Differential habitat selection by Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus identifies distinct conservation needs for cryptic species of echolocating bats
Cryptic species are similar in morphology, and make interesting subjects for relating morphological differentiation to ecological resource partitioning. Can species that are morphologically almost identical occupy different ecological niches, and hence potentially need distinct conservation planning...
Published in: | Biological Conservation |
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1983/3405356b-2776-476b-af66-3dd46acd31e6 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/3405356b-2776-476b-af66-3dd46acd31e6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2006.05.027 |
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ftubristolcris:oai:research-information.bris.ac.uk:publications/3405356b-2776-476b-af66-3dd46acd31e6 2024-02-04T10:03:58+01:00 Differential habitat selection by Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus identifies distinct conservation needs for cryptic species of echolocating bats Davidson-Watts, I Walls, S Jones, G 2006-11 https://hdl.handle.net/1983/3405356b-2776-476b-af66-3dd46acd31e6 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/3405356b-2776-476b-af66-3dd46acd31e6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2006.05.027 eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Davidson-Watts , I , Walls , S & Jones , G 2006 , ' Differential habitat selection by Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus identifies distinct conservation needs for cryptic species of echolocating bats ' , Biological Conservation , vol. 133 (1) , pp. 118 - 127 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2006.05.027 article 2006 ftubristolcris https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2006.05.027 2024-01-11T23:36:45Z Cryptic species are similar in morphology, and make interesting subjects for relating morphological differentiation to ecological resource partitioning. Can species that are morphologically almost identical occupy different ecological niches, and hence potentially need distinct conservation planning? The discovery that the most widespread bat in Europe – the pipistrelle – comprised two cryptic species (Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus) that emit echolocation calls at different frequencies provides a remarkable model system for investigating links between morphology, echolocation call design and resource partitioning. We investigated resource partitioning between the two cryptic species of sympatric pipistrelle bats by radio tracking breeding females. Habitat selection was investigated by using compositional analysis. P. pygmaeus selected riparian habitats over all other habitat types in its core foraging areas, whereas P. pipistrellus, although preferring deciduous woodland overall, was more of a generalist, spreading its foraging time in a wider range of habitats. Although morphologically very similar, the cryptic species show quite different patterns of habitat use. Our findings suggest that large-scale differences in habitat preferences can occur between sympatric bat species that are virtually identical in flight morphology; hence morphological differences may be a weak indication of ecological differences between taxa. Conservation planning needs to take account of these differences to meet policy and legal obligations associated with these protected cryptic species. Cryptic species are similar in morphology, and make interesting subjects for relating morphological differentiation to ecological resource partitioning. Can species that are morphologically almost identical occupy different ecological niches, and hence potentially need distinct conservation planning? The discovery that the most widespread bat in Europe – the pipistrelle – comprised two cryptic species (Pipistrellus ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Pipistrellus pipistrellus University of Bristol: Bristol Research Biological Conservation 133 1 118 127 |
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Open Polar |
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University of Bristol: Bristol Research |
op_collection_id |
ftubristolcris |
language |
English |
description |
Cryptic species are similar in morphology, and make interesting subjects for relating morphological differentiation to ecological resource partitioning. Can species that are morphologically almost identical occupy different ecological niches, and hence potentially need distinct conservation planning? The discovery that the most widespread bat in Europe – the pipistrelle – comprised two cryptic species (Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus) that emit echolocation calls at different frequencies provides a remarkable model system for investigating links between morphology, echolocation call design and resource partitioning. We investigated resource partitioning between the two cryptic species of sympatric pipistrelle bats by radio tracking breeding females. Habitat selection was investigated by using compositional analysis. P. pygmaeus selected riparian habitats over all other habitat types in its core foraging areas, whereas P. pipistrellus, although preferring deciduous woodland overall, was more of a generalist, spreading its foraging time in a wider range of habitats. Although morphologically very similar, the cryptic species show quite different patterns of habitat use. Our findings suggest that large-scale differences in habitat preferences can occur between sympatric bat species that are virtually identical in flight morphology; hence morphological differences may be a weak indication of ecological differences between taxa. Conservation planning needs to take account of these differences to meet policy and legal obligations associated with these protected cryptic species. Cryptic species are similar in morphology, and make interesting subjects for relating morphological differentiation to ecological resource partitioning. Can species that are morphologically almost identical occupy different ecological niches, and hence potentially need distinct conservation planning? The discovery that the most widespread bat in Europe – the pipistrelle – comprised two cryptic species (Pipistrellus ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Davidson-Watts, I Walls, S Jones, G |
spellingShingle |
Davidson-Watts, I Walls, S Jones, G Differential habitat selection by Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus identifies distinct conservation needs for cryptic species of echolocating bats |
author_facet |
Davidson-Watts, I Walls, S Jones, G |
author_sort |
Davidson-Watts, I |
title |
Differential habitat selection by Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus identifies distinct conservation needs for cryptic species of echolocating bats |
title_short |
Differential habitat selection by Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus identifies distinct conservation needs for cryptic species of echolocating bats |
title_full |
Differential habitat selection by Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus identifies distinct conservation needs for cryptic species of echolocating bats |
title_fullStr |
Differential habitat selection by Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus identifies distinct conservation needs for cryptic species of echolocating bats |
title_full_unstemmed |
Differential habitat selection by Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus identifies distinct conservation needs for cryptic species of echolocating bats |
title_sort |
differential habitat selection by pipistrellus pipistrellus and pipistrellus pygmaeus identifies distinct conservation needs for cryptic species of echolocating bats |
publishDate |
2006 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1983/3405356b-2776-476b-af66-3dd46acd31e6 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/3405356b-2776-476b-af66-3dd46acd31e6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2006.05.027 |
genre |
Pipistrellus pipistrellus |
genre_facet |
Pipistrellus pipistrellus |
op_source |
Davidson-Watts , I , Walls , S & Jones , G 2006 , ' Differential habitat selection by Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus identifies distinct conservation needs for cryptic species of echolocating bats ' , Biological Conservation , vol. 133 (1) , pp. 118 - 127 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2006.05.027 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2006.05.027 |
container_title |
Biological Conservation |
container_volume |
133 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
118 |
op_container_end_page |
127 |
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1789971831340400640 |