{"title":"Molecular dietary analysis reveals plasticity in habitat requirements of a clutter specialist bat","authors":"Miren Aldasoro , Oihane Diaz de Cerio , Danilo Russo , Nerea Vallejo , Lander Olasagasti , Urtzi Goiti , Joxerra Aihartza","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.03.002","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In recent decades, there has been significant progress in studying the foraging habitats of bats. However, these studies provide only a limited understanding of their requirements. Metabarcoding allows species-level identification of consumed prey, allowing us to determine their source habitats. In this study, we sampled faeces from three <em>Rhinolophus hipposideros</em> colonies in different climatic zones from spring to late August. Using metabarcoding, we examined how the lesser horseshoe bat diet changes over time and whether their most-consumed prey varies seasonally across landscapes. Our results show that bat diets change seasonally and differ between colonies, often presumably in response to new prey outbreaks. We deduced from the prey eaten by bats that they have varied habitat requirements. While woodland and shrubs are primary prey source habitats, bats also rely on other environments. We inferred that, in particular, open habitats are exploited more frequently than expected, indicating a high degree of plasticity in their trophic habitat needs. Therefore, protecting diverse, interconnected landscapes with varied prey is crucial for their conservation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"84 ","pages":"Pages 101-109"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Basic and Applied Ecology","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179125000234","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ECOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In recent decades, there has been significant progress in studying the foraging habitats of bats. However, these studies provide only a limited understanding of their requirements. Metabarcoding allows species-level identification of consumed prey, allowing us to determine their source habitats. In this study, we sampled faeces from three Rhinolophus hipposideros colonies in different climatic zones from spring to late August. Using metabarcoding, we examined how the lesser horseshoe bat diet changes over time and whether their most-consumed prey varies seasonally across landscapes. Our results show that bat diets change seasonally and differ between colonies, often presumably in response to new prey outbreaks. We deduced from the prey eaten by bats that they have varied habitat requirements. While woodland and shrubs are primary prey source habitats, bats also rely on other environments. We inferred that, in particular, open habitats are exploited more frequently than expected, indicating a high degree of plasticity in their trophic habitat needs. Therefore, protecting diverse, interconnected landscapes with varied prey is crucial for their conservation.
期刊介绍:
Basic and Applied Ecology provides a forum in which significant advances and ideas can be rapidly communicated to a wide audience. Basic and Applied Ecology publishes original contributions, perspectives and reviews from all areas of basic and applied ecology. Ecologists from all countries are invited to publish ecological research of international interest in its pages. There is no bias with regard to taxon or geographical area.