activity, but other factors, such as foraging strategy and life history traits, can impact how bat guilds respond to non-native vegetation. Therefore, more research is required to reveal additional mechanisms by which non-native plants impact bats.

Fruit bats serve as crucial bioindicators, seed dispersers, pollinators, and contributors to food security within ecosystems. However, their population and distribution were threatened by climate change and anthropogenic pressures. Understanding the impacts of these pressures through mapping distribution and habitat suitability is crucial for identifying high‐priority areas and implementing effective conservation and management plans. We predicted the distribution and extent of habitat suitability for Rousettus aegyptiacus and Epomophorus labiatus under climate change scenarios using average predictions from four different algorithms to produce an ensemble model. Seasonal precipitation, population index, land‐use land cover, vegetation, and the mean temperature of the driest quarter majorly contributed to the predicted habitat suitability for both species. The current predicted sizes of suitable habitats for R. aegyptiacus and E. labiatus were varied, on average 60,271.4 and 85,176.1 km2, respectively. The change in species range size for R. aegyptiacus showed gains in suitable areas of 24.4% and 22.8% in 2050 and 2070, respectively. However, for E. labiatus, suitable areas decreased by 0.95% and 2% in 2050 and 2070, respectively. The range size change of suitable areas between 2050 and 2070 for R. aegyptiacus and E. labiatus shows losses of 1.5% and 1.2%, respectively. The predicted maps indicate that the midlands and highlands of southern and eastern Ethiopia harbor highly suitable areas for both species. In contrast, the areas in the northern and central highlands are fragmented. The current model findings show that climate change and anthropogenic pressures have notable impacts on the geographic ranges of two species. Moreover, the predicted suitable habitats for both species are found both within and outside of their historical ranges, which has important implications for conservation efforts. Our ensemble predictions are vital for identifying high‐priority areas for fruit bat species conservation efforts and management to mitigate climate change and anthropogenic pressures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollution generated by the mining industry can cause harm to wildlife. This study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and mutagenicity in bats environmentally exposed to open pit mining. Thus, 62 bats of the following species, Carollia perspicillata, Glossophaga soricina, Phyllostomus hastatus, and Desmodus rotundus exposed to mining activities (ferronickel) were used in the analysis. The animals were obtained in samplings in July and November of 2021, totaling 8 days of sampling in the field. The results indicated that species differ in the frequency of genotoxic damage between sampling points within the mining landscape. Cytotoxicity was observed by scoring of karyorrhexis, pyknosis and karyolysis. The most captured species, C. perspicillata, showed differences in DNA damage between exposed and unexposed populations, but no differences were observed between males (n = 14) and females (n = 20). G. soricina was also a sensitive species for indicating a high frequency of DNA damages compared to the omnivore P. hastatus. Elements such as Mn, Cr, Pb, and Zn observed in water samples were at high levels in the mining area. We conclude that bats in mining areas are susceptible to increased DNA damage as already identified for other species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Bats are highly mobile animals, moving rapidly over long distances. Detecting such movements is challenging, especially in cave areas, a commonly-used roost by bats. Brazil has a large number of caves and bat species, but details on bat mobility among caves is still poorly documented there. Such monitoring provides insights on the structuring and conservation of cave-dwelling communities, with possible legal implications for the environmental licensing in Brazil. Based on marking (2,490 bats captured; 2,142 marked) and recapture (35 events; 14 extra-site), here we present data on the mobility of mormoopid bats between two bat caves 15 km apart in northeastern Brazil. Sexual segregation between caves may explain mobility: one cave is likely a maternity roost; the other is a satellite cave used for copulae. Nomadic behavior due to seasonal distribution of resources in the semi-arid Northeastern Brazil cannot be ruled out. Based on the distance between the two caves, bats could potentially forage over an area of ~170,000 hectares, in a wider use of the landscape. Our data have implications for the conservation of bat species and their roosts, and contribute to a more evidence-based discussion of key concepts governing the environmental licensing of mining activities in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conversion of natural areas for the advancement of economic activities such as agriculture, mining, livestock, and energy production are the main challenges for biodiversity conservation in Brazil. The establishment and expansion of protected areas (PA) are the cheapest way to ensure biodiversity protection and the maintenance of ecosystem services provided by it. Chiroptera is one of the most diverse group of mammals, responsible for several ecological functions such as seed dispersal, insect population control and pollination. The aim of our study was to estimate the degree of protection that PAs in Brazil guarantee for bats. Species distribution models were built to estimate the distribution of 173 bat species in the Brazilian territory. Then, we performed a gap analysis to assess the effectiveness of PAs in ensure protection for bats, regarding the administrative level and the type of PA. In general, federal PAs were more efficient in ensuring bat protection than state PAs. Strictly PAs alone are insufficient to protect 67.6% bats, including all endangered bats at national level. Sustainable use areas have a complementary role to achieve the established conservation goals, besides this is not its main purpose. However, more efforts are needed to ensure an effective representation of bat diversity in PAs. Our study shows the need for a more integrated systematic conservation planning that incorporates the federal and local levels. In addition, the inclusion of other types of areas such as indigenous lands and private areas could be effective strategies to ensure that protection goals are met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gradual conversion of forest stands to single-aged and single-species stands is resulting in the loss of natural roosts for many animal groups. The installation of bat boxes is one solution to compensate for the lack of natural roosting opportunities. The box models differ in their design and material, which to some extent can determine their suitability for bats. We investigated the occupancy of 187 boxes made of wood, ceramic and two sizes concrete with styrofoam; and the intra-seasonal (spring migration, breeding, mating/migration) thermal profile for each type of box. The environment of the boxes was defined by parameters that could directly affect the box's thermal conditions (solar energy availability), or be related to sociality (distances, obstacles) or food availability (edge of forest, water). The box occupancy depended on the box type and the season: styrofoam-concrete boxes were preferred, with a higher occupancy during the mating and migration period (>75%), whereas the highest species richness occurred in ceramic boxes. Box types also differed significantly in their diurnal thermal profiles: the wooden boxes had inside temperatures similar to outside the box, whereas the styrofoam-concrete and with expanded clay aggregate (ceramic type) averaged 2°C higher. Overall, we found 6 bat species, although we concentrated our analysis on the most common species: Pipistrellus nathusii (88%). For this species, none of the parameters that could affect the box thermal condition had an impact on the occupancy, whereas the presence of obstacles and the distance to a water body, proved to be important. To ascertain that our results may be valid and be the result of differences in the box thermal properties, we tested the relationship of the box occupancy to the latitude, using data available in the literature. The occupancy of wooden boxes from the latter dataset significantly decreases with latitude, whereas for the concrete (with addition of sawdust or styrofoam) it increases, although this relationship is not significant and requires a larger sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bat species and their populations are declining globally due to a variety of anthropogenic activities. Human activities, motivated by negative attitudes toward, perceptions of, and poor knowledge and appreciation of these animals, have a major effect on their conservation. Thus, it is important to improve our understanding of bat–human interactions to help design appropriate bat conservation measures. We investigated human–bat interactions in a sample (n = 423) of people living around the Omo Forest Reserve and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Southwestern Nigeria. People who considered themselves more vulnerable to disease transmission from bats held more negative perceptions of and beliefs about bats. A major finding in this study suggests that respondents' perceived vulnerability to diseases from bats did not correlate with destructive behaviors toward bats. Participants with a low level of education intentionally killed more bats than those with a higher level of education. The majority of the participants did not appreciate the role of bats in ecosystems and had a poor understanding of bats' niche in nature and the resulting benefits for humans. We suggest that positive messages that neutralize superstition and myths and highlight the role of bats in ecosystems are urgently needed. They could lead to behavioral changes that benefit bats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bats of Saudi Arabia consist of 30 species and 21 genera within 9 families (Pteropodidae, Rhinopomatidae, Rhinolophidae, Emballonuridae, Nycteridae, Hipposideridae, Miniopteridae, Molossidae, and Vespertilionidae). Some species have been recorded from only one locality: Epomophorus labiatus, Hipposideros megalotis and Asellia patrizii. The taxonomy of some species was updated. Details on the past and present distribution of the bats were included along with available data on their habitat preference and biology. An analysis of the bat fauna of Saudi Arabia revealed that they have six major zoogeographical affinities; Afrotropical (eight species), Saharo-Sindian (three species), Afrotropical-Palaearctic (four species), Palaearctic (four species), oriental (one species), and Afrotropical-oriental (two species). Asellia patrizii stands as an endemic species known only from Eretria, Ethiopia, and Farasan Island in Saudi Arabia, and Rhyneptesicus nasutus is considered as a Middle East endemic species with distribution confined to Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, reaching as far as western Arabia. At least six more species are suspected to occur in Saudi Arabia, since they have been reported from neighboring Yemen. The threats to and conservation status of the bats of Saudi Arabia were highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Georgia, currently, 30 species of bats are recorded from four families and eleven genera. Although the oldest record of bats is from 1835 and continues until today, there are no comprehensive data available for bat diversity and distribution in Georgia. Thus, we aimed to fill that gap and make complete, expertly curated literature and our own published data openly available (through GBIF) for researchers and conservationists. New information: In this publication, out of 1987 records, 1243 (62.4%) are new and unpublished data. Generally, out of all records, 34% are literature and museum data and 66% are data collected by us. Additionally, for the first time in the history of the study of bats in Georgia, we initiated surveys in forested areas of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Understanding roosting behaviour is essential to bat conservation and biomonitoring, often providing the most accurate methods of assessing bat population size and health. However, roosts can be challenging to survey, e.g., physically impossible to access or presenting risks for researchers. Disturbance during monitoring can also disrupt natural bat behaviour and present material risks to the population such as disrupting hibernation cycles. One solution to this is the use of non-invasive monitoring approaches. Environmental (e)DNA has proven especially effective at detecting rare and elusive species particularly in hard-to-reach locations. It has recently been demonstrated that eDNA from vertebrates is carried in air. When collected in semi-confined spaces, this airborne eDNA can provide remarkably accurate profiles of biodiversity, even in complex tropical communities. In this study, we deploy novel airborne eDNA collection for the first time in a natural setting and use this approach to survey difficult to access potential roosts in the neotropics. Using airborne eDNA, we confirmed the presence of bats in nine out of 12 roosts. The identified species matched previous records of roost use obtained from photographic and live capture methods, thus demonstrating the utility of this approach. We also detected the presence of the white-winged vampire bat (Diaemus youngi) which had never been confirmed in the area but was long suspected based on range maps. In addition to the bats, we detected several non-bat vertebrates, including the big-eared climbing rat (Ototylomys phyllotis), which has previously been observed in and around bat roosts in our study area. We also detected eDNA from other local species known to be in the vicinity. Using airborne eDNA to detect new roosts and monitor known populations, particularly when species turnover is rapid, could maximize efficiency for surveyors while minimizing disturbance to the animals. This study presents the first applied use of airborne eDNA collection for ecological analysis moving beyond proof of concept to demonstrate a clear utility for this technology in the wild. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing urbanization, particularly in developing countries, it is important to understand how local biota will respond to such landscape changes. Bats comprise one of the most diverse groups of mammals in urban areas, and many species are threatened by habitat destruction and land use change. Yet, in Africa, the response of bats to urban areas is relatively understudied. Therefore, we collated data on urban presence, phylogenetic relationship, and ecological traits of 54 insectivorous bats in Africa from available literature to test if their response to urbanization was phylogenetically and/or ecologically driven. Ancestral state reconstruction of urban tolerance, defined by functional group and presence observed in urban areas, suggests that ancestral African bat species could adapt to urban landscapes, and significant phylogenetic signal for urban tolerance indicates that this ability is evolutionarily conserved and mediated by pre‐adaptations. Specifically, traits of high wing loading and aspect ratio, and flexible roosting strategies, enable occupancy of urban areas. Therefore, our results identify the traits that predict which bat species will likely occur in urban areas, and which vulnerable bat clades conservation efforts should focus on to reduce loss of both functional and phylogenetic diversity in Africa. We, additionally, highlight several gaps in research that should be investigated in future studies to provide better monitoring of the impact urbanization will have on African bats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about bats often underlie social support for bat management and intentions to conserve bats. Effective bat conservation and management hinges on understanding these drivers across contexts. Lands classified as wildland-urban interface (WUI) are rapidly expanding in the USA, increasing the likelihood of human-bat interactions from management practices and encroachment on forested landscapes. We surveyed 410 households in one Arizona WUI community to assess residents' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and emotions toward bats, and differences among these variables associated with demographic traits, past encounters with bats, support for bat management, and willingness to place artificial bat roosts on their properties. Greater knowledge and positive attitudes, beliefs, and emotions positively predicted willingness to place roosts 59% to 85% of the time, varying across demographic groups; they did not predict support for bat management. Our findings demonstrated that contexts and demographic traits are important considerations for bat conservation and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The media is a valuable pathway for transforming people's attitudes towards conservation issues. Understanding how bats are framed in the media is hence essential for bat conservation, particularly considering the recent fearmongering and misinformation about the risks posed by bats. We reviewed bat-related articles published online no later than 2019 (before the recent COVID19 pandemic), in 15 newspapers from the five most populated countries in Western Europe. We examined the extent to which bats were presented as a threat to human health and the assumed general attitudes towards bats that such articles supported. We quantified press coverage on bat conservation values and evaluated whether the country and political stance had any information bias. Finally, we assessed their terminology and, for the first time, modelled the active response from the readership based on the number of online comments. Out of 1095 articles sampled, 17% focused on bats and diseases, 53% on a range of ecological and conservation topics, and 30% only mention bats anecdotally. While most of the ecological articles did not present bats as a threat (97%), most articles focusing on diseases did so (80%). Ecosystem services were mentioned on very few occasions in both types (< 30%), and references to the economic benefits they provide were meagre (< 4%). Disease-related concepts were recurrent, and those articles that framed bats as a threat were the ones that garnered the highest number of comments. Therefore, we encourage the media to play a more proactive role in reinforcing positive conservation messaging by presenting the myriad ways in which bats contribute to safeguarding human well-being and ecosystem functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding patterns of species distribution and diversity plays a vital role in biodiversity conservation. Such documentation is frequently lacking for bats, which are relatively little studied and often threatened. The Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot in peninsular India is a bat hotspot with 63 species. We conducted a comprehensive bat survey across the southern Western Ghats and used maximum entropy modeling (MaxEnt) to model the potential distribution of 37 bat species for which sufficient data were available. We generated binary maps of each species using species-specific thresholds to estimate suitable habitat areas and overlaid binary maps of species to produce bat hotspots (we use the term "bat hotspot" for regions that were suitable for more than 25 bat species). We also estimated species richness across protected area networks in the southern Western Ghats to assess the level of protection. The highest levels of species richness were found mainly along the southmost Periyar–Agastyamalai landscape. The study also identified a 1,683 km2 area of potential bat hotspot and 726 km2 (43%) of the total bat hotspots are currently within the protected area network. However, more than 50% of suitable habitats for each of the 37 species remain unprotected. Therefore, conservation decisions are needed to take into account both bat hotspots and species with restricted distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical regions are experiencing rapid rates of forest fragmentation, which can have several effects on wildlife, including altered parasite dynamics. Bats are a useful host group to consider the effects of fragmentation, because they are abundant in the tropics, serve important ecological roles, and harbor many parasites. Nevertheless, research on the effects of fragmentation on bat ectoparasites is still limited. To help guide ongoing and future research efforts, this study had two objectives: (1) conduct a gap analysis to characterize the state of currently available research on fragmentation effects on bat ectoparasites and (2) conduct a preliminary meta‐analysis to identify current trends. We systematically highlighted several research gaps: Studies comparing the effects of fragmented versus continuous forests on ectoparasites are limited and have primarily been conducted in the Neotropics, with a focus on bats in the superfamily Noctilionidea (especially frugivorous phyllostomids). Our preliminary meta‐analysis suggested that ectoparasite prevalence (but not the mean or variance in intensity) was higher in fragments than in continuous forests. Moreover, prevalence increased with increasing roost duration, and mean intensity was higher for bats with higher wing aspect ratios. Intensity variance was affected by an interaction between forest type and wing aspect ratio, such that variance increased for bats with high‐wing aspect ratios in continuous forests but decreased in fragments. These results suggest that fragmentation can shape aspects of bat ectoparasitism and could have implications for the ecology, health, and conservation of bats in fragmented landscapes. However, existing research gaps could bias our current understanding of habitat change and bat health, and future research should thus investigate these effects in the Paleotropics and with other bat families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bats have long been recognized as important pest controllers. However, there are no studies evaluating the potential of bats in predating insect pests of Eucalyptus trees, one of the most planted trees worldwide. We evaluated the predation of 3 worldwide spread Eucalyptus pest, Ctenarytaina spatulata, C. eucalypti and Gonipterus platensis, in Portugal, and also the former main pest biological control agent, the parasitoid Anaphes nitens. We used molecular methods to identify 10 bat species from 356 droppings and used a specific PCR assay to detect the 4 target insects. We detected C. eucalypti in 3 droppings, C. spatulata in 4, G. platensis in 1, and none with A. nitens. Our results indicate that bats can potentially act as suppressing agents of the novel exotic prey in eucalypt plantations, but their importance seems low, likely as a result of their low use of eucalypt plantations as foraging grounds. Managing plantations to attract bats, would not only help in bat conservation, but could also increase natural pest control of eucalypt pests, leading to more sustainable forestry practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bat survey in the Jean Massart Botanical Garden was carried out during the summer of 2019 by Plecotus, bat working group of the nature conservation NGO Natagora, with the use of manual and automatic recording techniques. It showed the presence of 10 species on the site, including the Brown Long-eared Bat, Plecotus auritus (L.), detected in several locations within the garden. Concurrently, an inventory of arthropods, conducted since 2013 on the site, detected the presence of numerous wings of Mormo maura (L.), a large moth, at the entrance of an old underground passage frequented by P. auritus. This observation suggests predation by P. auritus on this species of moth, which can thus be added to the diet of the bat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mega dams in lowland tropical forests often create large archipelagos, leading to biodiversity decay and disruption of ecosystem functioning in remnant habitat islands.We investigated the functional diversity and functional trait filtering of aerial insectivorous bats in both insular forest patches created by a vast ~30‐year‐old hydropower reservoir and the adjacent mainland continuous forest in Central Amazonia.Bats were surveyed using passive bat recorders across 34 forest sites. Based on a set of morphological traits derived for each species recorded, we estimated both the bat functional richness, functional evenness and functional dispersion at each surveyed site. We further assessed the effects of local vegetation, patch and landscape features on patterns of functional diversity. The interaction between functional traits, environmental characteristics, and species distribution was investigated using a combination of RLQ and fourth‐corner analyses.We found that mainland sites retained higher functional richness and lower functional evenness compared to forest islands, indicating a more complete functional assemblage in the mainland. Additionally, species composition was affected by local vegetation structure and forest area, with small isolated islands exhibiting pervasive loss of functional traits. RLQ and fourth‐corner analyses showed that larger understorey foraging species with greater dispersal capacity, constant frequency–frequency modulated calls, and higher frequency of maximum energy were associated with more isolated small islands. Conversely, forest subcanopy species, exhibiting quasi‐constant frequency calls and presenting low dispersal capacity were associated with continuous forests and islands with greater forest area, and were therefore more sensitive to habitat insularization.Our study calls attention to the pervasive impacts induced by large dams on the functional diversity of tropical insectivorous bats. We recommend that future assessments of the effects of habitat fragmentation on mammals should include traits linked to ecosystem services. In designing and licensing new dams, we suggest the creation of extensive protected areas surrounding mainland forests to minimize the detrimental impacts of small isolated islands and safeguard the full complement of key ecological functions provided by insectivorous bats. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bats are a highly diversified order of mammals found all over the world; however, their population size and distribution are decreasing rapidly in Europe nowadays. The study of ancient bat populations by means of their fossil record is a valuable source of contextual information for modern bat conservation studies. This paper is a comprehensive review of published bat records in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands through Quaternary times, representing the first attempt to update and standardize the knowledge of chiropters in southwestern Europe during this time period. The main goal is to identify changes in bat assemblages that might be correlatable to palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironmental changes. Our data show that the Quaternary record of bats in the area is fragmentary and strongly dependent on the presence of karstic cavities. Thus, a strong preservation bias towards colonial cave-dwelling bats exists, and species with alternative ecological requirements are under-represented. Nevertheless, this work reveals that most of the bats inhabiting the area today were already present in the region from at least the Middle Pleistocene. Interestingly, we observe a frequent association between certain cave-dwelling bats (i.e., Rhinolophus ferrumequinum , Miniopterus schreibersii , Myotis myotis and M. blythii) that is still observed in many caves today; this reflects a stable ecology that has remained undisturbed despite past climatic changes. Within the well-documented periods at the end of the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene, a reduction in some common components of Quaternary assemblages (Rhinolophus species and M. schreibersii) is observed, coinciding with the Late Glacial Maximum and the Northgrippian Neoglacial (a cooling event in the Holocene). Finally, the Balearic record shows interesting palaeobiogeographical characteristics, including some eastern taxa absent in the Iberian Peninsula (Rhinolophus variabilis and R. cf. blasii) as well as an unusual abundance of Rhinolophus hipposideros. • Most extant bats in the Iberian Peninsula were already present there ca. 600 ka. • A strong bias towards colonial, cave bats counting exists within the fossil record. • Three Mediterranean cave bats associate stably despite Quaternary climate shifts. • The Last Glacial Maximum and the Northgrippian Neoglacial events left a mark. • Two oriental taxa and higher reports on Rhinolophus for the Balearic fossil bats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pathogen transmission dynamics in bat reservoirs underpin efforts to reduce risks to human health and enhance bat conservation, but are notoriously challenging to resolve. For vampire bat rabies, the geographical scale of enzootic cycles, whether environmental factors modulate baseline risk, and how within-host processes affect population-level dynamics remain unresolved. We studied patterns of rabies exposure using an 11-year, spatially replicated sero-survey of 3709 Peruvian vampire bats and co-occurring outbreaks in livestock. Seroprevalence was correlated among nearby sites but fluctuated asynchronously at larger distances. A generalized additive mixed model confirmed spatially compartmentalized transmission cycles, but no effects of bat demography or environmental context on seroprevalence. Among 427 recaptured bats, we observed long-term survival following rabies exposure and antibody waning, supporting hypotheses that immunological mechanisms influence viral maintenance. Finally, seroprevalence in bats was only weakly correlated with outbreaks in livestock, reinforcing the challenge of spillover prediction even with extensive data. Together our results suggest that rabies maintenance requires transmission among multiple, nearby bat colonies which may be facilitated by waning of protective immunity. However, the likelihood of incursions and dynamics of transmission within bat colonies appear largely independent of bat ecology. The implications of these results for spillover anticipation and controlling transmission at the source are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bat species commonly comprise at least 50% of tropical mammalian assemblages, but Afrotropical bat faunas have been little studied leading to perceptions that they are depauperate. Here, we compare alpha taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of insectivorous bats belonging to the narrow‐space foraging ensemble from a bat diversity hotspot in Nigeria to species‐rich sites in Indonesia and Malaysia, using previously published data. The Nigerian site is protected unlogged forests at Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary and Cross River National Park. For comparison, we targeted similar unlogged forest sites in Southeast Asia: Indonesia—Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park Forest in Sumatra; and Kakenauwe Forest Reserve on Buton Island, Sulawesi; and another in Malaysia—Krau Wildlife Reserve. All sites were sampled using comparable methods, with an emphasis on harp traps that effectively capture the forest‐interior ensembles. We also compare regional beta diversity of bat assemblages in ecoregions using occurrence data (literature, unpublished records, and online natural history collections) from the Lower Guinean Forest and the Malay Peninsula. We demonstrate comparable alpha taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of narrow‐space bats among sites in Nigeria and Indonesia, but greater diversity in Malaysia. Turnover and overall beta diversity of bats among ecoregions was comparable between the Lower Guinean Forest and the Malay Peninsula, but nestedness was higher in the latter. Our results reiterate the value of harp traps in generating bat survey data that allows equatable comparisons of "mist net avoiders" in the Paleotropical forest understory. Our findings have implications for regional and local bat conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]