Effects of food abundance and wind on the use of tree lines by an insectivorous bat, Pipistrellus pipistrellus ...

(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) We tested the hypotheses that the distance bats fly from tree lines depend on food abundance and protection from wind. We monitored the activity of pipistrelle bats (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) and measured insect abundance and wind speed and directi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Verboom, B, Spoelstra, K
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Zenodo 1999
Subjects:
bat
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13501108
https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.13501108
Description
Summary:(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) We tested the hypotheses that the distance bats fly from tree lines depend on food abundance and protection from wind. We monitored the activity of pipistrelle bats (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) and measured insect abundance and wind speed and direction at fixed distances up to 50 m from tree lines. We compared bat behaviour in different situations: with and without wind and with low and high insect abundances in adjacent open areas. In all situations, pipistrelle bats' activity decreased with increasing distance from the tree line. Within nights, we found no effect of wind speed on bat activity (sound recorded per 5 min) on the leeward side of the tree lines. Between nights, however, bats concentrated their activities closer to the tree lines at high wind speeds or angles of incidence of wind from 45° to 90°. A significant relationship between bat and insect abundances was found only when the tree line was bordered by insect-rich grassland. Since wind and ...