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In the years 2012–2017, we studied the annual and diel temporal activity patterns exhibited by female Geoffroy’s bats (Myotis emarginatus) during reproduction by using an infrared light barrier system, videotaping with an infrared camera and sporadic direct counts of juveniles in the roost when the adult bats were not present. We determined the effect of weather on timing and duration of maternity roost occupancy, reproductive periods, return and emergence flights and amount of time spent outside the roost, and estimated the yearly reproductive output. Contrary to the considerable effects of weather conditions on the reproduction phenology in Myotis daubentonii and M. nattereri, timing and duration of reproductive activities of M. emarginatus were remarkably similar over the study period despite distinct inter-annual differences in the occurrence of inclement weather spells causing food shortages and use of torpor. Pregnancy, lactation and roost occupation by adult females were completed every year within 10 to 11 weeks. Adverse spring weather bouts caused considerable fluctuations in the duration of colony formation during early pregnancy, but did not influence the total duration of the pregnancy period. The mean durations of both the emergence and return flights were markedly similar over the study years. An exception was the distinct increase in duration of emergence flight during pregnancy in 2016 and 2017 which might be related to increased colony numbers. With the exception of the year 2015, the standard deviations of emergence flights were small, but in contrast to the quite scheduled return flights during lactation, the mean durations of return flights during pregnancy varied strongly. The return flights executed by juveniles during post-lactation were highly irregular. The mean time spent outside the roost was quite similar over the study years. The estimated yearly reproductive output was low (

Several species of bats have faced strong population declines in Europe during the last century. However, an increase in some bat populations has been recently found in some parts of western Europe. We monitored wintering bats in the underground caves of north-western Italy (Piedmont, Valle d’Aosta and Liguria regions), with the aim of estimating long-term population variations. Over 28 years (from 1992 to 2019), 52 hibernation sites were monitored where 14 species of bats were present. Altogether, 97% of individuals belonged to Rhinolophus euryale, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rhinolophus hipposideros, Barbastella barbastellus, Myotis emarginatus, and to the large Myotis group (Myotis myotis/blythii). We found a positive population trend for these six most common species with an average annual increase ranging between 3.5% (R. ferrumequinum) and 15.0% (B. barbastellus), which is in congruence with what has occurred in central and western Europe in the last 20 years. The species R. hipposideros showed a significant increase during the first 10 years, followed by a stable trend thereafter.

Studies on the postnatal growth of free-ranging bats can be based on multiple recaptures of marked individuals of known age (longitudinal sampling) or derived from measurements of captured pups with unknown birth dates (cross-sectional sampling). We therefore used individuals of Geoffroy’s bat Myotis emarginatus in a case study to test the hypothesis that these two methods yield similar data on growth rates and growth derivatives. We followed postnatal growth in body mass, forearm length, and total epiphyseal gap in 24 tagged neonates sampled 10 times (via 143 cases of longitudinal sampling) and compared finding with those deriving from cross-sectional sampling carried out on the same occasions among 138 non-tagged neonates of the same colony. A generalized estimating equation relating to the first 3 weeks of postnatal growth indicated that initial values (y-intercepts) for forearm length and body mass did not differ significantly between groups sampled in the two ways (P > 0.05), while rates of growth characterized by these parameters were found to differ significantly (P

White-nose disease, caused by the dermatophyte Pseudogymnoascus destructans, is a devastating pathology that has caused a massive decline in the US bat populations. In Europe, this fungus and the related infection in bats have been recorded in several countries and for many bat species, although no mass mortality has been detected. This study reports for the first time the presence of P. destructans in Italy. The fungus was isolated in the Rio Martino cave, a site located in the Western Alps and included in the Natura 2000 network. Twenty bats, belonging to five different species, were analysed. The fungus was retrieved on eight individuals of Myotis emarginatus. The allied keratolytic species P. pannorum was observed on two other individuals, also belonging to M. emarginatus. Strains were isolated in pure culture and characterized morphologically. Results were validated through molecular analyses. Future work should be dedicated to understand the distribution and the effects of the two Pseudogymnoascus species on Italian bats.

Rivers host a wealth of biodiversity and play critical ecological functions, so monitoring their environmental status and tracking its changes has paramount importance for appropriate management. Although some biological groups, and especially benthic macroinvertebrates, are employed routinely to achieve this goal, the quest for bioindicators of river quality is far from over, because finding further suitable organisms may improve indication performances and inform habitat management. Using organisms that are at risk for bioindication also fulfills the goal of providing important information for the conservation of the taxon (or taxa) used for bioindication. Bats are a diverse, threatened mammal group whose characteristics make them potentially suitable bioindicators in many ecosystem types, but research in this field is still limited. In this study, set in Central and Southern Italy, we hypothesize that assemblages of foraging bats will respond to environmental status and quality of riverine ecosystems and that therefore bats may serve as effective bioindicators. We established the environmental status of 50 sampling sites selected along 10 rivers using two indices officially adopted in the country, i.e. the STAR_ICMi (evaluating water quality from macrobenthic invertebrate assemblages) and the fluvial functionality index (Indice di Funzionalita Fluviale, IFF), which incorporates several biotic and abiotic components and represents a functional indicator of river ecosystem health. At the sampling sites, we also recorded bat activity with operator-independent real-time bat recorders and classified bat passes to species or phonic groups. We examined 167,371 macroinvertebrates and 55,157 bat passes, corresponding to 15 species or phonic groups. The activity of Miniopterus schreibersii/Pipistrellus pygmaeus and Myotis daubentonii/capaccinii declined with increasing values of STAR_ICMi and IFF, while the activity of Nyctalus/Eptesicus serotinus increased with both indices. The activity of P. kuhlii also declined as IFF values increased, while we observed the opposite for Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Myotis emarginatus, Myotis nattereri and Barbastella barbastellus. Pooling together species whose activity respectively increased or decreased as the values of quality indices increased improved indication performances by strengthening statistical significance. Our work constitutes a significant step towards the use of bats as bioindicators in river ecosystems as we show that differences in bat activity may reveal changes in environmental conditions and may thus demonstrate the effects of habitat alteration on the river biota. We highlight that locally adapted bat populations may show differences in foraging behaviour and food preferences; hence our findings warrant confirmation from other regions. Further constraints are given by the variable degree of taxonomic resolution achieved in bat sound analysis, which may represent an issue especially in species-rich bat assemblages such as those of southern Europe.

The Barn Owl Tyto alba is commonly reported as a non-selective predator of small mammals, and its diet has been thoroughly analyzed also to assess the small mammal assembly composition in many study areas. The aim of this work was to analyze the diet of the Barn Owl in the Elba island through the analysis of 161 pellets collected in September 2020. Undigested fragments were isolated and compared with reference collections. We confirmed that the Barn Owl is a typical predator of field mice (62% of relative frequency), with synanthropic murid rodents as the second category of prey. The frequency of consumption of shrews increased by 9% with respect to the previous work, suggesting that the natural environment of Elba island is still in a good health status. Moreover, fragments of two newborn hares were detected, increasing the knowledge on the local trophic spectrum of the Barn Owl. Finally, the skull of a Geoffroy&rsquo, s Myotis Myotis emarginatus confirmed the presence of this species in Elba island after over 60 years from the first unconfirmed record. Repeated studies conducted in the same study site may provide useful information on prey population trends and local environmental status.

To date, the microbiome, as well as the virome of the Croatian populations of bats, was unknown. Here, we present the results of the first viral metagenomic analysis of guano, feces and saliva (oral swabs) of seven bat species (Myotis myotis, Miniopterus schreibersii, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Eptesicus serotinus, Myotis blythii, Myotis nattereri and Myotis emarginatus) conducted in Mediterranean and continental Croatia. Viral nucleic acids were extracted from sample pools, and analyzed using Illumina sequencing. The presence of 63 different viral families representing all seven Baltimore groups were confirmed, most commonly insect viruses likely reflecting the diet of insectivorous bats. Virome compositions of our samples were largely impacted by the sample type: invertebrate-infecting viruses were most frequently found in feces, bacterial viruses in guano, whereas vertebrate-infecting viruses were most common in swabs. Most vertebrate-infecting virus sequences were assigned to retroviruses, parvoviruses, iridoviruses, and poxviruses. We further report the complete genome sequence of a novel adeno-associated virus, densovirus and a near complete length genome sequence of a novel iflavirus. Additionally, one of the most interesting findings in this study was the difference in viromes between two contrasting habitats, the continental and Mediterranean Croatia.

During the most recent decade, environmental DNA metabarcoding approaches have been both developed and improved to minimize the biological and technical biases in these protocols. However, challenges remain, notably those relating to primer design. In the current study, we comprehensively assessed the performance of ten COI and two 16S primer pairs for eDNA metabarcoding, including novel and previously published primers. We used a combined approach of in silico, in vivo‐mock community (33 arthropod taxa from 16 orders), and guano‐based analyses to identify primer sets that would maximize arthropod detection and taxonomic identification, successfully identify the predator (bat) species, and minimize the time and financial costs of the experiment. We focused on two insectivorous bat species that live together in mixed colonies: the greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) and Geoffroy's bat (Myotis emarginatus). We found that primer degeneracy is the main factor that influences arthropod detection in silico and mock community analyses, while amplicon length is critical for the detection of arthropods from degraded DNA samples. Our guano‐based results highlight the importance of detecting and identifying both predator and prey, as guano samples can be contaminated by other insectivorous species. Moreover, we demonstrate that amplifying bat DNA does not reduce the primers' capacity to detect arthropods. We therefore recommend the simultaneous identification of predator and prey. Finally, our results suggest that up to one‐third of prey occurrences may be unreliable and are probably not of primary interest in diet studies, which may decrease the relevance of combining several primer sets instead of using a single efficient one. In conclusion, this study provides a pragmatic framework for eDNA primer selection with respect to scientific and methodological constraints., We applied complementary approaches to identify primer characteristics and primer sets that enable to describe the diet of two sympatric bat species, by maximizing arthropod detection and taxonomic identification, while identifying bat species and minimizing labor time and cost. These approaches included in silico investigations and in vivo analyses of mock communities including arthropod taxa from 16 arthropod orders and bat guano samples. We confirm that the level of primer degeneracy is the main factor influencing arthropod detection for in silico and mock community analyses, while the amplicon length is critical for the detection of arthropods from degraded DNA samples. We show that amplifying bat DNA does not affect the primers' capacity to detect arthropods. As such, our results advocate for the need to identify simultaneously predator and arthropod prey, as fecal samples can be contaminated (here by different insectivorous species).

Background Bats are regarded as the primary (ancestral) hosts of bugs of the family Cimicidae. The historically and economically most important species in the family is the common bedbug (Cimex lectularius), because of its worldwide occurrence and association with humans. This molecular-phylogenetic study was initiated in order to expand the knowledge on the phylogeny of cimicid bugs of bats, by investigating samples from Hungary, Romania (representing central-eastern Europe) and two further countries (South Africa and Vietnam). Results Altogether 216 cimicid bugs were collected (73 Ci. lectularius, 133 Ci. pipistrelli, nine Cacodmus ignotus and one Ca. sparsilis). Members of the Cimex lectularius species group were found both in the environment of bats (only Myotis emarginatus, which is a cave/attic-dwelling species) and on three crevice-dwelling bat species (two pipistrelloid bats and M. bechsteinii). On the other hand, Ci. pipistrelli always occurred off-host (near M. myotis/blythii, which are cave/attic-dwelling species). In addition, two Cacodmus spp. were collected from Pipistrellus hesperidus. The morphological characters of these specimens are illustrated with high resolution pictures. Analysis of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) sequences generated from 38 samples indicated relative genetic homogeneity of Ci. pipistrelli, while the Ci. lectularius group had two haplotypes (collected from pipistrelloid bats in Hungary and Vietnam) highly divergent from other members of this species group. These results were confirmed with molecular and phylogenetic analyses based on the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2). Bat-associated bugs morphologically identified as Ca. ignotus and Ca. sparsilis were different in their cox1, but identical in their ITS2 sequences. Conclusions Molecular evidence is provided here on the existence of two new genotypes, most likely new species, within the Ci. lectularius species group. The relevant specimens (unlike the others) were collected from pipistrelloid bats, therefore the association of Ci. lectularius with different bat host species (pipistrelloid vs myotine bats) should be evaluated further as a possible background factor of this genetic divergence. In addition, Ca. ignotus is reported for the first time in South Africa.

Pups of Myotis emarginatus exhibit bold markings in their natal coat. They consist of a neck band, a dorsal middle stripe, and a diamond-shaped spot in the distal part of the back. Furthermore, the posterior side of the ears shows a conspicuous pattern. These markings slowly disappear in the course of lactation. Apparently, such temporary body markings in infant bats have not been described yet. Hypotheses concerning this phenomenon are discussed.

425. Geoftroy’s Myotis Myotis emarginatus French: Murin a oreilles échancrées / German: \Wimperfledermaus / Spanish: Ratonero pardo Other common names: Geoffroy’s Bat Taxonomy. Vespertilio emarginatus E. Geof: froy Saint-Hilaire, 1806, “les souterrains des fortifications de Charlemont [= tunnels in the Fort of Charlemont],” Givet, Ardennes, northern France. Subgenus Chrysopteron. See M. tricolor. Populations of Central Asia are sometimes separated as race turcomanicus. Two subspecies recognized. Subspecies and Distribution. M.e. emarginatus E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1806 — Europe and N Africa, including most larger Mediterranean Is, E to Caucasus and Middle East. M.e. desertorum Dobson, 1875 — Asian part of range E of Caucasus. Descriptive notes. Head-body 41-54 mm, tail 38-46 mm, ear 15-17 mm, hindfoot 9-11- 5 mm, forearm 36-1-44- 7 mm; weight 5-5-15- 5 g. Fur of Geoffroy’s Myotisis long and woolly. Dorsal pelage is grayish brown to bright rusty brown (hairs tricolored, being straw yellow with gray bases and tips matching dorsal color). Ventral pelage is slightly to much paler than dorsum, ranging from yellowish gray to pale rufous (hairs bicolored, dark gray or dark grayish brown on basal one-half). Juveniles are darker and grayer with less conspicuously tricolored dorsal hairs. Muzzle is hairy and reddish to medium brown. Ears are grayish brown and relatively long, outer margin with conspicuous notch at about two-thirds from base; tragusis lancet-shaped with bluntly pointed tip, beingjust over one-half the ear height. Membranes are uniformly grayish brown and wings attach to base of outer toe; hindfeet are relatively short and calcaris straight, extending about halfway to tail tip. Skull is moderately sized and fairly delicate; braincase is high and forehead region is strongly concave;sagittal crest is absent anteriorly and weak posteriorly. Upper incisors are subequal in crown area to each other; P? is reduced but within tooth row. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 44 and FNa = 50 (Spain) or FNa = 52 (former Czechoslovakia and Greece). Habitat. Usually reported from hardwood forests, with clear preference for deciduous trees and shrublands. It favors complex, structurally rich habitats, and positively selects riparian forests and low-vegetation ecosystems. It prefers sloping ground rather than the open spaces used by other species. It is commonly found feeding in more humanized habitats such as cattle sheds, orchards, or parks. Ranges from sea level to 1800 m. Food and Feeding. Geoffroy’s Myotis feeds mainly on flies and spiders, with smaller amounts of Coleoptera and Hymenoptera. The species captures most of its prey by gleaning off surfaces; it tends to fly very close to ground, scanning for potential prey. It typically forages in rich shrublands and grasslands; also around cowsheds or sheep pens, where flies are abundant around cattle or sheep droppings. Breeding. Maternity colonies occur in a wide range of places such as caves, roofs of churches or houses, cattle sheds, and other buildings, usually less than 900 m above sea level. Maternity colonies tend to be densely clustered, mostly with adult females and young, and frequently mixed with other species. During maternity period, single individuals, mostly males, occupy rock holes and tree holes. Young are commonly born in early summer (earlyJune to mid-July), one per female, rarely twins. Lactating period lasts 25-35 days. Maternity colonies usually number 20-500 females and a few adult males. Females do not often mate during their first year, but a few do in their first autumn. Nursery roosts are frequently abandoned in August. Activity patterns. Being a cave-dwelling species, Geoffroy’s Myotis always occurs in habitats close to underground sites. After maternity period, it mainly occupies caves and mines or other underground sites for swarming. Roosts are commonly in group; the species tends to emerge from roosts ¢.15-20 minutes after sunset, and will fly up to 12: 5 km from the roost each night to visit hunting grounds, which can be as large as 50-70 ha; it can fly at up to 55 km /h. Caves and mines used as winter roosts usually have temperature fairly constant and often up to 13°C, much higher than in other similar species. The species can hibernate for long periods, to mid-April or even later. In winter,it is normally free-hanging, especially males that tend to roost solitarily. However, small clusters have also been found hibernating together with other species. Echolocation is characterized by short, highly modulated pulses, reaching values of 140 kHz at start of call, and ending at 38 kHz (broad frequency range), rarely below 30 kHz. These calls are typical for all Myotis. Pulses are always very short (1-3 milliseconds). Movements, Home range and Social organization. Longest known distance of migration is only 105 km, but few hibernation sites are known and longer distancesare to be expected. In some regions, the species disappears during winter and is not seen again until spring. During the swarming period,it forms groups mainly in caves and mines, generally dominated by males. Typically found roosting with other species such as Rhinolophus spp. and Schreibers’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus schreibersii). Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. In previous decades numbers declined, but the species has now clearly recovered and is even spreading to new regions. Cave-dwelling habits make the species vulnerable to disturbance, especially from leisure activities, and recently from fires and vandalism; itis also hunted for traditional medicine. Bibliography. Aulagnier (2013k), Dekker et al. (2013), Fenton & Bogdanowicz (2002), Findley (1972), Flaquer et al. (2008), Garcia & Arbona (2009), Goiti et al. (2011), Hutterer et al. (2005), Kervyn et al. (2012), Krull et al. (1991), Piraccini (2016g), Schumm et al. (1991), Steck & Brinkmann (2006), Volleth & Heller (2012), Zahn et al. (2010)., Published as part of Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Vespertilionidae, pp. 716-981 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 950-951, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6397752

This last decade, environmental DNA metabarcoding approaches have been developed and improved to minimize biological and technical biases; some challenges, however, remain, as the design of primers. Here we have performed a comprehensive assessment of ten COI and two 16S primer sets. We have combined in silico, in vivo-mock community of 33 arthropod taxa from 16 orders and guano analyses to identify primer sets that should maximize arthropod detection and taxonomic identification, whilst identifying bat species and minimizing labour time and cost. We have focused on two insectivorous bat species living in mixed-colonies, the greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) and Geoffroy’s bat (Myotis emarginatus). We have found that the level of primer degeneracy is the main factor influencing arthropod detection for in silico and mock community analyses, while the amplicon length is critical for the detection of arthropods from degraded DNA samples. Our results confirm the importance of performing predator detection and taxonomic identification, simultaneously with arthropod sequencing, as faeces samples can be contaminated by different insectivorous species. Moreover, amplifying bat DNA does not affect the primers’ capacity to detect arthropods. We therefore recommend the systematic simultaneous identification of predator and prey. Finally, we evidenced that one third of the prey occurrences are unreliable and probably not of primary interest in diet studies, which might decrease the relevance of combining several primer sets instead of using one efficient primer set. In conclusion, this study provides general criteria enabling the selection of primers whilst considering different scientific and methodological constraints.

White-nose disease, caused by the dermatophyte Pseudogymnoascus destructans, is a devastating pathology that has caused a massive decline in the US bat populations. In Europe, this fungus and the related infection in bats have been recorded in several countries and for many bat species, although no mass mortality has been detected. This study reports for the first time the presence of P. destructans in Italy. The fungus was isolated in the Rio Martino cave, a site located in the Western Alps and included in the Natura 2000 network. Twenty bats, belonging to five different species, were analysed. The fungus was retrieved on eight individuals of Myotis emarginatus. The allied keratolytic species P. pannorum was observed on two other individuals, also belonging to M. emarginatus. Strains were isolated in pure culture and characterized morphologically. Results were validated through molecular analyses. Future work should be dedicated to understand the distribution and the effects of the two Pseudogymnoascus species on Italian bats.

Habitat suitability models (HSMs) have so far been used mainly to study broad-scale patterns of species distribution based on environmental variables; however, they can also be applied to address conservation needs at finer scales. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of using HSMs based on presence-only data to predict bat foraging habitat suitability around maternity roosts using radio-tracking location data. We radio-marked 34 Rhinolophus ferrumequinum and 29 Myotis emarginatus from two mixed-species maternity roosts (21.5 km apart) in a Mediterranean landscape. We generated foraging habitat suitability maps for the two species and the two colonies incorporating 17 land cover variables as well as distance from the maternity roosts. We then compared the performance of four presence-only models: Mahalanobis distance, ENFA, MADIFA and MaxEnt. Our study found that all four models generated foraging habitat suitability maps that performed well at predicting the species-specific quality of foraging habitat based on the configuration of the landscape. Riparian vegetation, woodland and distance from roosts play a key role in foraging habitat selection around colonies both for R. ferrumequinum and M. emarginatus. MaxEnt was the model that best predicted suitable foraging habitats. These are also the best models at predicting foraging habitat suitability with relatively good performance around another colony maternity roost using independent radio-tracking locations. Because many bat species are threatened by foraging habitat loss, habitat suitability modeling offers a useful tool in defining appropriate conservation guidelines that protect foraging habitats around bat maternity roosts.

We studied, simultaneously, postnatal variation in ectoparasite load in neonates, lactating, pregnant and non-pregnant females — in a free-ranging nursing colony of Geoffroy's bat (Myotis emarginatus) in Kerend Cave, western Iran. During this survey we monitored 120 (78 ♂♂, 42 ♀♀) neonate bats, as well as 21 pregnant, 42 lactating and 15 non-pregnant females. These individuals yielded a total of 1857 wing mites of the species Spinturnix emarginata. The first 14 days following the birth of pups was found to be associated with a rapid increase in numbers of S. emarginata on the neonates — up to an average (± SE) 21.3 ± 5.34 ectoparasites per individual. This was followed by a sudden reduction in parasite load to a stabilised rate of 5.9 ± 0.98 parasites per individual at the end of the postnatal period. The average ectoparasite load for all neonates over 42 days of the postnatal period was 11.5 ± 0.81. No significant difference was noted as regards average parasite load for neonate males (11.9 ± 1.11) and f...

Bats are commonly regarded as vectors for viruses, but little is known about bacterial communities in bats and the possible role of bats in the transmission cycle of foodborne diseases. To gain more insight, microbial communities in fecal samples from 37 insectivorous bats of different species from the Netherlands were investigated by polymerase chain reaction and denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). Subsequently, 10 samples from the following bat species: common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus; n = 3), Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentonii; n = 3), serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus; n = 1), whiskered bat (Myotis mystacinus; n = 1), Geoffroy's bat (Myotis emarginatus; n = 1) and Natterer's bat (Myotis nattereri; n = 1) were selected and used in bacterial 16S rDNA cloning and sequencing. The fecal microbiota in bats was found to be diverse with predominant bacterial genera Carnobacterium, Serratia, Pseudomonas, Enterococcus and Yersinia. The presence of opportunistic pathogens Citrobacter freundii, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Serratia fonticola and Rahnella aquatilis was also recorded. Based on cloning results, we found no proof that bats in the Netherlands are a major vector for the transmission of bacterial zoonotic diseases, although previous findings in literature reported isolation of foodborne pathogens from bats.

Several infectious disease outbreaks with high mortality in humans have been attributed to viruses that are thought to have evolved from bat viruses. In this study from Luxembourg, the genetic diversity and epidemiology of paramyxoviruses and coronaviruses shed by the bat species Rhinolophus ferrumequinum and Myotis emarginatus were evaluated. Feces collection ( n = 624) was performed longitudinally in a mixed-species colony in 2015 and 2016. In addition, feces ( n = 254) were collected cross-sectionally from six Myotis emarginatus colonies in 2016. By use of degenerate primers in a nested format, overall prevalences of 1.1% (10/878) and 4.9% (43/878) were determined for paramyxoviruses and coronaviruses. Sequences of the partial RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and spike glycoprotein genes of coronaviruses, as well as sequences of the partial L gene of paramyxoviruses, were obtained. Novel paramyxovirus and Alphacoronavirus strains were identified in different Myotis emarginatus colonies, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-related Betacoronavirus strains were shed by Rhinolophus ferrumequinum . Logistic regression revealed that the level of Alphacoronavirus shedding was highest in July (odds ratio, 2.8; P < 0.01), probably due to periparturient stress. Phylogenetic analyses point to close virus-host coevolution, and the high genetic similarity of the study strains suggests that the Myotis emarginatus colonies in Luxembourg are socially connected. Most interestingly, we show that bats also host Betacoronavirus 1 strains. The high similarity of the spike gene sequences of these viruses with mammalian Betacoronavirus 1 strains may be of concern. Both the SARS-related and Betacoronavirus 1 strains detected in bats in Luxembourg may cross the species barrier after a host adaptation process. IMPORTANCE Bats are a natural reservoir of a number of zoonotic pathogens. Several severe outbreaks in humans (e.g., a Nipah virus outbreak in Malaysia in 1998, and the almost global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003) have been caused by bat-borne viruses that were transmitted to humans mostly after virus adaptation (e.g., in intermediate animal hosts). Despite the indigenousness of bat species that host viruses with suspected zoonotic potential and despite the zoonotic transmission of European bat 1 lyssavirus in Luxembourg, knowledge about the diversity and epidemiology of bat viruses remains limited in this country. Moreover, in contrast to other European countries, bat viruses are currently not included in the national surveillance activities of this land-locked country. We suggest that this gap in disease surveillance should be addressed, since we show here that synanthropic bats host viruses that may be able to cross the species barrier.

While Pseudogymnoascus destructans has been responsible for mass bat mortalities from white-nose syndrome (WNS) in North America, its virulence in Europe has been questioned. To shed the light on the issue of host-pathogen interaction between European bats and P. destructans, we examined seventeen bats emerging from the fungus-positive underground hibernacula in the Czech Republic during early spring 2013. Dual wing-membrane biopsies were taken from Barbastella barbastellus (1), Myotis daubentonii (1), Myotis emarginatus (1), Myotis myotis (11), Myotis nattereri (1) and Plecotus auritus (2) for standard histopathology and transmission electron microscopy. Non-lethal collection of suspected WNS lesions was guided by trans-illumination of the wing membranes with ultraviolet light. All bats selected for the present study were PCR-positive for P. destructans and showed microscopic findings consistent with the histopathological criteria for WNS diagnosis. Ultramicroscopy revealed oedema of the connective tissue and derangement of the fibroblasts and elastic fibres associated with skin invasion by P. destructans. Extensive fungal infection induced a marked inflammatory infiltration by neutrophils at the interface between the damaged part of the wing membrane replaced by the fungus and membrane tissue not yet invaded by the pathogen. There was no sign of keratinolytic activity in the stratum corneum. Here, we show that lesions pathognomonic for WNS are common in European bats and may also include overwhelming full-thickness fungal growth through the wing membrane equal in severity to reports from North America. Inter-continental differences in the outcome of WNS in bats in terms of morbidity/mortality may therefore not be due to differences in the pathogen itself.

We recorded 10 species of parasitic spinturnicids on bats in Albania. Eyndhovenia euryalis euryalis was collected on Rhinolophus euryale and R. ferrumequinum; Spinturnix acuminata on Nyctalus noctula; S. emarginata on Myotis emarginatus; S. helvetiae on N. leisleri; S. kolenatii on Eptesicus serotinus; S. myoti on M. capaccinii, M. nattereri, M. myotis and M. oxygnathus; S. mystacina on M. mystacinus; S. nobleti on Hypsugo savii; S. plecotina on Plecotus auritus, P. austriacus and P. macrobullaris; and S. psi on Miniopterus schreibersii and M. capaccinii. All mite species recorded are new for the Albanian fauna and three are new for the Balkans. Plecotus macrobullaris is a new host species for S. plecotina. We confirmed low levels of mite species co-occurrence on the same bat hosts. All mite species included in the present study were separable based on their measurements, with idiosoma length and width and dorsal shield length as the most important characters.

International audience; We surveyed the bat fauna of the Jebel Mghilla National Park (central Tunisia) in the five main habitats from the lowland to the summit: cultivated area, open juniper (Juniperus spp.) forest, Stipa tenacessima steppe, open and dense forest of Pinus halepensis, with a special emphasis on water bodies. We mist-netted three bat species: Eptesicus isabellinus, Myotis emarginatus and Myotis punicus. We also identified echolocation calls of Rhinolophus blasii, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rhinolophus hipposideros, Tadarida teniotis, Miniopterus schreibersii, Pipistrellus kuhlii, Plecotus gaisleri and Hypsugo savii. Pipistrellus kuhlii and E. isabellinus were the most active and widely distributed species. The bat fauna was richer in the dense and open pine forest than in cultivated area and open juniper forest, but water bodies are also very attractive for bats.

Ancient trees abundance has been compared with distribution of threatened forest vertebrate species at the province of Salamanca (Spain). A significant correlation between both parameters has been observed for the following considered species: imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti), black vulture (Aegypus monachus), iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), red kite (Milvus milvus) and a group of forest bats (Miniopterus schreibersii, Myotis bechsteinii, Myotis emarginatus, Myotis mystacinus, Myotis myotis, Nyctalus lasiopterus, Nyctalus noctula, Rhinolophus euryale, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum y Rhinolophus mehelyi). It has been proved that there is an increase of threatened forest vertebrates biodiversity along with increasing ancient trees density at the municipalities of the province. Therefore, we can deduce that ancient trees density is a good indicator parameter of the conservation status of the forest ecosystem and it is essential for the maintenance of these endangered species., [ES] Se ha comparado la abundancia de árboles viejos en la provincia de Salamanca (España) con la distribución de las especies de vertebrados forestales amenazados presentes, observándose que existe una correlación signi

Greater horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) and Geoffroy’s bats (Myotis emarginatus) are two sympatric species that have undergone a serious population decline in Central Europe. In both species, population decline is likely to have been caused by habitat deterioration and habitat loss resulting in a decrease of carrying capacity. We examined the spatial ecology, habitat use and key landscape features in vital populations in R. ferrumequinum and M. emarginatus in the northern part of their current European distribution in Luxembourg. In total, 3,559 fixes from 26 radiotracked individuals were calculated. The tracked individuals of both species showed commuting flights along hedgerows, streams and small-forested patches. Maximum flight distances, home range sizes and habitat diversity did not differ between species, but R. ferrumequinum had significantly larger foraging ranges than adult M. emarginatus. Contrary to other studies, both bat species preferred semi-open, but richly structured traditional farmland habitats such as orchards, pastures and parkland habitats instead of available large broad-leaved deciduous forests. M. emarginatus frequently preyed on abundant arthropod resources in cowsheds, sometimes even exclusively throughout the night. The landscape configuration around the buffered radio fixes of adult R. ferrumequinum and M. emarginatus differed significantly from that around analysed random buffers. Radio fixes were concentrated in a landscape characterised by higher habitat diversity than in the surrounding region. Our results support the concept of a ‘biocultural link’ between traditional land use and biodiversity, and we therefore strongly recommend the conservation of extensive traditional land use practices, which will help to preserve both endangered bat species along with the local biodiversity.

A survey of bats was carried out at Alpi Marittime Nature Park and more generally within Site of Community Importance (SIC) IT1160056 from April 1991 to January 2015, using different techniques such as: mist-netting, acoustic sampling and roost surveys. Twenty-one species of bats were detected (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rhinolophus hipposideros, Myotis bechsteinii, Myotis daubentonii, Myotis emarginatus, Myotis myotis, Myotis mystacinus, Myotis nattereri, Myotis oxygnathus, Pipistrellus kuhlii, Pipistrellus nathusii, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Pipistrellus pygmaeus, Nyctalus leisleri, Hypsugo savii, Eptesicus nilssonii, Eptesicus serotinus, Barbastella barbastellus, Plecotus auritus, Plecotus macrobullaris, Tadarida teniotis). Species diversity is higher in this area than in other Alpine protected areas of a similar size. Records of E. nilssonii, P. pygmaeus and P. macrobullaris in the study area contribute to the knowledge of the distribution of these species in Piedmont and more generally in Italy. In particular, thanks to records of E. nilssonii, its geographic range could be extended to the western part of the Alps whereas it previously seemed to be only present in the Central-Eastern Alps.

Based on a cave survey, we present the first substantiated data of two bat species from Iraq. Both Mediterranean horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus euryale) and Geoffroy’s bat (Myotis emarginatus) were mentioned in the earlier literature, although none of them was accepted and listed by subsequent authors. We overview the controversial history of the Mediterranean and Mehely’s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus mehelyi) records, provide details of the diagnostic characters of vouchered specimens of the former species, and present photographic evidence of the presence of Geoffroy’s bat. Both species are rare in the Middle East, and the territory of Iraq was a gap in their distribution.

Two spinturnicid mites new to the fauna of Poland (Acari: Spinturnicidae) Eyndhovenia euryalis oudemansi (Eyndhoven, 1941) and Spinturnix emarginata (Kolenati, 1856) (Acari: Mesostigmata: Spinturnicidae) are reported in the Polish fauna for the first time. They were collected from the bat Myotis emarginatus (Geoffroy, 1806) in the Carpathians, Sudety Mts and Kraków Upland (S. Poland).

espanolEn este trabajo se aportan 42 citas (en cuadriculas UTM de 10x10 km) de quiropteros para el municipio de Yecla (SE Espana). Se han identificado 14 especies de murcielagos y se amplia la distribucion de algunas especies raras. Los muestreos se realizaron entre 2011-2014 empleando diferentes metodologias. En total se realizaron 19 visitas a refugios potenciales, 59 puntos de escucha y 5 sesiones de fototrampeo. Las especies con mayor numero de citas son Pipistrellus pipistrellus y Pi. pygmaeus, pero se aportan datos de especies raras como Rhinolophus euryale, R. hipposideros, Myotis emarginatus y My. escalerai. Finalmente se discute el estado de conservacion de las especies en el municipio y se consideran medidas generales enfocadas a la gestion y conservacion de los murcielagos. EnglishThis study provides 42 new records of bats (UTM squares of 10x10 km) from Yecla (SE Spain). We identified at least 14 bat species and our results allow increasing the distribution area of some rare bat species. The records were obtained between 2011 and 2014 using different methodologies. In total, we made 19 visits potential roosts, 59 listening points and 5 photo-trapping sessions. Our results showed that bat species with high records were Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pi. pygmaeus. Also, we recorded the presence of rare bat species as Rhinolophus euryale, R. hipposideros, Myotis emarginatus and My. escalerai. Finally, we discussed about their conservation status and which are the conservation and management measures that we must implement.

Swarming bat activity was monitored at three caves at elevations ranging from 880 m to 1,907 m above sea level in the Carpathian Mountains, using an infrared light barrier with data-logger, a video camera with a night-scope system, and subsequently by mist netting. A total of 6,175 bats of 19 species was captured, and over 70,000 passes through cave openings were registered. Caves differed in bat species richness, sex ratio, abundance of particular species and species composition. Peak species richness was observed in the mid-elevation cave. Bat activity was high in all caves, but declined with increasing altitude. Swarming activity occurred earlier at high elevation than at lower elevations. Activity of boreal-alpine species, such as Eptesicus nilssonii, peaked at the start of the swarming period, that of species typical of lower elevations, such as Myotis emarginatus, peaked in the middle of the swarming season. In a few species, males showed a significant preference for higher altitude caves, in contra...

In a Geoffroy's bat Myotis emarginatus colony in central Iberia, we investigated the foraging behaviour of six lactating females by means of radio-tracking and the diet of 23 individuals by faecal analysis. The bats preferred to forage mainly in pine plantations, riparian woodland, and scrubland, whereas native dehesa (a loose semi-natural oak Quercus rotundifolia and Q. suber woodland) was not exploited as expected. By far the most important prey type for this bat in the Mediterranean were spiders. We conclude that Geoffroy's bat prefers to forage in multistratified dense habitats, even if these include nonnative plantations. The vertical structuring and especially high cover, along with the combination of both parameters are important for this highly manoeuvrable, clutter-tolerant bat. This is valid even when the vertical component is much reduced as occurs in scrubland, in the first succession steps to woodland creation, and in degraded conditions. Under such circumstances, aerial weaving spiders might be detected and captured when lying in their webs. It is likely that dehesa is too loosely wooded to offer suitable characteristics for orb-weaving aerial spiders to build webs, and thus it may not be as attractive for M. emarginatus as more dense habitats.

We radio-tracked Myotis emarginatus in Upper Bavaria, Germany to identify the key-foraging habitats and to enable an adequate habitat management for this endangered species. The studied females foraged at a distance of up to 8.1 km around their colony roost. The average distance of the foraging area was 3.7 km, where 70% of foraging areas were located within a distance of 5 km and 90% within 6 km of the nurseries. Moreover, these bats spent about 75% of their foraging time within 5 km and 85% within a 6-km radius. To reach the foraging areas, the bats usually used riparian woodlands, hedges and tree lines as flight paths. Specifically, 46.9% of the foraging areas were located in forests, 24.5% in cow sheds, 18.4% in riparian woodlands along streams and 10.2% in fields, villages, orchards, hedges and groves on open land. On average, the bats foraged in forests for 56.2% of the time, during which habitat allocation was possible. In cow sheds the percentage was 29.2%, in riparian deciduous woodland 11.5% and in the other habitats 3.1%. Within forests M. emarginatus avoided foraging in spruce monocultures. Pure stands of spruce covered 45% of the total forest area, but only 10% of the foraging areas were located in this forest type. Deciduous forests on the other hand were much more common as foraging sites (40% versus 11%). Therefore, the availability of native deciduous forest and of fly-infested stables within a radius of 6 km around the colony roosts should be the focus of conservation concepts for M. emarginatus.