Landscape composition and life-history traits influence bat movement and space use: Analysis of 30 years of published telemetry data

Aim Animal movement determines home range patterns, which in turn affect individual fitness, population dynamics and ecosystem functioning. Using temperate bats, a group of particular conservation concern, we investigated how morphological traits, habitat specialization and environmental variables affect home range sizes and daily foraging movements, using a compilation of 30 years of published bat telemetry data. Location Northern America and Europe. Time period 1988–2016. Major taxa studied Bats. Methods We compiled data on home range size and mean daily distance between roosts and foraging areas at both colony and individual levels from 166 studies of 3,129 radiotracked individuals of 49 bat species. We calculated multi-scale habitat composition and configuration in the surrounding landscapes of the 165 studied roosts. Using mixed models, we examined the effects of habitat availability and spatial arrangement on bat movements, while accounting for body mass, aspect ratio, wing loading and habitat specialization. Results We found a significant effect of landscape composition on home range size and mean daily distance at both colony and individual levels. On average, home ranges were up to 42% smaller in the most habitat-diversified landscapes while mean daily distances were up to 30% shorter in the most forested landscapes. Bat home range size significantly increased with body mass, wing aspect ratio and wing loading, and decreased with habitat specialization. Main conclusions Promoting bat movements through the landscape surrounding roosts at large spatial scales is crucial for bat conservation. Forest loss and overall landscape homogenization lead temperate bats to fly further to meet their ecological requirements, by increasing home range sizes and daily foraging distances. Both processes might be more detrimental for smaller, habitat-specialized bats, less able to travel increasingly longer distances to meet their diverse needs

Landscape context matters for attractiveness and effective use of road underpasses by bats

The worldwide expansion of road networks is a major concern in biological conservation because of its predominantly negative effects on terrestrial fauna. Roads also affect bats, acting as barriers to movements and causing direct mortality by collisions with vehicles. Among wildlife crossing structures existing to maintain landscape connectivity, road underpasses are considered as one of the most effective conservation measure for bats. While a few studies assessed the effects of underpass attributes on bat use, none to date has assessed the impact of landscape context on underpass use and attractiveness. To address this knowledge gap, we monitored bat activity during three consecutive nights around 24 underpasses selected along a gradient of forest cover. We compared bat activity below and above underpasses (Le., underpass use), at road sections with and without underpasses and at habitats adjacent to roads (i.e., underpass attractiveness). We found a significant positive effect of forest cover on both underpass use and attractiveness for Myotis spp. and Barbastella barbastellus, and significant negative effects of distance to the nearest forest patch for Rhinolophus spp. and hedgerow length for Myotis spp. Our study highlights the key influence of landscape context on road underpass efficiency to maintain landscape connectivity for bats. We advocate for incorporating a landscape-scale approach in the decision-making process of underpass location during road project planning to enhance efficiency of such costly crossing structures

Where are we now with European forest multi-taxon biodiversity and where can we head to?

International audienceForestry implementation significantly impacts forest biodiversity. Despite the promotion of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) in Europe, sustainability assessments hardly account for direct biodiversity indicators. We aim to i) gather and map the existing information on forest multitaxon biodiversity associated with stand structure and management in Europe; ii) identify knowledge gaps for forest biodiversity research; and iii) discuss the research potential associated with multitaxon biodiversity data. We established a research network focused on multi-taxon biodiversity, stand structure and management data of European forests; and fitted species records, standing trees, lying deadwood, and sampling unit metadata from 34 local datasets. Suitable information was available for 3,591 sampling units, each surveyed for on average 4.6 taxonomic groups. Standing tree diameters, tree height deadwood and tree-related microhabitats were sampled in respectively 2,889; 2,356; 2,309 and 1,388 sampling units. Sampling unit metadata includes spatial coordinates, and compositional and management descriptors. Available data cover all the 14 European forest compositional categories but are unevenly distributed among them, with European beech forests being over-represented as compared to thermophilous and boreal forests. Overall, the available information has the potential to inform the development of conservation and SFM strategies for European forests by supporting: (i) methodological harmonization and coordinated monitoring; (ii) the definition and testing of SFM indicators and thresholds; (iii) datadriven assessment of the effects of environmental and management drivers on multi-taxon forest biological and functional diversity, (iv) multi-scale forest monitoring integrating in-situ and remotely sensed information