Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/32690
Appears in Collections:Biological and Environmental Sciences Journal Articles
Peer Review Status: Refereed
Title: Bat responses to changes in forest composition and prey abundance depend on landscape matrix and stand structure
Author(s): Froidevaux, Jeremy S P
Barbaro, Luc
Vinet, Olivier
Larrieu, Laurent
Bas, Yves
Molina, Jerome
Calatayud, Francois
Brin, Antoine
Keywords: Biodiversity
Forest ecology
Issue Date: 2021
Date Deposited: 11-Jun-2021
Citation: Froidevaux JSP, Barbaro L, Vinet O, Larrieu L, Bas Y, Molina J, Calatayud F & Brin A (2021) Bat responses to changes in forest composition and prey abundance depend on landscape matrix and stand structure. Scientific Reports, 11, Art. No.: 10586. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-89660-z
Abstract: Despite the key importance of the landscape matrix for bats, we still not fully understand how the effect of forest composition interacts at combined stand and landscape scales to shape bat communities. In addition, we lack detailed knowledge on the effects of local habitat structure on bat-prey relationships in forested landscapes. We tested the assumptions that (i) forest composition has interacting effects on bats between stand and landscape scales; and (ii) stand structure mediates prey abundance effects on bat activity. Our results indicated that in conifer-dominated landscapes (> 80% of coniferous forests) bat activity was higher in stands with a higher proportion of deciduous trees while bats were less active in stands with a higher proportion of deciduous trees in mixed forest landscapes (~ 50% of deciduous forests). Moth abundance was selected in the best models for six among nine bat species. The positive effect of moth abundance on Barbastella barbastellus was mediated by vegetation clutter, with dense understory cover likely reducing prey accessibility. Altogether, our findings deepen our understanding of the ecological processes affecting bats in forest landscapes and strengthen the need to consider both landscape context and trophic linkage when assessing the effects of stand-scale compositional and structural attributes on bats.
DOI Link: 10.1038/s41598-021-89660-z
Rights: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Licence URL(s): http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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