Nagy ZL and Postawa T (2011), Seasonal and geographical distribution of cave-...

ECB-ART-50158

Anim Conserv 2011 Feb 01;141:74-86. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-1795.2010.00392.x.

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Seasonal and geographical distribution of cave-dwelling bats in Romania: implications for conservation.

Nagy ZL , Postawa T .

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Caves offer bats refuges for hibernation, breeding and other social events. Their quality is important for species distribution. The role of cave microclimate as well as other environmental factors influencing the distribution of cave-dwelling species, is poorly known. We tested the significance of cave variables (length, temperature, elevation, occurrence of water) and geographical location for the presence of bats during hibernation and the breeding season in five regions in Romania. To detect species' environmental relationships, we used canonical correspondence analyses for winter bat aggregations and principal components analysis for maternity colonies. We analysed the factors influencing the distribution of bats by using two sets of explanatory variables reflecting cave characteristics and geographical locations. Winter aggregation was divided into three groups: (1) bat species that prefer high temperatures (Rhinolophus euryale, Myotis cappacinii) and hibernate at a low altitude; (2) species ranging from mid- to high elevation and low temperature (Myotis myotis/oxygnathus group); (3) species that hibernate in large, cold cave systems with a constant flow of the water (Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Nyctalus noctula, Barbastella barbastellus). Maternity colonies were divided into those that select either high (rhinolophids) or low temperatures (My. myotis/oxygnathus and Miniopterus schreibersii). The most important factors influencing the distribution of bats are the temperature in caves and their geographical location. This information was combined with IUCN's Red List data as well as with the number of individuals occurring in caves with the aim of identifying the key sites for conservation. The majority of these sites, which also constitute the refuges for vulnerable species, are located in west and south-western Romania. Seven caves provide shelter throughout the year for 122 000 individuals of 14 species.

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	Figure 1. Map of Romania with the location of caves; site numbers – corresponded to the caves list in Table 1. Open circle, Eastern Carpathians; closed circle, Apuseni Mountains; rhombus, Southern Carpathians; triangle, Banat Mountains; black circle, Dobrogea Plateau.
	Figure 2. The number of wintering bats (white bars) and reproductive colonies (grey bars) in the caves' surveyed regions: Apuseni Mts. (AM), Eastern Carpathians (EC), Banat Mts. (BM), Southern Carpathians (SC) and Dobrogea Plateau (DP). Calculations based on the maximum number of aggregations in the years 1995–2005.
	Figure 3. Canonical correspondence analysis of winter aggregations of bats. Species–environment correlations were r=0.839 (axis 1) and r=0.781 (axis 2). Ordination tri‐plot based on 31 caves (open circles), nine bats species (triangles) and 10 environmental factors (arrows): regions and cave parameters. Species: Reur, Rhinolophus euryale; Rfer, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum; Rhip, Rhinolophus hipposideros; Mcap, Myotis capaccinii; Mmbl, Myotis myotis/oxygnathus; Msch, Miniopterus schreibersii; Ppip, Pipistrellus pipistrellus s.l.; Nnoc, N. noctula; Bbar, B. barbastellus. Nine bat species account for 99.9% of all individuals. Other bat species: Rmeh, Rhinolophus mehelyi; Mdau, Myotis daubentonii; Mdas, Myotis dasycneme; Mmbr, Myotis mystacinus/brandtii; Mema, Myotis emarginatus; Mnat, Myotis nattereri; Mbec, Myotis bechsteinii; Eser, Eptesicus serotinus; Paur, Plecotus auritus; Paus, Plecotus austriacus; Vmur, Vespertilio murinus; account for about 0.1%. Caves: number corresponds with the number of the caves in Table 1; a, Apuseni Mountains; b,– Banat Mountains; d, Dobrogea Plateau; e, Eastern Carpathians; s, Southern Carpathians.
	Figure 4. Principal components analysis and species (maternity colonies) grouped in relation to caves. Rfer, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum; Rhip, Rhinolophus hipposideros; Rmeh, Rhinolophus mehelyi; Reur, Rhinolophus euryale; Msch, Miniopterus schreibersii; Mmbl, Myotis myotis/oxygnathus; Mcap, Myotis capaccinii.