First record of a Nathusius’ pipistrelle (<i>Pipistrellus nathusii</i>) overwintering at a latitude above 60°N

Time and budgetary resources are often a limiting factor in the collection of large‐scale ecological data. If data collected by citizen scientists were comparable to data collected by researchers, it would allow for more efficient data collection over a broad geographic area. Here, we compare the quality of data on bat activity collected by citizens (high school students and teachers) and researchers. Both researchers and citizen scientists used the same comprehensive instructions when choosing study sites. We found no statistically significant difference in total bat activity minutes recorded by citizens and researchers. Instead, citizen scientists collected data from a wider variety of habitats than researchers. Involvement of citizens also increased the geographical coverage of data collection, resulting in the northernmost documentation of the Nathusius’s pipistrelle so far in Finland. Therefore, bat research can benefit from the use of citizen science when participants are given precise instructions and calibrated data collection equipment. Citizen science projects also have other far‐reaching benefits, increasing, for example, the scientific literacy and interest in natural sciences of citizens. Involving citizens in science projects also has the potential to enhance their willingness to conserve nature.

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“…2010, Blomberg et al. 2020), whereas the latter, although still abundant, has shown a sharp decline in population size (Rydell et al. 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2019, Blomberg et al. 2020). We hypothesized that given the equipment and precise instructions on how to select a study site, citizen scientists would be able to collect a comparable amount of bat activity minutes of each species as researchers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Next‐generation ultrasonic recorders facilitate effective bat activity and distribution monitoring by citizen scientists

et al. 2021

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“…Our study focused on two species of bats with differing population trajectories: the Nathusius's pipistrelle and the Northern bat. The former is a species that is rapidly expanding its range to the north in Europe (Lundy et al 2010, Blomberg et al 2020, whereas the latter, although still abundant, has shown a sharp decline in population size (Rydell et al 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both species are distinguishable from all other bat species using automated identification software with manual confirmation. Whereas the Northern bat is still rather common in Finland, the Nathusius's pipistrelle is poorly documented in Finland (Ijäs et al 2017, Tidenberg et al 2019, Blomberg et al 2020. We hypothesised that given the .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Next-generation ultrasonic recorders facilitate effective bat activity and distribution monitoring by citizen scientists

Lundberg

Meierhofer

Vasko

et al. 2021

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Time and budgetary resources are often a limiting factor in the collection of large-scale ecological data. If data collected by citizen scientists were comparable to data collected by researchers, it would allow for more efficient data collection over a broad geographic area. Here, we compare the quality of data on bat activity collected by citizens (high school students and teachers) and researchers. Both researchers and citizen scientists used the same comprehensive instructions when choosing study sites. We found no differences in total bat activity minutes recorded by citizens and researchers. Instead, citizen scientists collected data from a wider variety of habitats than researchers. Involvement of citizens also increased the geographical coverage of data collection, resulting in the northernmost documentation of the Nathusius pipistrelle so far in Finland. Therefore, bat research can benefit from the use of citizen science when participants are given precise instructions and calibrated data collection equipment. Citizen science projects also have other far-reaching benefits, increasing, for example, the scientific literacy and interest in natural sciences of citizens. Involving citizens in science projects also has the potential to enhance their willingness to conserve nature.

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“…Of the eight bat species known to overwinter in Finland (Siivonen and Wermundsen 2008;Wermundsen and Siivonen 2010;Blomberg et al 2020), five, including E. nilssonii, P. auritus, Myotis daubentonii, M. brandtii and M. mystacinus are considered common in South-Western Finland, where we conducted our study (Tidenberg et al 2019;Vasko et al 2020). To study the use of natural rock formations as hibernacula and factors affecting the winter activity of these boreal bats, we conducted acoustic monitoring of bat activity at locations we suspected were suitable hibernation sites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Winter activity of boreal bats

et al. 2021

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Natural hibernation sites used by bats in areas that lack cave features have long remained unresolved. To investigate hibernation site selection and winter activity of boreal bats, we recorded bat calls using passive acoustic monitoring at 16 sites in South-Western Finland. These sites included four rock outcrops with crevices and cave features, three glacial erratics or boulder fields, three ancient shores, three root cellars and three control sites where we did not expect bats to be overwintering. Our results revealed echolocation calls of Eptesicus nilssonii, Plecotus auritus and Myotis sp. We recorded significantly more activity near rock outcrops compared to other habitats, excluding root cellars. We also found that ambient temperature had a positive effect on bat activity and found evidence that P. auritus may be using low barometric pressure as a proxy for suitable foraging conditions during the winter. Our results suggest that rock outcrops may be more important to bats than previously acknowledged, highlighting the need to take these sites in account in planning of conservation measures. Furthermore, our findings underline the suitability of using acoustic monitoring in homing on hibernation sites that are not otherwise accessible.

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First record of a Nathusius’ pipistrelle (Pipistrellus nathusii) overwintering at a latitude above 60°N

Cited by 16 publications

References 43 publications

Next‐generation ultrasonic recorders facilitate effective bat activity and distribution monitoring by citizen scientists

Next‐generation ultrasonic recorders facilitate effective bat activity and distribution monitoring by citizen scientists

Next-generation ultrasonic recorders facilitate effective bat activity and distribution monitoring by citizen scientists

Winter activity of boreal bats

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