Bats as indicators of the condition of the forest environment

The article overviews the role of bats in the forest ecosystem (especially the European forest), the impact of environmental pollution on the forest and bats, and the issue of bats indication of the forest environment condition. Existing data on the transfer of pollutants to the environment and between the aquatic and terrestrial environment are reviewed. The water environment is an important receiver of industrial pollution, which then transfer to the terrestrial environment i.a. through insect larvae. Bats as predators hunting for the insects, which undergo part of their life cycle in water (including Diptera: Chironomidae), play an important in this cycle. Another source of bats intoxication are terrestrial insects feeding on plants that transfer toxins that settle on the leaves surface further in the food chain. Bats as predators of the first or even second level store in such a case substances like heavy metals in their bodies. Air pollutants also have a direct impact on forest stands, causing (in zones of strong industrial pollution) the inhibition of tree growth. The result is, among other things, a smaller number of hollows, which in turn is manifested indirectly through weaker settlement by bats (and birds) of these stands. Bats communities inhabiting the forest depend on such factors as the availability of roosting places, the age struc− ture and spatial structure of the stands. All these features (as well as others related to them) are subject to modification through economic forestry, which causes changes in the bat communities. Ecological research of forest bats shows variability of settling of managed stands, as well as diversified species composition, especially smaller presence of typically forest bats connected ecologically with forests (e.g. western barbastelle Barbastella barbastellus or lesser noctule Nyctalus leisleri), in favor of bats preferring open spaces and built−up areas (serotine bat Eptesicus serotinus). This is probably the result of changes in the age and spatial structure of the stand. On the basis of the collected information, it was concluded that bats are a valuable indicator of the condition of the forest environment

Common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus Schreber, 1774) in the bat fauna of the Bialowieza Primeval Forest

The occurrence of the Common pipistrelle in the bat fauna of the Białowieża Primeval Forest was expected, because the taxon P. pipistrellus was previously comprised of two separate species. Earlier observations of P. pipistrellus in the Białowieża area can mostly be counted for by the new species Soprano pipistrelle, which is considered equally widely distributed in the area. In this study, we were able to record and distinguish several passes of the Common pipistrelle by means of bat detecting techniques. Bats were found in two locations, the first one being the Białowieża village, whereas the second one is the woodland in close proximity of the Czerlonka village. It is very likely, that this species is more widely distributed in the Białowieża area, especially in the vicinity of human settlements

Use of the 'crevice' bat boxes as a new solution for active protection of the Western barbastelle Barbastella barbastellus (Schreber, 1774) in forests

The paper presents the project of a crevice box designed especially for Western barbastelle Barbastelle barbastellus bats. Barbastelle is endangered species of bat protected throughout the Europe and included in Annex II of the EU Habitats Directive. In many forest areas of Natura 2000 Barbastelle is official subject to protection, which imposes certain obligations on the area’s administrator or landowner. Western Barbastelle in forests uses atypical roosts (comparing to most other bats), which are cracks of trunks and crevices under the bark of trees, especially deciduous trees. For this reason, it is most often found in old deciduous forests abounding in such potential shelters. As an endangered species, it often requires active protection, and bat−boxes used so far are not settled by Barbastelles because they do not correspond to their ecological preferences. For this reason, it was necessary to develop a project of boxes that would correspond to the pref− erences of this species and will be settled by these bats. Typical bat−boxes are the equivalent of tree hollows carved by woodpeckers, while crevice boxes to a greater extent than previous solutions imitate natural cracks in tree trunks. Similar boxes were successfully introduced in the United Kingdom by Greenaway and Hill [2004], and then tested on a larger scale in forests in Poland by Rachwald i in. [2018]. Boxes were successfully occupied by individual bats and by breeding colonies, which does not happen in bat boxes with a traditional construction. The paper contains a concise description of the obtained so−far results of colonization bat−boxes by Barbastelle and a sketch of the newly redesigned box with detailed dimensions (fig. 2). Based on the positive results of experiments with the colonization of this type of boxes, it is proposed to use these boxes as an at least temporary solution for the active protection of Barbastelles in forests wherever there is a shortage of natural shelters

Observation of the Western Barbastelle Barbastella barbastellus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in new "crevice" boxes for bat

A Western Barbastelle, Barbastella barbastellus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae, Schreber, 1774), was observed to inhabit ‘crevice’ bat boxes very late in the year. In November 2016, in two out of three study areas, a small number of Western Barbastelle specimens, five individuals and one individual respectively, were observed inhabiting bat boxes at night temperatures below zero and with snow cover. The occurrence of this species in summer-type hiding places during winter weather conditions has not been reported previously in Poland

Bat assemblages in fragmented forest complexes near Rogow (central Poland)

Habitat fragmentation affects bat assemblages living in forests by changing species composition, species richness and population densities. The aim of this paper was to determine the structure of bat assemblages in fragmented forests of central Poland (Experimental Forest Station SGGW in Rogów) based on data concerning bat fauna of this area. Our work is based on published as well as unpublished data collected between 2011–2017 and the two main methods employed during field work were: (1) evening and night bat netting, (2) detection of flying bats on transects or in points by using ultrasound detectors. 16 bat species were observed with the most common ones being serotine bat Eptesicus serotinus (Schreb.), common noctule Nyctalus noctula (Schreb.) and brown long-eared bat Plecotus auritus (l.). less numerous in ove-rall but frequently observed in some sites were the western barbastelle Barbastella barbastellus (Schreb.) and the Daubenton's bat Myotis daubentonii (Kuhl). The following species occurred rarely: greater mouse-eared bat Myotis myotis (Bork.), Natte-rer's bat M. nattereri (Kuhl), whiskered bat M. mystacinus (Kuhl), Brandt's bat M. brandtii (evers.), northern bat Eptesicus nilssonii (Keys. & Blas.) parti-coloured bat Vespertilio murinus l., lesser noctule Nyctalus leisleri (Kuhl), common pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus (Schreb.), nathusius' pipistrelle P. nathusii (Keys. & Blas.), soprano pipistrelle P. pygmaeus (leach) and grey long-eared bat Plecotus austriacus (Fish.). Fragmented forests of the study area did not differ significantly in terms of bat species composition from other fragmented forests of central Poland (Płońsk Plain) nor the large forest complexes of the Bolimowska and Kampinoska Forests. In this study area, however, bat assemblages were characterized by a lower relative abundance of the common noctule and a higher relative abundance of the serotine bat as compared to assemblages in other forests of central Poland. In conclusion, the forest fragmentation near Rogów does not significantly affect bat richness and fertilized habitats are suitable for relatively large populations of species such as the western barbastelle and lesser noctule