Habitat preference and flight activity of bats in a city

Gaisler, J.; Zukal, Jan; Řehák, Zdeněk; Homolka, M.

doi:10.1017/s0952836998003148

Cited by 12 publications

(18 citation statements)

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“…Note that proportions may not sum to one L. borealis was omitted from the analysis, and that Epfu/Lano refers to the combined E. fuscus/ L. noctivagans bat category recent studies (Johnson et al 2008;Loeb et al 2009) combined acoustic and capture data, as recommended because of the different biases of each technique (Kunz et al 2009). Other studies (e.g., Gaisler et al 1998;Gehrt and Chelsvig 2003;Duchamp and Swihart 2008) used only one data source. Second, many studies (e.g., Geggie and Fenton 1985;Walsh and Harris 1996b;Avila-Flores and Fenton 2005) did not survey bats for long enough each night.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urbanization and the abundance and diversity of Prairie bats

Coleman

Barclay

2011

Urban Ecosyst

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The effects of urbanization on biodiversity are generally considered to be negative, but the potential for landscape context to modulate these effects has not been adequately examined because most urban ecology research has been conducted in one biome: the temperate forest. This bias also applies to studies of the urban ecology of bats, whose diversity is correlated with habitat heterogeneity. We investigated the hypothesis that in the fairly flat, homogeneous Prairies, urbanization, by creating structurally complex islands, benefits bats by increasing access to the vertical landscape elements (buildings and trees) in which they roost. From 2006 to 2008, we surveyed bat assemblages in and around Calgary, Alberta, using mist nets to capture them and bat detectors to record their echolocation activity. Our data supported the prediction that urbanization increases the abundance of Prairie bats, but not the prediction that it increases their diversity. Instead, the urban bat assemblage was less diverse, and exhibited decreased species evenness compared to non-urban assemblages. Although Myotis lucifugus dominated bat assemblages throughout our study area, this was most evident in the city, and this species drove the increased urban abundance of bats. Ultimately, we reject our hypothesis and conclude that urbanization in the Prairies may create attractive habitat for one synanthropic bat, but is detrimental to others.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urbanization and the abundance and diversity of Prairie bats

Coleman

Barclay

2011

Urban Ecosyst

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“…The Microchiroptera may be particularly sensitive to urbanisation because many species have narrow and specialised habitat requirements (Norberg, 1987;Fenton, 1990;Fullard et al, 1991). Indeed, bat communities in urban environments typically have lower species richness, abundance and activity levels than those in less disturbed habitats (Geggie and Fenton, 1985;Rydell et al, 1994;Walsh et al, 1995;Walsh and Harris, 1996;Vaughan et al, 1997;Gaisler et al, 1998). For example, in Brno, Czech Republic, the relative activity and species richness of bats was found to be lowest in the built up city centre, than the outer areas with lower housing density and more vegetation (Gaisler et al, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, bat communities in urban environments typically have lower species richness, abundance and activity levels than those in less disturbed habitats (Geggie and Fenton, 1985;Rydell et al, 1994;Walsh et al, 1995;Walsh and Harris, 1996;Vaughan et al, 1997;Gaisler et al, 1998). For example, in Brno, Czech Republic, the relative activity and species richness of bats was found to be lowest in the built up city centre, than the outer areas with lower housing density and more vegetation (Gaisler et al, 1998). Bat abundance and activity levels were also lower in intensively farmed land, urban parkland and grassland than in vegetation corridors, woodland and riparian habitats in Britain (Walsh et al, 1995;Walsh and Harris, 1996;Vaughan et al, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within urban areas vegetation complexity may have a strong influence on bat communities because bat abundance and activity levels are often highest in woodland habitats, riparian habitats, and vegetation corridors (Walsh et al, 1995;Walsh and Harris, 1996). Studies by Gaisler (1998) and Lesinski et al (2000) found that the amount of tree cover positively influenced overall patterns in the species richness of the bat community. Older residential areas often have greater vegetation complexity because they have larger and established gardens with trees compared with new residential areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The majority of studies have been conducted on temperate bat communities (Geggie and Fenton, 1985;Jones and Jayne, 1991;Walsh et al, 1995;Jones et al, 1996;Walsh and Harris, 1996;Gaisler et al, 1998;Lesinski et al, 2000;Legakis et al, 2000) and there are few studies from the tropics (Bredt and Uieda, 1996;Brosset et al, 1996, Kalko, 1998. Hence there is a clear need to develop an understanding of the influences urban areas have on structuring micro-bat communities in tropical areas, to help fill these gaps in our knowledge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The structure of a micro-bat community in relation to gradients of environmental variation in a tropical urban area

2006

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We investigated patterns of community structure (species composition, foraging activity, and nightly foraging patterns) of bats in relation to gradients of environmental variation in a tropical urban area. A total of 32 sites spread equally across eight habitat types were sampled in the city of Townsville, North Queensland, Australia. Each site was sampled on 3 non-consecutive occasions using automated AnaBat systems. Eleven species were confidently identified while a possible four more were identified only to the genus level. Ordination of environmental variables measured at these sites identified two distinct environmental gradients reflecting the degree of urbanisation and foliage density. With increasing urbanisation there was a decline in species richness and total foraging activity. We used regression trees to characterise foraging preferences of each species. This analysis suggested that only one species of Mormopterus was able to exploit the resources provided by urbanisation. This species foraged in areas with higher numbers of white streetlights. The remaining species of bats preferred to forage within close proximity to natural vegetation and with low numbers of streetlights. The density of vegetation in long-established suburbs did not substantially reverse the trend for urban areas to have fewer bat species than original habitats.

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