Bat species richness and activity in Dghoumes National Park (Southwest Tunisia): a preliminary survey

Bat fauna in eight of the main habitat types of Dghoumes National Park was inventoried using mist-netting, acoustic detection and roost search. Bats were active at night and recorded near water bodies and street lamps. We recorded the echolocation calls of six bat species: Eptesicus isabellinus, Pipistrellus kuhlii, Vansonia rueppellii, Asellia tridens, Tadarida teniotis and Rhinopoma cystops. Two bat colonies containing 111 individuals of R. cystops were found roosting in Jebel Morra cave and 54 individuals of A. tridens were found roosting in the ceiling of the Ecomuseum. Due to potential disturbance by visitors to the museum, we suggest strengthening management practices to ensure the usage of this roosting site in order to promote the conservation of A. tridens. Data published through GBIF (Doi: 10.15470/0u03uz)

Bats of the El Kala Biosphere Reserve, northeastern Algeria (Chiroptera)

Twelve bats species representing four families (Rhinolophidae, Miniopteridae, Vespertilionidae, and Molossidae) were recorded in sites representing nine different habitats of the El Kala Biosphere Reserve and its vicinity in northeastern Algeria. Myotis emarginatus showed the highest frequency, it was found at five sites, Rhinolophus hipposideros, Eptesicus isabellinus and Miniopterus schreibersii at four sites, while Rhinolophus euryale, R. blasii, Myotis punicus, Pipistrellus kuhlii and Tadarida teniotis in three localities each. Species richness (total number of species within a site) ranged between 1 and 8 (mean 4.33). The annual activity pattern of all species was recorded by one netting session per month per locality in the course of two years.

Preferencia de hábitat del murciélago hortelano meridional Eptesicus isabellinus (Temminck, 1840) en ambientes mediterráneos semiáridos

Several molecular studies have recently reported the presence of a second species of the genus Eptesicus in the Iberian peninsula, the meridional serotine bat, E. isabellinus. This species is present in the south of Iberia and it seems to have an allopatric distribution with its twin species, E. serotinus. Ecological studies are now needed to understand the biology of E. isabellinus in southeast Spain. In this study, we used presence–only data for E. isabellinus to perform an ecological niche factor analysis (ENFA) and to create a habitat suitability map (HSM). Our results show that the species has a low marginality index, suggesting it is well adapted to the semiarid conditions of the study area. The main habitats used by E. isabellinus are water courses, scrublands, and zones with high primary productivity. The species avoids non–irrigated cropland and shows no preference for human settlements or irrigated cropland. This study provides information about the ecology of E. isabellinus in southeast Spain and allows us to discuss relevant aspects for its conservation.