SUMMER ROOST SELECTION BY TREE-DWELLING BATS NYCTALUS NOCTULA AND N. LEISLERI: A MULTISCALE ANALYSIS ...

• Main Authors: Ruczyński, Ireneusz, Bogdanowicz, Wiesław
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2008
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Mammalia; Chiroptera; Chordata; Animalia; bats; bat; Nyctalus noctula
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13407674; https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.13407674

(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) Nyctalus noctula is one of the most common bats in the western Palearctic, whereas N. leisleri is relatively rare (except in Ireland, where N. noctula does not occur) and more limited to ancient forests. We radiotracked 26 N. noctula and 25 N. leisleri to 52 and 50 roost trees, respectively, from May to August in 1998–2002 in the Białowiez˙a Primeval Forest in eastern Poland to test the hypothesis that N. leiseri has more specific tree-roosting requirements than N. noctula. Both species selected roosts at the microscale (cavity level), mesoscale (tree level), and megascale (plot level). N. noctula significantly preferred oaks, and avoided hornbeams and alders. N. leisleri roosted more often in oaks and ashes, and avoided hornbeams and alders. Roost trees occupied by both species were thicker and taller, with higher crowns than available trees. N. noctula and N. leisleri used oaks more frequently than ashes when average ambient temperatures were lower. ...