Three-dimensional stratification pattern in an old-growth lowland forest: How does height in canopy and season influence temperate bat activity?

ABSTRACT: The study of animal-habitat interactions is of primary importance for the formulation of conservation recommendations. Flying, gliding, and climbing animals have the ability to exploit their habitat in a three-dimensional way, and the vertical canopy structure in forests plays an essential role for habitat suitability. Forest bats as flying mammals may seasonally shift their microhabitat use due to differing energy demands or changing prey availability, but the patterns are not well understood. We investigated three-dimensional and seasonal habitat use by insectivorous bats in a temperate lowland old-growth forest, the Belovezhskaya Pushcha in Belarus. We acoustically sampled broadleaved and mixed coniferous plots in the forest interior and in gaps in three heights during two reprod

SUBMITTER: Erasmy M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8668798 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature