Annual activity cycle of bats in Bou-Hedma National Park (Tunisia)

La capture mensuelle des Chiroptères dans six des principaux habitats du Parc National de Bou-Hedma sur une période de 26 mois a permis d’inventorier sept espèces, assez largement répandues au Maghreb, à l’exception de la saharienne Otonycteris hemprichii. Les bassins du Bordj et de Nouh sont les plus attractifs, surtout au début de l’été, l’oued Bou-Hedma est beaucoup moins fréquenté, surtout en hiver. Aucune capture n’a été réalisée dans la steppe et dans les forêts claire et dense d’acacias, ce qui confirme l’attractivité des plans d’eau pour toutes les espèces dans la région méditerranéenne. Une activité hivernale a été mise en évidence et la période de reproduction de Pipistrellus kuhlii et Eptesicus isabellinus, qui correspond au pic de captures, a été précisée.Bats were mist-netted in six main habitats of the Bou-Hedma National Park over two years. Most of the seven recorded species are widely distributed in northwestern Africa, except the Saharan Otonycteris hemprichii. Basins of Bordj and Nouh were the most attractive for bats, mainly in early summer. Oued Bou-Hedma was less attractive, particularly in winter. No bat was mist-netted in the steppe and the two types of Acacia forest, which supports the major role of water bodies in the Mediterranean area. Winter activity of bats was detected and tentatively quantified. Also informative is the fact that captures peaked when most Pipistrellus kuhlii and Eptesicus isabellinus were pregnant or lactating

DarkCideS 1.0, a global database for bats in karsts and caves

Tanalgo, Krizler C., Tabora, John Aries G., de Oliveira, Hernani Fernandes Magalhães, Haelewaters, Danny, Beranek, Chad T., Otálora-Ardila, Aída, Bernard, Enrico, Gonçalves, Fernando, Eriksson, Alan, Donnelly, Melissa, González, Joel Monzón, Ramos, Humberto Fernández, Rivas, Alberto Clark, Webala, Paul W., Deleva, Stanimira, Dalhoumi, Ridha, Maula, Jaycelle, Lizarro, Dennis, Aguirre, Luis F., Bouillard, Nils, Quibod, Ma. Niña Regina M., Barros, Jennifer, Turcios-Casco, Manfredo Alejandro, Martínez, Marcio, Ordoñez-Mazier, Diego Iván, Orellana, José Alejandro Soler, Ordoñez-Trejo, Eduardo J., Ordoñez, Danny, Chornelia, Ada, Lu, Jian Mei, Xing, Chen, Baniya, Sanjeev, Muylaert, Renata L., Dias-Silva, Leonardo Henrique, Ruadreo, Nittaya, Hughes, Alice Catherine (2022): DarkCideS 1.0, a global database for bats in karsts and caves. Scientific Data 9 (1): 155, DOI: 10.1038/s41597-022-01234-4, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01234-

Taxonomie et r\ue9partition des chiropt\ue8res de Tunisie

Volume: 118Start Page: 265End Page: 29

Cycle annuel d’activité des Chiroptères du Parc national de Bou-Hedma (Tunisie)

Annual activity cycle of bats in Bou-Hedma National Park (Tunisia). Bats were mist-netted in six main habitats of the Bou-Hedma National Park over two years. Most of the seven recorded species are widely distributed in northwestern Africa, except the Saharan Otonycteris hemprichii. Basins of Bordj and Nouh were the most attractive for bats, mainly in early summer. Oued Bou-Hedma was less attractive, particularly in winter. No bat was mist-netted in the steppe and the two types of Acacia forest, which supports the major role of water bodies in the Mediterranean area. Winter activity of bats was detected and tentatively quantified. Also informative is the fact that captures peaked when most Pipistrellus kuhlii and Eptesicus isabellinus were pregnant or lactating.La capture mensuelle des Chiroptères dans six des principaux habitats du Parc National de Bou-Hedma sur une période de 26 mois a permis d’inventorier sept espèces, assez largement répandues au Maghreb, à l’exception de la saharienne Otonycteris hemprichii. Les bassins du Bordj et de Nouh sont les plus attractifs, surtout au début de l’été, l’oued Bou-Hedma est beaucoup moins fréquenté, surtout en hiver. Aucune capture n’a été réalisée dans la steppe et dans les forêts claire et dense d’acacias, ce qui confirme l’attractivité des plans d’eau pour toutes les espèces dans la région méditerranéenne. Une activité hivernale a été mise en évidence et la période de reproduction de Pipistrellus kuhlii et Eptesicus isabellinus, qui correspond au pic de captures, a été précisée.Dalhoumi Ridha, Aissa Patricia, Aulagnier Stéphane. Cycle annuel d’activité des Chiroptères du Parc national de Bou-Hedma (Tunisie). In: Revue d'Écologie (La Terre et La Vie), tome 70, n°3, 2015. pp. 261-270

Bats of the Tunisian Desert: Preliminary Data Using Acoustic Identification and First Record of <i>Taphozous nudiventris</i> in the Country

Increasing aridity usually results in decreasing bat abundance and species richness, and the Saharan desert is an example of such impoverishment. Moreover, the harsh climatic and field conditions in this area restrict the feasibility of surveys. Therefore, the bat fauna of the Tunisian Sahara was unstudied until an expedition was conducted in May 2021. A total of seven species were recorded using passive bat detectors set mainly at water bodies, which concentrate bat activity. Echolocation calls of these species did not depart from published records for the Mediterranean area. Our data failed to identify the two ecomorphotypes of Pipistrellus kuhlii but confirmed the adaptability of this species to local conditions. For the first time in Tunisia, we recorded echolocation calls of Taphozous nudiventris, a species that has been rarely reported in North Africa. The highest species richness was identified at the largest wetlands of Oued Daghsen (Oued Dkouk Nature Reserve) and at Bordj el Khadra (only six and four species, respectively). Most Mediterranean species were recorded in the northern locality, while desert species were more active in the most southern one. The importance of water bodies for bats was confirmed once more. No sign of competition among species was detected, as the Mediterranean and desert-dwelling bat species were active at the same time. Additional surveys should be planned in order to enlarge the list of seven species recorded in only one week

Seasonal activity pattern and habitat use by the isabelline serotine bat (Eptesicus isabellinus) in an arid environment of Tunisia

The seasonal activity of the Isabelline serotine bat Eptesicus isabellinus was studied in eight habitats of the Bou Hedma National Park, central Tunisia. From June 2010 to June 2011 two techniques, mist-netting and echolocation call recording, were implemented. This bat species was captured throughout the year but only at water bodies and particularly at Nouh basin. Captures peaked in late spring-early summer, and declined in winter. Pregnant females were captured from April to June, and lactating females in May and June. Echolocation calls were recorded throughout the year, but not every month in all habitats. Most activity was reported at water bodies and street lamps. Activity peaked in late spring and early autumn, and declined during winter period. Terminal buzzes were mainly detected at basins, peaking in late spring-early summer and early autumn. Our study provided further insights on the importance of water bodies which should draw particular attention in the management plan of the national park and in the whole country

DarkCideS 1.0, a global database for bats in karsts and caves.

Understanding biodiversity patterns as well as drivers of population declines, and range losses provides crucial baselines for monitoring and conservation. However, the information needed to evaluate such trends remains unstandardised and sparsely available for many taxonomic groups and habitats, including the cave-dwelling bats and cave ecosystems. We developed the DarkCideS 1.0 ( https://darkcides.org/ ), a global database of bat caves and species synthesised from publicly available information and datasets. The DarkCideS 1.0 is by far the largest database for cave-dwelling bats, which contains information for geographical location, ecological status, species traits, and parasites and hyperparasites for 679 bat species are known to occur in caves or use caves in part of their life histories. The database currently contains 6746 georeferenced occurrences for 402 cave-dwelling bat species from 2002 cave sites in 46 countries and 12 terrestrial biomes. The database has been developed to be collaborative and open-access, allowing continuous data-sharing among the community of bat researchers and conservation biologists to advance bat research and comparative monitoring and prioritisation for conservation