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International audience; Multiple large-scale restoration strategies are emerging globally to counteract ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss. However, restoration often remains insufficient to offset that loss. To address this challenge, we propose to focus restoration science on the long-term (centuries to millennia) re-assembly of degraded ecosystem complexity integrating interaction network and evolutionary potential approaches. This approach provides insights into eco-evolutionary feedbacks determining the structure, functioning and stability of recovering ecosystems. Eco-evolutionary feedbacks may help to understand changes in the adaptive potential after disturbance of metacommunity hub species with core structural and functional roles for their use in restoration. Those changes can be studied combining a restoration genomics approach based on whole-genome sequencing with replicated space-for-time substitutions linking changes in genetic variation to functions or traits relevant to the establishment of evolutionarily resilient communities. This approach may set the knowledge basis for future tools to accelerate the restoration of ecosystems able to adapt to ongoing global changes.

Over 40% of the Earth’s surface has been converted to agricultural use and agroecosystems have become important habitats for wildlife. In arid regions, intensive agriculture creates artificial oasis-like habitats due to their high irrigation inputs. Date production is one of the primary agricultural practices in the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa. Insectivorous bats are known to use agricultural areas, but the role of date plantations as their foraging habits and the importance of insectivorous bats as date bio-pest control agents are still unknown. We assessed the role of date plantations as foraging habitats for local desert bat species by acoustically recording bat activity in conventional and organic date plantations in the southern Arava Valley, Israel. In addition, we captured bats in the plantations and collected feces for DNA metabarcoding analysis to investigate the presence of pest species in their diets. We found that 12 out of the 16 known species of bats in this region frequently used both conventional and organic date plantations as foraging habitats. Species richness was highest in the organic plantation with complex ground vegetation cover. Foraging activity was not affected by plantation type or management. However, bat species richness and activity increased in all plantations during summer date harvesting. Molecular analysis confirmed that bats feed on a variety of important date pests, but the particular pests consumed and the extent of consumption varied among bat species. Our results highlight a win–win situation, whereby date plantations are an important foraging habitat for desert bats, while bats provide bio-pest control services that benefit the date plantations. Therefore, date farmers interested in bio-pest control should manage their plantations to support local desert bat populations.

Significance Forecasts of species vulnerability and extinction risk under future climate change commonly ignore local adaptations despite their importance for determining the potential of populations to respond to future changes. We present an approach to assess the impacts of global climate change on biodiversity that takes into account adaptive genetic variation and evolutionary potential. We show that considering local climatic adaptations reduces range loss projections but increases the potential for competition between species. Our findings suggest that failure to account for within-species variability can result in overestimation of future biodiversity losses. Therefore, it is important to identify the climate-adaptive potential of populations and to increase landscape connectivity between populations to enable the spread of adaptive genetic variation., Local adaptations can determine the potential of populations to respond to environmental changes, yet adaptive genetic variation is commonly ignored in models forecasting species vulnerability and biogeographical shifts under future climate change. Here we integrate genomic and ecological modeling approaches to identify genetic adaptations associated with climate in two cryptic forest bats. We then incorporate this information directly into forecasts of range changes under future climate change and assessment of population persistence through the spread of climate-adaptive genetic variation (evolutionary rescue potential). Considering climate-adaptive potential reduced range loss projections, suggesting that failure to account for intraspecific variability can result in overestimation of future losses. On the other hand, range overlap between species was projected to increase, indicating that interspecific competition is likely to play an important role in limiting species’ future ranges. We show that although evolutionary rescue is possible, it depends on a population’s adaptive capacity and connectivity. Hence, we stress the importance of incorporating genomic data and landscape connectivity in climate change vulnerability assessments and conservation management.

Natural predators of arthropods provide an important ecosystem service by preying on crop-damaging species. However, measuring the positive impact of natural pest predators is still challenging. We present a framework to estimate the pest-consumption pressure by natural predators across space and project it onto geographical maps. We use DNA metabarcoding and species distribution modelling to integrate predator density estimations with their energetic requirements and direct pest predation, which yields a comprehensive measure of pest-consumption pressure per time-frame and area. We showcase it on a European bat assemblage, and show that bats consume a variety of pests whose predation pressure varies throughout space. We also report that the impact of different predators depends on spatial scale, and that pest predation pressure is negatively correlated with agricultural intensity. Our framework can be used to estimate broad-scale effects of natural predators on pest arthropods as well as to design research and management strategies.

Alberdi, Antton et al., Inferences of the interactions between species’ ecological niches and spatial distribution have been historically based on simple metrics such as low-resolution dietary breadth and range size, which might have impeded the identification of meaningful links between niche features and spatial patterns. We analysed the relationship between dietary niche breadth and spatial distribution features of European bats, by combining continent-wide DNA metabarcoding of faecal samples with species distribution modelling. Our results show that while range size is not correlated with dietary features of bats, the homogeneity of the spatial distribution of species exhibits a strong correlation with dietary breadth. We also found that dietary breadth is correlated with bats’ hunting flexibility. However, these two patterns only stand when the phylogenetic relations between prey are accounted for when measuring dietary breadth. Our results suggest that the capacity to exploit different prey types enables species to thrive in more distinct environments and therefore exhibit more homogeneous distributions within their ranges.

Plecotus macrobullaris (Kuzjakin, 1965) is a medium-sized chiropteran commonly called the alpine long-eared bat, and 1 of the 11 Palearctic species recognized in the genus Plecotus. It has the characteristic long ears of plecotine bats, and externally its most conspicuous diagnostic characteristic is the inverted triangular-shaped pad most individuals exhibit in the chin. It is distributed across the mountain environments in the southwestern and central regions of the Palearctic. It is the most abundant bat species in European alpine environments, although it can be also found at lower elevations. It roosts on both natural (rock crevices, caves, and scree deposits) and artificial shelters (buildings), and it mainly feeds on moths. P. macrobullaris is currently listed as “Least Concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, although actual population sizes and demographic trends are unknown.

This article is a comprehensive summary of the PhD presented by Antton Alberdi at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), on december 5th, 2014, under the supervision of Dr. Inazio Garin and Dr. Joxerra Aihartza. The thesis was awarded by the Spanish Society of Mammalogist (SECEM) in 2015, as the best thesis about Iberian mammals. DOI: 10.7325/Galemys.2016.A1

Large-scale species’ distributions have been traditionally attributed to physiological traits related to abiotic factors, while behavioural features linked to biotic interactions have received little attention. We tested the relationship between trophic and spatial niche breadths through combining species distribution modelling with dietary DNA metabarcoding of over 400 bats sampled across Europe belonging to seven species. Our results point to a causality cascade between hunting plasticity, trophic niche breadth and spatial niche breadth, and thus indicate that behavioral plasticity and dietary diversification can contribute to shaping broad-scale species distributions.

During times of rapid environmental change, survival of most vertebrate populations depends on their phenomic plasticity. Although differential gene-expression and post-transcriptional processes of the host genome receive focus as the main molecular mechanisms, growing evidence points to the gut microbiota as a key driver defining hosts' phenotypes. We propose that the plasticity of the gut microbiota might be an essential factor determining phenomic plasticity of vertebrates, and that it might play a pivotal role when vertebrates acclimate and adapt to fast environmental variation. We contemplate some key questions and suggest methodological approaches and experimental designs that can be used to evaluate whether gut microorganisms provide a boost of plasticity to vertebrates' phenomes, thereby increasing their acclimation and adaptation capacity.

Conservation efforts for endangered animals commonly focus on the protection of foraging habitats, aiming to ensure sufficient food availability. However, the diet of many species is based on animals that undergo habitat shifts across ontogenetic life stages, yielding considerable differences between the lifelong habitat requirements of both predator and prey. Consequently, prey availability may not only depend on the suitability of the foraging grounds where predator and prey coincide, but also on habitats where the ecological requirements of the non-prey stages are fulfilled. In this study we test to what extent prey of the insectivorous bat Rhinolophus euryale (Blasius 1853) originate either from the grounds where they are consumed, or in areas/habitats outside the bat's foraging sites. We analyzed the diet of R. euryale , by identifying its prey to the species level using DNA metabarcoding, and by searching for its prey's larval feeding requirements in the literature. We found that the larvae of the moth prey grow both inside and outside the grounds where they are hunted by the bats once the moths reach their adult stage. The importance of prey that originated from outside the bat's foraging grounds varied considerably across seasons. As a result, R. euryale does not only rely on the landscape elements where it hunts, but also on other source areas/habitats that supply it with food. This study shows that conservation measures that aim to address the foraging requirements of predatory species should not be limited to merely protecting their foraging grounds, but should also take into account the ecological requirements of their prey throughout their life stages.

Niche partitioning through foraging is a mechanism likely involved in facilitating the coexistence of ecologically similar and co-occurring animal species by separating their use of resources. Yet, this mechanism is not well understood in flying insectivorous animals. This is particularly true of bats, where many ecologically similar or cryptic species coexist. The detailed analysis of the foraging niche in sympatric, cryptic sibling species provides an excellent framework to disentangle the role of specific niche factors likely involved in facilitating coexistence. We used DNA metabarcoding to determine the prey species consumed by a population of sympatric sibling Rhinolophus euryale and Rhinolophus mehelyi whose use of habitat in both sympatric and allopatric ranges has been well established through radio tracking. Although some subtle dietary differences exist in prey species composition, the diet of both bats greatly overlapped (Ojk = 0.83) due to the consumption of the same common and widespread moths. Those dietary differences we did detect might be related to divergences in prey availabilities among foraging habitats, which prior radio tracking on the same population showed are differentially used and selected when both species co-occur. This minor dietary segregation in sympatry may be the result of foraging on the same prey-types and could contribute to reduce potential competitive interactions (e.g., for prey, acoustic space). Our results highlight the need to evaluate the spatial niche dimension in mediating the co-occurrence of similar insectivorous bat species, a niche factor likely involved in processes of bat species coexistence.

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.

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., We thank the staff at the Danish National High-Throughput DNASequencing Centre for generating the sequencing data. Furthermore,we thank Kristine Bohmann and the three anonymous reviewers foredits and comments on the manuscript. AA was supported by The Danish Council for Independent Research (5051-00033), and OAwas supported by the Carlsberg Foundation’s Distinguished Postdoc-toral Fellowship (CF15-0619). SG was supported by a Marie Skło-dowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (655732)

Littleis known about the alpinebat community, but recent studies suggest that the alpine long-eared bat, Plecotus macrobullaris, commonly forages in alpine habitats, although most of its known roosting records are from locations situated below the treeline. Aiming to contribute to resolving this seemingly contradictory pattern of ecological preferences of P. macrobullaris, we carried out a radio-tracking study to (1) identify its roosts and unveil its roosting habitat preferences, (2) determine whether bats found foraging in alpine habitats do actually roost and breed in such high-mountain environ- ments, and (3) test if any elevation-related sexual segregation occurs. We captured 117 alpine long-eared bats and radio- tracked 37 individuals to 54 roosts located at elevations be- tween 1,450 and 2,430 m, 46 of them above the treeline. Bats used rock crevices (30 roosts), scree deposits (21) and build- ings (3) for roosting, and most lactating and pregnant females relied on crevices. Bats selected areas with high meadow availability near the roost, while avoiding densely forested areas. Foraging areas and roosting sites were located at the same elevation, indicating that alpine long-eared bats use alpine areas for both roosting and foraging in the Pyrenees. Breeding females roosted at lower elevations than nulliparous females and males, though they remained above the treeline. Although being considerably different to the ecological pref- erencesdescribedsofar intheAlps,theroostingbehaviour we observed was consistent with some ecological traits, namely foragingand trophic behaviour, ofP. macrobullaris, as well as its distribution pattern linked to mountain regions.

Populations of Myotis bechsteinii in Sierra de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park (southwestern Spain) survive in a large, old-growth coniferous woodland, which is in contrast with known ecological preferences of the species. We tracked ten lactating females and studied patterns of habitat selection by Bechstein's bat ( Myotis bechsteinii ) at two spatial scales: macrohabitat and microhabitat, regarding forest essence (coniferous vs. deciduous). The tracked individuals always foraged within forested areas and did not use areas devoid of trees. At the macrohabitat level, no positive selection of deciduous stands was apparent, suggesting selection studies of coarse resolution may not be able to capture subtle selection patterns. At the microhabitat level Myotis bechsteinii selected deciduous patches within the coniferous matrix, therefore, our results corroborate the perception of this species as dependent of services provided by deciduous woodlands. Larger foraging home ranges and commuting distances as compared with other Mediterranean localities suggest that our studied population inhabits a marginal or suboptimal environment in terms of habitat quality. We argue that this population of Bechstein's bat has survived as a relict one probably as a consequence of fragmentation and transformation of deciduous forest ecosystems in the Mediterranean range.

Behavioral plasticity is a key feature allowing animals to broaden their dietary niche when novel food resources become available, and long-fingered bats provide an appropriate model system to study the underpinnings of behavioral plasticity, since although generally being an insectivorous species, some individuals have been reported to catch fish. Aiming to get insight into the origin of fishing behavior in long-fingered bats, we studied in the field the differences in sensorial and mechanical reactions to insect-like (stationary) and fish-like (temporary) prey stimuli between well-known piscivorous and strictly insectivorous individuals. Both piscivorous and insectivorous individuals exhibited a qualitatively similar reaction to temporary target stimuli (longer and deeper dips and terminal echolocation phase skewed towards buzz I compared to stationary stimuli). Nevertheless, the quantitative differences observed in the sensorial and mechanical features (the intensity of the shift was significantly greater in piscivorous than in insectivorous individuals) show that piscivorous individuals have honed their capture technique likely enhancing the fishing success. Thus, our results suggest that the fishing technique was developed from a primary reaction shared by all long-fingered bats. All individuals seem to be mechanically and sensorially adapted to detect and capture fish, although under appropriate environmental conditions, they would further improve their technique by experience and/or social learning. This study was part of the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (MICINN) project CGL2009-12393. The University of The Basque Country (UPV/EHU) (INF09/15) and the Basque Government (IT385-07 and IT301-10) funded this study and provided grant support to O.A. and A.A. (BFI-2009-252, BFI-2010-190, Doktore berriak eta Ikertraile doktoreak espezializatreko kontratatzeko laguntzak). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

The mountain long-eared bat, Plecotus macrobullaris, is a recently described species, and characterisation of its geographic and elevational distribution is still in progress. Captures in various environments led to a controversial ecological perception, with P. macrobullaris initially defined as an alpine species but subsequently found in the Mediterranean seashore and other lowland areas. Sampling efforts hitherto were uneven; this bat has been studied more thoroughly in Western Europe than in the eastern portion of its range, and in lowlands more than highlands or alpine environments. For greater insight into its distribution pattern, we conducted a field survey in several mountain areas of its known range, using a novel mist-netting technique (described herein) that has proven very useful for targeting and capturing low-flying open-space bats in alpine environments. We also gathered all available distribution data on this species from published resources and by contacting researchers, obtaining record...

Mountain environments, characterized by high levels of endemism, are at risk of experiencing significant biodiversity loss due to current trends in global warming. While many acknowledge their importance and vulnerability, these ecosystems still remain poorly studied, particularly for taxa that are difficult to sample such as bats. Aiming to estimate the amount of cryptic diversity among bats of a Neotropical montane cloud forest in Talamanca Range—south-east Central America—, we performed a 15-night sampling campaign, which resulted in 90 captured bats belonging to 8 species. We sequenced their mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and screened their inter- and intraspecific genetic variation. Phylogenetic relations with conspecifics and closely related species from other geographic regions were established using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian inference methods, as well as median-joining haplotype networks. Mitochondrial lineages highly divergent from hitherto characterized populations (> 9% COI dissimilarity) were found in Myotis oxyotus and Hylonycteris underwoodi. Sturnira burtonlimi and M. keaysi also showed distinct mitochondrial structure with sibling species and/or populations. These results suggest that mountains in the region hold a high degree of endemicity potential that has previously been ignored in bats. They also warn of the high extinction risk montane bats may be facing due to climatic change, particularly in isolated mountain systems like Talamanca Range. Los entornos de montaña, caracterizados por altos niveles de endemismo, corren el riesgo de experimentar una pérdida significativa de biodiversidad debido a las tendencias actuales en el calentamiento global. Si bien muchos reconocen su importancia y vulnerabilidad, estos ecosistemas siguen siendo poco estudiados, particularmente para los taxones que son difíciles de muestrear, como los murciélagos. Con el objetivo de estimar la cantidad de diversidad críptica entre los murciélagos de un bosque nublado neotropical montano en la Cordillera de Talamanca, en el sudeste de América Central, realizamos una campaña de muestreo de 15 noches, que resultó en 90 murciélagos capturados pertenecientes a 8 especies. Secuenciamos su subunidad mitocondrial citocromo c oxidasa I (COI) y seleccionamos su variación genética inter e intraespecífica. Las relaciones filogenéticas con especies específicas y estrechamente relacionadas de otras regiones geográficas se establecieron utilizando métodos de máxima verosimilitud y de inferencia bayesiana, así como redes de haplotipos de unión media. Se encontraron linajes mitocondriales altamente divergentes de las poblaciones caracterizadas hasta ahora (> 9% de disimilitud de COI) en Myotis oxyotus y Hylonycteris underwoodi. Sturnira burtonlimi y M. keaysi también mostraron una estructura mitocondrial distinta con especies y / o poblaciones hermanas. Estos resultados sugieren que las montañas en la región tienen un alto grado de potencial de endemicidad que previamente se había ignorado en los murciélagos. También advierten sobre el alto riesgo de extinción que los murciélagos montanos pueden enfrentar debido al cambio climático, particularmente en sistemas montañosos aislados como la Cordillera de Talamanca. Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas

Several insectivorous bats have included fish in their diet, yet little is known about the processes underlying this trophic shift. We performed three field experiments with wild fishing bats to address how they manage to discern fish from insects and adapt their hunting technique to capture fish. We show that bats react only to targets protruding above the water and discern fish from insects based on prey disappearance patterns. Stationary fish trigger short and shallow dips and a terminal echolocation pattern with an important component of the narrowband and low frequency calls. When the fish disappears during the attack process, bats regulate their attack increasing the number of broadband and high frequency calls in the last phase of the echolocation as well as by lengthening and deepening their dips. These adjustments may allow bats to obtain more valuable sensorial information and to perform dips adjusted to the level of uncertainty on the location of the submerged prey. The observed ultrafast regulation may be essential for enabling fishing to become cost-effective in bats, and demonstrates the ability of bats to rapidly modify and synchronise their sensorial and motor features as a response to last minute stimulus variations. This study was part of the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (MICINN) project CGL2009-12393. The University of The Basque Country (UPV/EHU) (INF09/15) and the Basque Government (IT385-07 and IT301-10) funded this study and provided grant support to O.A. and A.A (BFI-2009-252, BFI-2010-190, Doktore berriak eta Ikertzaile doktoreak espezializatzeko kontratatzeko laguntzak).

Several alpine vertebrates share a distribution pattern that extends across the South-western Palearctic but is limited to the main mountain massifs. Although they are usually regarded as cold-adapted species, the range of many alpine vertebrates also includes relatively warm areas, suggesting that factors beyond climatic conditions may be driving their distribution. In this work we first recognize the species belonging to the mentioned biogeographic group and, based on the environmental niche analysis of Plecotus macrobullaris, we identify and characterize the environmental factors constraining their ranges. Distribution overlap analysis of 504 European vertebrates was done using the Sorensen Similarity Index, and we identified four birds and one mammal that share the distribution with P. macrobullaris. We generated 135 environmental niche models including different variable combinations and regularization values for P. macrobullaris at two different scales and resolutions. After selecting the best models, we observed that topographic variables outperformed climatic predictors, and the abruptness of the landscape showed better predictive ability than elevation. The best explanatory climatic variable was mean summer temperature, which showed that P. macrobullaris is able to cope with mean temperature ranges spanning up to 16 degrees C. The models showed that the distribution of P. macrobullaris is mainly shaped by topographic factors that provide rock-abundant and open-space habitats rather than climatic determinants, and that the species is not a cold-adapted, but rather a cold-tolerant eurithermic organism. P. macrobullaris shares its distribution pattern as well as several ecological features with five other alpine vertebrates, suggesting that the conclusions obtained from this study might be extensible to them. We concluded that rock-dwelling and open-space foraging vertebrates with broad temperature tolerance are the best candidates to show wide alpine distribution in the Western Palearctic. We wish to thank Orly Razgour for her insightful comments on the manuscript and for proofreading the text. The Basque Government (research projects IT385-07, IT301-10 and IT754-13, and predoctoral grants BFI-2010-190 and BFI-2009-252) and the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU supported this work.

Formerly thought to be a strictly insectivorous trawling bat, recent studies have shown that Myotis capaccinii also preys on fish. To determine if differences exist in bat flight behaviour, prey handling, and echolocation characteristics when catching fish and insects of different sizes, we conducted a field experiment focused on the last stage of prey capture. We used synchronized video and ultrasound recordings to measure several flight and dip features as well as echolocation characteristics, focusing on terminal buzz phase I, characterized by a call rate exceeding 100 Hz, and buzz phase II, characterized by a drop in the fundamental well below 20 kHz and a repetition rate exceeding 150 Hz. When capturing insects, bats used both parts of the terminal phase to the same extent, and performed short and superficial drags on the water surface. In contrast, when preying on fish, buzz I was longer and buzz II shorter, and the bats made longer and deeper dips. These variations suggest that lengthening buzz I and shortening buzz II when fishing is beneficial, probably because buzz I gives better discrimination ability and the broader sonar beam provided by buzz II is useless when no evasive flight of the prey is expected. Additionally, bats continued emitting calls beyond the theoretical signal-overlap zone, suggesting that they might obtain information even when they have surpassed that threshold, at least initially. This study shows that M. capaccinii can regulate the temporal components of its feeding buzzes and modify prey capture technique according to the target.

10 p. Molecular analysis of diet overcomes the considerable limitations of traditional techniques for identifying prey remains in bat faeces. We collected faeces from individual Mountain Long-eared Bats Plecotus macrobullaris trapped using mist nets during the summers of 2009 and 2010 in the Pyrenees. We analysed their diet using DNA mini-barcodes to identify prey species. In addition, we inferred some basic features of the bat's foraging ecology that had not yet been addressed. P. macrobullaris fed almost exclusively on moths (97.8%). As prey we detected one dipteran genus (Tipulidae) and 29 moth taxa: 28 were identified at species level (23 Noctuidae, 1 Crambidae, 1 Geometridae, 1 Pyralidae, 1 Sphingidae, 1 Tortricidae), and one at genus level (Rhyacia sp., Noctuidae). Known ecological information about the prey species allowed us to determine that bats had foraged at elevations between 1,500 and 2,500 m amsl (above mean sea level), mostly in subalpine meadows, followed by other open habitats such as orophilous grasslands and alpine meadows. No forest prey species were identified in the diet. As 96.4% of identified prey species were tympanate moths and no evidence of gleaning behaviour was revealed, we suggest P. macrobullaris probably forages by aerial hawking using faint echolocation pulses to avoid detection by hearing moths. As we could identify 87.8% of the analysed sequences (64.1% of the MOTUs, Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units) at species level, we conclude that DNA mini-barcodes are a very useful tool to analyse the diet of moth-specialist bats. This work was supported by Hezkuntza, Unibertsitate eta Ikerketa Saila, Eusko Jaurlaritza – The Basque Government (research projects GIC07/05 and IT301-10, and grants BFI-2010-190, and BFI-2009-252) and the University of The Basque Country, Euskal Herriko Uniberstiatatea UPV/EHU. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.