Can pinewoods provide habitat for a deciduous forest specialist? a two-scale approach to the habitat selection of Bechstein's bat

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Populations of Myotis bechsteinii in Sierra de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park (southwestern Spain) survive in a large, old-growth coniferous woodland, which is in contrast with known ecological preferences of the species. We tracked ten lactating females and studied patterns of habitat selection by Bechstein's bat (Myotis bechsteinii) at two spatial scales: macrohabitat and microhabitat, regarding forest essence (coniferous vs. deciduous). The tracked individuals always foraged within forested areas and did not use areas devoid of trees. At the macrohabitat level, no positive selection of deciduous stands was apparent, suggesting selection studies of coarse resolution may not be able to capture subtle selection patterns. At the microhabitat level Myotis bechsteinii selected deciduous patches within the coniferous matrix, therefore, our results corroborate the perception of this species as dependent of services provided by deciduous woodlands. Larger foraging home ranges and commuting distances as compared with other Mediterranean localities suggest that our studied population inhabits a marginal or suboptimal environment in terms of habitat quality. We argue that this population of Bechstein's bat has survived as a relict one probably as a consequence of fragmentation and transformation of deciduous forest ecosystems in the Mediterranean range.

Original languageEnglish
JournalMammalian Biology
Volume79
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)117-122
Number of pages6
ISSN1616-5047
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014
Externally publishedYes

    Research areas

  • Deciduous forest, Macrohabitat, Mediterranean, Microhabitat, Myotis bechsteinii

ID: 225602370