Characteristics of winter bat aggregations in Poland: a review
The distribution of natural wintering roosts of bats in Poland is not homogenous, they are found almost exclusively in the south of Poland. Manmade underground shelters, on the other hand, are found across the country, including areas outside the range of natural caves. Based on literature data and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. National Museum of Natural History
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Theriologia Ukrainica |
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| Online Access: | http://terioshkola.org.ua/library/pts24/TU2406-postawa.htm |
| _version_ | 1811169784203575296 |
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| author | Tomasz Postawa |
| author_facet | Tomasz Postawa |
| author_sort | Tomasz Postawa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The distribution of natural wintering roosts of bats in Poland is not homogenous, they are found almost exclusively in the south of Poland. Manmade underground shelters, on the other hand, are found across the country, including areas outside the range of natural caves. Based on literature data and my own observations, the size and species composition of winter bat aggregations occupying natural and artificial roosts were compared. The data analysed include records that were both published and collected between 1992 and 2019. The starting date of the range has been assumed due to the well-established formula of nationwide bat monitoring, which started in 1988, while the end date was based on the availability of publications. I arbitrarily adopted 50 individuals as the minimum number of bats in a certain wintering site, found on a minimum of one occasion during the study period. In total, I collected data on 128 wintering sites: 42 natural and 86 manmade. The overall size of the analysed aggregations is a minimum of 88 800 individuals, with manmade roosting sites accounting for a minimum of 77 600 individuals, and natural sites almost 12 200 individuals. The most abundant bat aggregations were recorded in manmade underground sites (up to 38 594 individuals), while in natural sites there were only up to 2900 individuals. However, the average aggregation size did not differ greatly between the two types of shelters (169 vs. 156, F = 3.368, df = 1.128; p = 0.069). In contrast, the number of species wintering in natural shelters is higher than in manmade ones (8 vs. 6 species, F = 9.785, df = 1.128, p = 0.002179). P. pipistrellus was found only in anthropogenic shelters. In addition, this type of shelter is characterised by a higher proportion of M. daubentonii (16.4% vs. 3.7%), M. myotis (42.0% vs. 29.1%), M. nattereri (26.4% vs. 16.5%), and B. barbastellus (11.3% vs. 7%), as well as species recorded incidentally: P. austriacus (0.09% vs. 0.04%) and E. serotinus (0.17% vs. 0.07%). In contrast, R. hipposideros (16.7%) and M. emarginatus (5.7%) were recorded almost exclusively in caves, and M. brandtii/mystacinus (15.6% vs. 0.3%) and P. auritus (4.2% vs. 1.9%) were clearly predominant in these shelters. Some of these differences could be explained by the effect of geographical location: some species are found only in the south of the country (R. hipposideros, M. emarginatus). On the other hand, artificial shelters are usually characterised by a more dynamic microclimate, which is preferred by species rarely found in natural shelters.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T16:47:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-424d7a999fd24b908c283b25f2b254e2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2616-7379 2617-1120 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T16:47:28Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. National Museum of Natural History |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Theriologia Ukrainica |
| spelling | doaj.art-424d7a999fd24b908c283b25f2b254e22023-02-07T18:51:08ZengNational Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. National Museum of Natural HistoryTheriologia Ukrainica2616-73792617-11202022-12-0124516110.15407/TU2406Characteristics of winter bat aggregations in Poland: a reviewTomasz Postawa0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9881-2212Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, PAN (Krakow, Poland)The distribution of natural wintering roosts of bats in Poland is not homogenous, they are found almost exclusively in the south of Poland. Manmade underground shelters, on the other hand, are found across the country, including areas outside the range of natural caves. Based on literature data and my own observations, the size and species composition of winter bat aggregations occupying natural and artificial roosts were compared. The data analysed include records that were both published and collected between 1992 and 2019. The starting date of the range has been assumed due to the well-established formula of nationwide bat monitoring, which started in 1988, while the end date was based on the availability of publications. I arbitrarily adopted 50 individuals as the minimum number of bats in a certain wintering site, found on a minimum of one occasion during the study period. In total, I collected data on 128 wintering sites: 42 natural and 86 manmade. The overall size of the analysed aggregations is a minimum of 88 800 individuals, with manmade roosting sites accounting for a minimum of 77 600 individuals, and natural sites almost 12 200 individuals. The most abundant bat aggregations were recorded in manmade underground sites (up to 38 594 individuals), while in natural sites there were only up to 2900 individuals. However, the average aggregation size did not differ greatly between the two types of shelters (169 vs. 156, F = 3.368, df = 1.128; p = 0.069). In contrast, the number of species wintering in natural shelters is higher than in manmade ones (8 vs. 6 species, F = 9.785, df = 1.128, p = 0.002179). P. pipistrellus was found only in anthropogenic shelters. In addition, this type of shelter is characterised by a higher proportion of M. daubentonii (16.4% vs. 3.7%), M. myotis (42.0% vs. 29.1%), M. nattereri (26.4% vs. 16.5%), and B. barbastellus (11.3% vs. 7%), as well as species recorded incidentally: P. austriacus (0.09% vs. 0.04%) and E. serotinus (0.17% vs. 0.07%). In contrast, R. hipposideros (16.7%) and M. emarginatus (5.7%) were recorded almost exclusively in caves, and M. brandtii/mystacinus (15.6% vs. 0.3%) and P. auritus (4.2% vs. 1.9%) were clearly predominant in these shelters. Some of these differences could be explained by the effect of geographical location: some species are found only in the south of the country (R. hipposideros, M. emarginatus). On the other hand, artificial shelters are usually characterised by a more dynamic microclimate, which is preferred by species rarely found in natural shelters. http://terioshkola.org.ua/library/pts24/TU2406-postawa.htmfaunamonitoringwinter bat aggregationspoland |
| spellingShingle | Tomasz Postawa Characteristics of winter bat aggregations in Poland: a review Theriologia Ukrainica fauna monitoring winter bat aggregations poland |
| title | Characteristics of winter bat aggregations in Poland: a review |
| title_full | Characteristics of winter bat aggregations in Poland: a review |
| title_fullStr | Characteristics of winter bat aggregations in Poland: a review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characteristics of winter bat aggregations in Poland: a review |
| title_short | Characteristics of winter bat aggregations in Poland: a review |
| title_sort | characteristics of winter bat aggregations in poland a review |
| topic | fauna monitoring winter bat aggregations poland |
| url | http://terioshkola.org.ua/library/pts24/TU2406-postawa.htm |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tomaszpostawa characteristicsofwinterbataggregationsinpolandareview |