| Summary: | Movement behavior and habitat use of the long-eared bat species <i>Plecotus auritus</i> and <i>Plecotus austriacus</i> were studied in the Havelland region in Brandenburg (Germany). Data collection included mist-netting, radiotelemetry, reconstruction of prey items, and monitoring of roosting sites. Body measurements confirm a high degree of phenotypic similarity between the two species. Total activity areas (100% Minimum Convex Polygons, MCPS) of <i>Plecotus austriacus</i> (2828.3 ± 1269.43 ha) were up to five-fold larger compared to <i>Plecotus auritus</i> (544.54 ± 295.89 ha). The activity areas of <i>Plecotus austriacus</i> contained up to 11 distinct core areas, and their mean total size (149.7 ± 0.07 ha) was approximately three-fold larger compared to core areas of <i>Plecotus auritus</i> (49.2 ± 25.6 ha). The mean distance between consecutive fixes per night was 12.72 ± 3.7 km for <i>Plecotus austriacus</i> and 4.23 ± 2.8 km for <i>Plecotus auritus.</i> While <i>Plecotus austriacus</i> was located most frequently over pastures (>40%) and meadows (>20%), <i>P. auritus</i> was located mostly within deciduous (>50%) and mixed forests (>30%) in close vicinity to its roosts. Roost site monitoring indicates that the activity of <i>P. austriacus</i> is delayed relative to <i>P. auritus</i> in spring and declined earlier in autumn. These phenological differences are probably related to the species’ respective diets. Levins’ measure of trophic niche breadth suggests that the prey spectrum for <i>P. auritus</i> is more diverse during spring (B = 2.86) and autumn (B = 2.82) compared to <i>P. austriacus</i> (spring: B = 1.7; autumn: B = 2.1). Our results give reason to consider these interspecific ecological variations and species-specific requirements of <i>P. auritus</i> and <i>P. austriacus</i> to develop adapted and improved conservation measures.
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