Nursery Roosts Used by Barbastelle Bats, Barbastella barbastellus (Schreber, 1774) (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in European Lowland Mixed Forest Transformed by Spruce Bark Beetle, Ips typographus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Abstract

Białowieża Primeval Forest (BPF, approx. 1700 km2) is an important forest area in Europe from the point of view of the protection of natural diversity. BPF is covered with old mixed tree stands of mostly natural origin. Norway spruce is a tree species in BPF and covers approx. 27% of its area. Between 2012 and 2017 a large outbreak of the bark beetle Ips typographus (Linnaeus, 1758) took place in the forest, which transformed the stands and left many dead standing trees. At that time salvage logging had begun but was stopped due to protests by scientists and activists and for legal reasons. As a result of research conducted using a radiotelemetry method in 2020, we found that the Western barbastelle bat Barbastella barbastellus (Schreber, 1774) chooses nursery roosts in dead Norway spruce trees, showing ecological plasticity by colonizing a newly available resource. Based on this, we found that the Western barbastelle has a preference for a type of roost rather than a tree species. Insect outbreaks in forests of primary, natural, or semi-natural origin are one of the natural factors that shape the habitat. Removal of dead standing trees disrupts these processes, and in this particular case results in the disappearance of a newly appeared ecological niche.