Ciechanowski, M.; Wikar, Z.; Borzym, K.; Janikowska, E.; Brachman, J.; Jankowska-Jarek, M.; Bidziński, K. Exceptionally Uniform Bat Assemblages across Different Forest Habitats Are Dominated by Single Hyperabundant Generalist Species. Forests2024, 15, 337.
Ciechanowski, M.; Wikar, Z.; Borzym, K.; Janikowska, E.; Brachman, J.; Jankowska-Jarek, M.; Bidziński, K. Exceptionally Uniform Bat Assemblages across Different Forest Habitats Are Dominated by Single Hyperabundant Generalist Species. Forests 2024, 15, 337.
Ciechanowski, M.; Wikar, Z.; Borzym, K.; Janikowska, E.; Brachman, J.; Jankowska-Jarek, M.; Bidziński, K. Exceptionally Uniform Bat Assemblages across Different Forest Habitats Are Dominated by Single Hyperabundant Generalist Species. Forests2024, 15, 337.
Ciechanowski, M.; Wikar, Z.; Borzym, K.; Janikowska, E.; Brachman, J.; Jankowska-Jarek, M.; Bidziński, K. Exceptionally Uniform Bat Assemblages across Different Forest Habitats Are Dominated by Single Hyperabundant Generalist Species. Forests 2024, 15, 337.
Abstract
Woodland bat assemblages are usually structured in space by distance from the ground, water and obstacles, features often defining chiropteran hunting tactics. Consequently, bat species composition differs strongly among various habitats even within the same forest patch. However, when conducting local bat survey in Wolin National Park (WPN), we revealed unexpected uniformity in qualitative and quantitative structure of bat assemblages, based on mist netting and ultrasound recording. In total, 10 vespertilionid species were detected. In all methods and sampled habitats a single species, Pipistrellus pygmaeus, predominated, while no Barbastella barbastellus, an old forest specialist, was detected, despite the abundance of preferred daily roosts. We also reviewed literature for mist netted bat samples in four different habitats of lowland Polish forests. 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 suppose 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, the latter including both roost availability and prey abundance.
Keywords
Chiroptera; Vespertilionidae; woodlands; diversity; Poland; Wolin National Park
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
