The role of protected areas in preserving habitat and functional connectivity for mobile flying vertebrates: the common noctule bat (Nyctalus noctula) in Tuscany (Italy) as a case study ...

• Main Authors: Ducci, L., Roscioni, F., Carranza, M. L., Agnelli, P., Russo, D., Frate, L., Loy, A., Santini, G., Di Febbraro, M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2019
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Mammalia; Chiroptera; Chordata; Animalia; bats; bat; Nyctalus noctula
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13462796; https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.13462796

(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) Preserving species within protected areas (PAs) does not guarantee adequate levels of protection if not coupled with conservation of functional connectivity for a target species. We propose an analytical framework to assess the effectiveness of PAs in preserving habitat and functional connectivity for mobile vertebrates. We implemented it in central Italy by using as a case study a bat species (common noctule, Nyctalus noctula) to: (i) determine suitable areas by means of Species Distribution Models (SDMs); (ii) identify potential commuting corridors through a functional connectivity analysis; (iii) develop a new tool to rank corridors according to their functional irreplaceability; (iv) implement a gap analysis on both suitable areas and functional corridors; and (v) propose management recommendations for the conservation of N. noctula. The SDM output and a set of proxies of commuting routes were used to build a resistance layer for the connectivity ...