Swarming of bats at underground sites in Britain—implications for conservation

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Hauptverfasser: Parsons, Katharine N, Jones, Gareth, Davidson-Watts, Ian, Greenaway, Frank
Format: Recurso digital
Veröffentlicht: Zenodo 2003
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author Parsons, Katharine N
Jones, Gareth
Davidson-Watts, Ian
Greenaway, Frank
author_facet Parsons, Katharine N
Jones, Gareth
Davidson-Watts, Ian
Greenaway, Frank
contents (Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) We investigated the extent of visitation of underground sites during late summer and autumn ('swarming') by bats. Bats were captured at eight cave, mine and tunnel sites in southern England over 6 years (1995–2000). A total of 3077 bats representing 11 of Britain's 16 species was caught. Myotis bats predominated in autumn. At some sites these are rarely seen during winter hibernation counts. Myotis nattereri and M. daubentonii were most common. However, species composition changed seasonally. At one site, M. brandtii dominated early in the season and at all sites peak activity of M. daubentonii was earlier than in M. nattereri. Relatively high numbers of internationally vulnerable species such as M. bechsteinii and Barbastella barbastellus were recorded. There was a strong male bias in captures of swarming species. Swarming probably has an important reproductive function, most males are reproductively active at this time and such sites may be important for outbreeding. Due to this and the large number of individuals and species concerned, the conservation of 'swarming sites' is vitally important. Clearly swarming sites merit special consideration in conservation management strategies for cave-dwelling bats.
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publishDate 2003
publisher Zenodo
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spellingShingle Swarming of bats at underground sites in Britain—implications for conservation
Parsons, Katharine N
Jones, Gareth
Davidson-Watts, Ian
Greenaway, Frank
Biodiversity
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Chordata
Animalia
bats
bat
(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) We investigated the extent of visitation of underground sites during late summer and autumn ('swarming') by bats. Bats were captured at eight cave, mine and tunnel sites in southern England over 6 years (1995–2000). A total of 3077 bats representing 11 of Britain's 16 species was caught. Myotis bats predominated in autumn. At some sites these are rarely seen during winter hibernation counts. Myotis nattereri and M. daubentonii were most common. However, species composition changed seasonally. At one site, M. brandtii dominated early in the season and at all sites peak activity of M. daubentonii was earlier than in M. nattereri. Relatively high numbers of internationally vulnerable species such as M. bechsteinii and Barbastella barbastellus were recorded. There was a strong male bias in captures of swarming species. Swarming probably has an important reproductive function, most males are reproductively active at this time and such sites may be important for outbreeding. Due to this and the large number of individuals and species concerned, the conservation of 'swarming sites' is vitally important. Clearly swarming sites merit special consideration in conservation management strategies for cave-dwelling bats.
title Swarming of bats at underground sites in Britain—implications for conservation
topic Biodiversity
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Chordata
Animalia
bats
bat
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13437093