1,720,964 research outputs found

    The Adamello-Brenta Natural Park bat community (Mammalia, Chiroptera): distribution and population status

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    Bats were censused in the Adamello-Brenta Natural Park (Trentino, central Italian Alps) in May-September 1999 and 2000, by mist-netting and roost surveys. In all, 90 sites (19 caves, 50 buildings and 21 foraging sites), over an area of about 618 km2, were checked. The bat species distribution in both the Park and the surrounding areas was obtained by using field data, museum records and literature information. Atotal of 19 species was recorded: of these, one (Myotis bechsteinii) was known from a museum collection and 18 were recorded in the field (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, R. hipposideros, Myotis blythii, M. daubentonii, M. emarginatus, M. mystacinus, M. nattereri, Pipistrellus kuhlii, P. nathusii, P. pipistrellus, Nyctalus leisleri, Hypsugo savii, Eptesicus nilssonii, E. serotinus, Vespertilio murinus, Barbastella barbastellus, Plecotus alpinus, P. auritus). Local distribution, habitat use and body size parameters of the species were studied, and selection of roosts and foraging sites by the bat community was analysed with logistic regression. The conservation status of the bat community is also discussed. We document the third record of breeding by Pipistrellus nathusii and the fourth Eptesicus (Amblyotus) nilssonii nursery in Italy, as well as the first roosting sites of the recently described Plecotus alpinus

    First record of the alpine long-eared bat (Plecotus macrobullaris Kuzjakin, 1965) in Lombardy revealed by DNA analysis

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    Mitochondrial DNA sequencing of 63 samples of bats from the genus Plecotus, from Lombardy and Trentino Alto Adige, allowed us to determine for the first time the presence of the new species Plecotus macrobullaris Kuzjakin, 1965, in Lombardy. This taxon has been recently described, using genetic techniques, as a new species, also using tissue samples from individuals captured in Trento Province, that represented the first record in Italy. Recent taxonomic studies on the genus Plecotus have revealed the presence of four cryptic species in Italy: in addition to P. macrobullaris there are P. austriacus, P. auritus, P. sardus, the only endemic Italian bat species. Since no discriminant function based on morphometric parameters is currently available, only genetic techniques allow to discriminate exactly the different species. Mitochondrial DNA sequencing allowed us to assign 18 out of 33 bats (55%) of the genus Plecotus caught in Lombardy to P. macrobullaris, the others to P. auritus. Moreover, four reproductive roosts of P. alpinus were identified, all in buildings. The species was never found in caves, in contrast with P. auritus. The presence of this new species in Lombardy should activate large-scale monitoring to define species distribution and habitat preferences, finalised to define population status and conservation strategies
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