Factors affecting bat occupancy of boxes in managed coniferous forests
AbstractThe gradual conversion of forest stands to single-aged and single-species stands is resulting in the loss of natural roosts for many animal groups. The installation of bat boxes is one solution to compensate for the lack of natural roosting opportunities. The box models differ in their desig...
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1080/24750263.2023.2220354 https://doaj.org/article/f2d50fe50b39411e8b47e18e34cf5146 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f2d50fe50b39411e8b47e18e34cf5146 2023-07-30T04:06:22+02:00 Factors affecting bat occupancy of boxes in managed coniferous forests M. Jankowska-Jarek M. Ciechanowski K. Bidziński T. Postawa 2023-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1080/24750263.2023.2220354 https://doaj.org/article/f2d50fe50b39411e8b47e18e34cf5146 EN eng Taylor & Francis Group https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/24750263.2023.2220354 https://doaj.org/toc/2475-0263 doi:10.1080/24750263.2023.2220354 2475-0263 https://doaj.org/article/f2d50fe50b39411e8b47e18e34cf5146 The European Zoological Journal, Vol 90, Iss 1, Pp 454-469 (2023) Artificial roost Central Europe Chiroptera conservation microclimate Zoology QL1-991 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1080/24750263.2023.2220354 2023-07-16T00:37:51Z AbstractThe gradual conversion of forest stands to single-aged and single-species stands is resulting in the loss of natural roosts for many animal groups. The installation of bat boxes is one solution to compensate for the lack of natural roosting opportunities. The box models differ in their design and material, which to some extent can determine their suitability for bats. We investigated the occupancy of 187 boxes made of wood, ceramic and two sizes concrete with styrofoam; and the intra-seasonal (spring migration, breeding, mating/migration) thermal profile for each type of box. The environment of the boxes was defined by parameters that could directly affect the box’s thermal conditions (solar energy availability), or be related to sociality (distances, obstacles) or food availability (edge of forest, water). The box occupancy depended on the box type and the season: styrofoam-concrete boxes were preferred, with a higher occupancy during the mating and migration period (>75%), whereas the highest species richness occurred in ceramic boxes. Box types also differed significantly in their diurnal thermal profiles: the wooden boxes had inside temperatures similar to outside the box, whereas the styrofoam-concrete and with expanded clay aggregate (ceramic type) averaged 2°C higher. Overall, we found 6 bat species, although we concentrated our analysis on the most common species: Pipistrellus nathusii (88%). For this species, none of the parameters that could affect the box thermal condition had an impact on the occupancy, whereas the presence of obstacles and the distance to a water body, proved to be important. To ascertain that our results may be valid and be the result of differences in the box thermal properties, we tested the relationship of the box occupancy to the latitude, using data available in the literature. The occupancy of wooden boxes from the latter dataset significantly decreases with latitude, whereas for the concrete (with addition of sawdust or styrofoam) it increases, although this ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Pipistrellus nathusii Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles The European Zoological Journal 90 1 454 469 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Artificial roost Central Europe Chiroptera conservation microclimate Zoology QL1-991 |
spellingShingle |
Artificial roost Central Europe Chiroptera conservation microclimate Zoology QL1-991 M. Jankowska-Jarek M. Ciechanowski K. Bidziński T. Postawa Factors affecting bat occupancy of boxes in managed coniferous forests |
topic_facet |
Artificial roost Central Europe Chiroptera conservation microclimate Zoology QL1-991 |
description |
AbstractThe gradual conversion of forest stands to single-aged and single-species stands is resulting in the loss of natural roosts for many animal groups. The installation of bat boxes is one solution to compensate for the lack of natural roosting opportunities. The box models differ in their design and material, which to some extent can determine their suitability for bats. We investigated the occupancy of 187 boxes made of wood, ceramic and two sizes concrete with styrofoam; and the intra-seasonal (spring migration, breeding, mating/migration) thermal profile for each type of box. The environment of the boxes was defined by parameters that could directly affect the box’s thermal conditions (solar energy availability), or be related to sociality (distances, obstacles) or food availability (edge of forest, water). The box occupancy depended on the box type and the season: styrofoam-concrete boxes were preferred, with a higher occupancy during the mating and migration period (>75%), whereas the highest species richness occurred in ceramic boxes. Box types also differed significantly in their diurnal thermal profiles: the wooden boxes had inside temperatures similar to outside the box, whereas the styrofoam-concrete and with expanded clay aggregate (ceramic type) averaged 2°C higher. Overall, we found 6 bat species, although we concentrated our analysis on the most common species: Pipistrellus nathusii (88%). For this species, none of the parameters that could affect the box thermal condition had an impact on the occupancy, whereas the presence of obstacles and the distance to a water body, proved to be important. To ascertain that our results may be valid and be the result of differences in the box thermal properties, we tested the relationship of the box occupancy to the latitude, using data available in the literature. The occupancy of wooden boxes from the latter dataset significantly decreases with latitude, whereas for the concrete (with addition of sawdust or styrofoam) it increases, although this ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
M. Jankowska-Jarek M. Ciechanowski K. Bidziński T. Postawa |
author_facet |
M. Jankowska-Jarek M. Ciechanowski K. Bidziński T. Postawa |
author_sort |
M. Jankowska-Jarek |
title |
Factors affecting bat occupancy of boxes in managed coniferous forests |
title_short |
Factors affecting bat occupancy of boxes in managed coniferous forests |
title_full |
Factors affecting bat occupancy of boxes in managed coniferous forests |
title_fullStr |
Factors affecting bat occupancy of boxes in managed coniferous forests |
title_full_unstemmed |
Factors affecting bat occupancy of boxes in managed coniferous forests |
title_sort |
factors affecting bat occupancy of boxes in managed coniferous forests |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1080/24750263.2023.2220354 https://doaj.org/article/f2d50fe50b39411e8b47e18e34cf5146 |
genre |
Pipistrellus nathusii |
genre_facet |
Pipistrellus nathusii |
op_source |
The European Zoological Journal, Vol 90, Iss 1, Pp 454-469 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/24750263.2023.2220354 https://doaj.org/toc/2475-0263 doi:10.1080/24750263.2023.2220354 2475-0263 https://doaj.org/article/f2d50fe50b39411e8b47e18e34cf5146 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/24750263.2023.2220354 |
container_title |
The European Zoological Journal |
container_volume |
90 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
454 |
op_container_end_page |
469 |
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1772818930209914880 |