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We determined the characteristics of hibernation locations of the northern bat Eptesicus nilssonii, Brandt's bat Myotis brandtii/whiskered bat Myotis mystacinus, Daubenton's bat Myotis daubentonii and brown long-eared bat Plecotus auritus in southern Finland during the winters 2002-2003 to 2005-2006. All of the species had species-specific hibernat...
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The parti-coloured bat is a migratory species for which long-distance movements have been documented from North-eastern to Central Europe. Records in autumn and winter suggest that some populations in northern Europe may be sedentary. During the mating period, male parti-coloured bats can be observed in cities, emitting loud and audible advertiseme...
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... Barbastella barbastellus is frequently noted in places with air temperatures below 0 o C (Lesiński 1986, Urbańczyk 1991, Rydell & Bogdanowicz 1997. In addition, bats of the genus Plecotus are known to select relatively cool roosts for hibernation (Horáček 1975, Lesiński 1986, Siivonen & Wermundsen 2008. Upward trends observed in the last decades in central Europe (Horáček 2010, Uhrin et al. 2010, Lesiński et al. 2011, Spitzenberger & Engelberger 2013, Bator-Kocoł & Cichocki 2020 were confirmed in small underground roosts in the present study. ...
Results of a long-term study conducted in large bat hibernacula of central Europe showed upward trends in populations of many species over the last three decades. This study was aimed to check if similar changes in numbers could be observed in smaller underground winter roosts of bats. Surveys were made in three military shelters near Warsaw between 2000 and 2023 (once a year in February). These roosts hosted relatively small number of hibernating individuals (up to 38). Six bat species were recorded: Myotis nattereri, Myotis daubentonii, Eptesicus serotinus, Plecotus auritus, P. austriacus and Barbastella barbastellus. The species preferring cold sites for hibernation (P. auritus and B. barbastellus) predominated in the studied roosts, representing together over 86% of the recorded individuals. The numbers of the two most abundant species and of all bats showed statistically significant upward trends.
... The total number in the abundance analysis covered all alive bats. In order to determine the population dynamics, along with our data we used already published data, namely we took the number of M. dasycneme, M. daubentonii, M. brandtii/mystacinus, P. auritus from Strelkov (1958) for 1954-1955, from Chistyakov (2001) for 1997-1998, from Chistyakov & Nikulin (2010) for 1998-1999, 1999-2000and 2008, and from Kovalyov et al. (2014 for 2013-2014. ...
... In the Tanechkina Cave, nowadays we notice a population development of M. dasycneme, the most dramatic increase in the number of pond bats began to be observed within the fi rst decade of the 2000s. Before that, for nearly a 40-year period their abundance Strelkov (1958) for 1954-1955, from Chistyakov (2001) for 1997-1998, from Chistyakov & Nikulin (2010) for 1998-1999, 1999-2000and 2008, and from Kovalyov et al. (2014 for 2013-2014. was unknown and, starting from 1997, was slightly increasing (Fig. 11). ...
... was unknown and, starting from 1997, was slightly increasing (Fig. 11). Regarding the current number of M. dasycneme, the Tanechkina Cave today is a unique place with the largest hibernating colony of pond bats in the East of the Baltic region (Lutsar et al., 2000;Baranauskas, 2006a, b;Siivonen & Wermundsen, 2008;Masing et al., 2009;Wermundsen & Siivonen, 2010b;Belkin et al., 2013;Tidenberg et al., 2019). The other known large hibernacula of M. dasycneme were reported from the Smolinskaya Cave in the Ural Region with ca. ...
The paper presents the results of studies of bats hibernating in the Staroladozhskaya and Tanechkina caves in Leningrad Region, Russia. Species composition, abundance, peculiarities of bats’
spatial distribution, and microclimatic conditions in the caves were studied in 2003 and 2018–2022. Six species of bats were recorded: Myotis daubentonii, M. dasycneme, M.brandtii/mystacinus, M. nattereri, Plecotus auritus, and Eptesicus nilssonii. The most significant species diversity and abundance of bats were noted in the Tanechkina Cave, which is one of the longest in Leningrad Region. The number of hibernating
bats has increased nearly fi vefold since 2003, with circa 1900–2500 bats utilizing the cave presently. The composition of species abundance has changed over the years. In 2003, M. daubentonii and M. dasycneme predominated by number; whereas at the present, M. dasycneme comprises more than 70% of the total
number of bats. The data on changes in the spatial structure of one of the largest bat communities in Leningrad Region over the period of ten years are presented in our paper for the first time.
... In Fennoscandia, the northern bat exploits all areas below and, in some cases, above the treeline (Siivonen and Wermundsen 2008;Michaelsen et al. 2013;Tidenberg et al. 2019). In lowland areas of southern Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Latvia, the northern bat is one of the most abundant species, even though high altitude environments are not available (Masing 1983;Ahlén 2011;Tidenberg et al. 2019). ...
... Other bat species have been recorded from localities north of the Arctic Circle (Siivonen and Wermundsen 2008). However, the northern bat is the only bat species with records of breeding in the far North (Rydell et al. 1994). ...
... The northern bat utilizes a plethora of man-made over-wintering sites, such as mines (Rydell et al. 2019), cellars, and bunkers (Siivonen and Wermundsen 2008;Wermundsen and Siivonen 2010;Vintulis and Pētersons 2013;Rydell 1989), as well as natural formations such as caves (Lučan 2007), glacial erratics, bedrock crevices (Blomberg et al. 2021), rock scree (Michaelsen et al. 2013), and even ancient shores (photo 2), which are post-glacial formations consisting of rocks and pebbles left behind by retreating sea shore as a consequence of land rising, where observations have been made in early spring and late autumn in Finland (Fritzén and Hägg 2020) (Fig. 3). ...
... Yarasaların mağara seçimini etkileyen faktörlerden sıcaklık, nem ve rakım tercihlerinin tür içinde ve türler arasında değişiklik gösterdiği bilinmektedir (Gaisler 1970, Avila-Flores and Medellin 2004, Siivonen and Wermundsen 2008, Nagy and Postawa 2010. ...
Caves are one of the most important roosting sites of members of the Chiroptera order. The caves preferred by bats in each biological period may vary. This is due to the physical characteristics of the cave, the structure of the cave environment, and the individual and seasonal needs of the bats. It is known that Rhinolophus mehelyi, Myotis myotis, Myotis blythii and Miniopterus schreibersii species use the Lömbürdekini Cave. This study aimed to determine the cave’s seasonal bat activity and abiotic conditions. For this purpose, periodic surveys were conducted in the cave between April 2022 and September 2023. Six different station areas were identified in the cave. Temperature, humidity, CO2, H2S, CO, O2 levels and bat activity were investigated at these stations. The relationship between the parameters measured inside the cave and the variability in bat activity was tested with statistically appropriate tests. Temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide values inside the cave were compared with those outside. Although cave ecosystems are thought to offer stable conditions, the findings of this study suggest that Lömbürdekini Cave may have a low degree of isolation from the external environment for some parameters and relatively stable conditions for others. The cave is used by 82% of the bats during pregnancy and maternity periods, 16% during mating and 2% during hibernation. The most common species recorded in the cave was Myotis myotis/blythii; the least common species was Rhinolophus mehelyi. As seen in this study, measurements taken throughout the year and bat activity in the cave can vary. Recognizing the species and habitat is of great importance in conservation biology studies. In this thesis, the importance of year-round studies to protect cave ecosystems and cave bats is emphasized.
... Available foraging time for nocturnal animals in northern summers is also restricted by day length as the sun never sets above the Arctic circle (>66°N), and night length and level of darkness decrease gradually with increasing latitude. Thus, the ability of bats to forage can be limited to as little as 2 h per night (Frafjord, 2021), although topography (Siivonen and Wermundsen, 2008;Michaelsen et al., 2011) and cluttered habitat (Michaelsen et al., 2018) may allow for extended foraging opportunities. As the hibernation season can last for up to 9.5 months at the northern extreme (Frafjord, 2021;Hranac et al., 2021), female bats at northern latitudes will have little time to prepare for their reproductive period after emerging from hibernation, and may thus start fetal development with low available energy reserves. ...
... With maternity colonies stretching as far north as 69°N, the northern bat (Eptesicus nilssonii) is the bat species that is reproductively active at the highest latitude globally (Speakman et al., 2000;Frafjord, 2013a;López-Baucells and Burgin, 2019). As an aerial-hawking predator (Rydell, 1993), E. nilssonii forages frequently in open areas related to water ( de Jong, 1994;Siivonen and Wermundsen, 2008), and often utilizes street lamps which attract insects (Rydell, 1992;Rydell et al., 2020). To date, most research studying the biology of E. nilssonii has been limited to circadian rhythm and habitat use (Rydell, 1992(Rydell, , 1993de Jong, 1994;Speakman et al., 2000;Frafjord, 2013aFrafjord, ,b, 2021Michaelsen, 2016Michaelsen, , 2017Rydell et al., 2020;Smirnov et al., 2020Smirnov et al., , 2021Vasko et al., 2020;Blomberg et al., 2021). ...
Insectivorous bats at northern latitudes need to cope with long periods of no food for large parts of the year. Hence, bats which are resident at northern latitudes throughout the year will need to undergo a long hibernation season and a short reproductive season where foraging time is limited by extended daylight periods. Eptesicus nilssonii is the northernmost occurring bat species worldwide and hibernates locally when ambient temperatures (Ta) limit prey availability. Therefore, we investigated the energy spent maintaining normothermy at different Tas, as well as how much bats limit energy expenditure while in torpor. We found that, despite being exposed to Ta as low as 1.1°C, bats did not increase torpid metabolic rate, thus indicating that E. nilssonii can survive and hibernate at low ambient temperatures. Furthermore, we found a lower critical temperature (Tlc) of 27.8°C, which is lower than in most other vespertilionid bats, and we found no indication of any metabolic response to Tas up to 37.1°C. Interestingly, carbon dioxide production increased with increasing Ta above the Tlc, presumably caused by a release of retained CO2 in bats that remained in torpor for longer and aroused at Ta above the Tlc. Our results indicate that E. nilssonii can thermoconform at near-freezing Ta, and hence maintain longer torpor bouts with limited energy expenditure, yet also cope with high Tawhen sun-exposed in roosts during long summer days. These physiological traits will likely enable the species to cope with ongoing and predicted climate change.
... Northern bats are adapted to short, light, cool summer nights and long, cold winters: they are relatively light tolerant (Rydell, 1993). Juvenile bats undertake their first outdoor flights only two weeks after birth (Rydell, 1992;Rydell, 1993), and animals of both sexes make extensive use of torpor in the active season (Fjelldal et al., 2023;Rydell, 1993;Siivonen & Wermundsen, 2008). During winter they express longer average bouts of torpor than other species (Solomonov et al., 2010), are found just above or sometimes even below freezing temperatures (Masing & Lutsar, 2007;Siivonen & Wermundsen, 2008;Wermundsen & Siivonen, 2010) and have, inter alia, a relatively high peripheral lymphocyte count and a high vitamin E content in the liver (Ilyukha et al., 2015). ...
... Juvenile bats undertake their first outdoor flights only two weeks after birth (Rydell, 1992;Rydell, 1993), and animals of both sexes make extensive use of torpor in the active season (Fjelldal et al., 2023;Rydell, 1993;Siivonen & Wermundsen, 2008). During winter they express longer average bouts of torpor than other species (Solomonov et al., 2010), are found just above or sometimes even below freezing temperatures (Masing & Lutsar, 2007;Siivonen & Wermundsen, 2008;Wermundsen & Siivonen, 2010) and have, inter alia, a relatively high peripheral lymphocyte count and a high vitamin E content in the liver (Ilyukha et al., 2015). ...
We present a genome assembly from an individual Eptesicus nilssonii (the northern bat; Chordata; Mammalia; Chiroptera; Vespertilionidae), derived from the placental tissue of a pregnancy that resulted a male pup. The genome sequence is 2,064.1 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 26 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the X and Y sex chromosomes. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 17.04 kilobases in length.
... For example, in temperate regions, bats utilize caves for breeding (Kunz, 1973;Mann, 1999;Mann et al., 2002), while in the boreal region caves are often too cold for reproduction but are used for swarming and hibernation during the wintertime (Randall and Broders, 2014). However, in Fennoscandia caves are rare, and bats use other natural formations such as rock screes (Michaelsen et al., 2013), ancient shores, rock outcrops, glacial erratic formations (Blomberg et al., 2021), and have also taken advantage of human modified structures, such as mines (Rydell et al., 2018), that provide relatively steady temperature and humidity for hibernating bats (Masing and Lutsar, 2007;Siivonen and Wermundsen, 2008;Belkin et al., 2015). Some species however, such as Nathusius' pipistrelle (Pipistrellus nathusii) and particoloured bat (Vespertilio murinus), migrate to Central Europe (Hutterer et al., 2005), because they prefer to hibernate in above ground sites that are too cold at northerly latitudes. ...
Bats and their reproductive roost sites are strictly protected by legislation in Europe. Although knowledge on foraging habitats of boreal bats has increased vastly over the last decades, little is known on how habitat surrounding the roosts influences the selection of roost sites. We combined citizen science and molecular methods to determine the most critical environmental features within different radiuses around roost sites of bats inhabiting human settlements at the northernmost edge of their distribution range in Finland. We compared six different land-use types around the roost sites to randomly selected points for each species to determine at which radiuses around the roost are land-use types most critical. We found that for the northern bat (Eptesicus nilssonii), built environment, open areas, and water within the 200 m radius were the most important in roost site selection. The Brandt’s myotis (Myotis brandtii) favored roost sites in landscape not affected by human disturbance within 5 km radius. Based on our results, the surrounding habitat around a roost plays a vital role for bat species, and it should be protected along with the roost and considered in land-use planning. Furthermore, species-specific variation in roost site selection should be considered in conservation planning.
... It reflects a lack of interest and incentives on wind power and bats from research, planners and authorities, and consequently a lack of means. First of all, we are lacking basic knowledge on bats in Finland about their distribution (Kotila et al., 2023;Tidenberg et al., 2019), but also their preferences in terms of roosting (Siivonen & Wermundsen, 2008b), commuting, foraging (Vasko et al., 2020), diet (Vesterinen et al., 2018). Most of all, we do not know much about migratory bats and the flyways that exist in the country. ...
Human activities can negatively impact biodiversity, including bats, leading to excessive mortality, population declines and potentially species extinction. Amongst these threats, wind power and light pollution are both known to affect bats when foraging, commuting, or roosting.
This can have consequences on species presence at a local scale, but when cumulative impacts from all wind turbines and artificial lighting sources, consequences are greater on species’ survival.
As the dominating boreal forest is of great importance for Finnish bats, especially during the summer and its permanent twilight, I investigated how wind turbines and artificial lighting could affect the presence and activity of bats in this habitat. This choice was motivated by the vast proportion of wind turbines being built there at the moment, and the general increase in the use of artificial lighting at night. The final reason is that there is no data on the impacts of artificial lighting and wind power on bats in the country.
I monitored bat acoustic activity at several wind farms located in forest and observed that the presence of bats increased when getting away from wind turbines, for both Eptesicus nilssonii and Myotis spp. The range of this repelling effect was estimated at 800 m for the former species, and more than 1,000 m for the latter. This avoidance of wind turbines and their surroundings could mean a loss of commuting and foraging habitats for bats. The reasons behind this phenomenon are not understood but could be explained by the changes in landscape consequent
of the construction of turbines in the forest, or the consequences of these changes on insects.
Regarding light pollution, I set up flood lights in the forest and recorded bat activity to assess the effect on E. nilssonii and Myotis spp. The response of the latter was negative towards flood lights, with significantly lower presence at lit sites than dark sites. The observed response of E. nilssonii was also negative, but not significantly, and could be explained by the absence of UV emission by the flood lights, that would fail to attract insects.
In this thesis, I showed that wind power and light pollution have negative impacts on the presence of bats in Finland. At a local scale, the existence of wind turbines or artificial lighting will shape the presence of E. nilssonii and Myotis spp. When looking at the cumulative impacts of all wind turbines and artificial lighting in Finland, but also other sources of disturbance such as roads or power lines, we could see a considerable part of the country’s total area being affected, i.e., being avoided by bats. Therefore, I recommend better consideration of bats in wind power projects and in the use of artificial lighting. More globally, I recommend that the actual impacts of wind power on bats – including fatalities - in the country to be assessed, and the use of artificial lighting to be reevaluated, as renewable energy and energy sobriety are both key components for our transition to sustainability.
... According to the observations in northwestern Russia, five resident vespertilionid bat species (Vespertilionidae) hibernate in natural and man made roosts: Eptesicus nilssonii (Keyserling & Bla sius, 1839), Plecotus auritus (L., 1758), Myotis brandtii (Eversmann, 1845), M. daubentonii (Kuhl, 1817) and М. mystacinus (Kuhl, 1817) [11]. Eptesicus nilssonii, a typical cave roosting species in winter, is one of the most known bat species in the underground roosts (caves and mines) of northwestern Russia [11][12][13]. The hibernation period of E. nilssonii can last more than seven months [13]. ...
... The only species recorded at Lake Paanajarvi itself was N. noctula. The Paanajarvi NP may also harbour Myotis daubentonii reported by Finnish researchers (Siivonen & Wermundsen, 2008) from the mouth of the River Oulankajoki into Lake Paanajarvi in Finland. According to Strelkov (1997a,b), the limit of the breeding range in Northwest Russia lies at 60° N for Nyctalus noctula, and even slightly farther north for Vespertilio murinus. ...
The overall bat (Chiroptera) fauna of Protected Areas in the forest zone of European Russia has not yet been assessed, although papers on some Protected Areas are being published quite regularly. Along its north-to-south gradient, this extensive area spans a great variety of habitats suitable for bat populations with vastly diverse compositions. In our review of bat species, we focused on eight Protected Areas in the northern and middle taiga, as well as on a comparative summary of the faunal data for the forest zone of European Russia in general. Surveys using a bat detector and by mist-netting resulted in identification of the species composition, relative abundance, relative density and spatial distribution of bats in Protected Areas. The following nine bat species were recorded: Myotis nattereri, M. mystacinus, M. brandtii, M. daubentonii, M. dasycneme, Plecotus auritus, Nyctalus noctula, Eptesicus nilssonii, Vespertilio murinus. We regularly recorded ultrasonic signals from Plecotus auritus, Nyctalus noctula and Vespertilio murinus up to 66° N, which is much farther north that the species ranges indicated on IUCN maps. This result came as a surprise, considering there had been no specialised censuses in the Republic of Karelia or the Arkhangelsk region for decades. In Protected Areas, bat communities were dominated by Eptesicus nilssonii, which is specific to the northern taiga and middle taiga subzones. We discuss some ecological preferences of this species, such as a relatively higher tolerance of E. nilssonii towards temperature, but not towards air humidity in winter roosts, which may help it to thrive at high latitudes. At the same time, E. nilssonii is either missing from more southern parts of the forest zone or its relative abundance there is lower, while the dominant faunal elements are Myotis daubentonii (Darwin State Nature Reserve), Nyctalus noctula (Smolenskoye Poozerye National Park, Oksky State Nature Reserve, Bryansky Les State Nature Reserve) and Pipistrellus nathusii (Prioksko-Terrasny State Nature Reserve). Additionally, bat captures by using mist nets in the Vodlozersky National Park revealed the northernmost records of Myotis mystacinus in European Russia (62.224867° N, 37.081629° E and 62.466342° N, 36.673240° E). Finally, we argue that recent bat records demand a revision of the status of bats in regional Red Data Books.
