A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä

Contrasting Seasonal Distribution Patterns of Two Boreal Aerial Hawking Bat Species in Finland




TekijätLundberg, Piia; Kotila, Miika; Meramo, Katarina; Suominen, Kati M.; Suutari, Miina; Pietikäinen, Tia-Marie; Vasko, Ville; Lilley, Thomas M.

KustantajaWILEY

KustannuspaikkaHOBOKEN

Julkaisuvuosi2025

JournalEcology and Evolution

Tietokannassa oleva lehden nimiECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION

Lehden akronyymiECOL EVOL

Artikkelin numero e70599

Vuosikerta15

Numero1

Sivujen määrä12

ISSN2045-7758

eISSN2045-7758

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70599

Verkko-osoitehttps://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70599

Rinnakkaistallenteen osoitehttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/484747927


Tiivistelmä

Climate change poses significant consequences for temperate bat species, potentially altering their distribution ranges and generating novel interactions among species sharing similar ecological niches. Recent observations suggest distribution range expansion in the Palearctic aerial hawking bat, Pipistrellus nathusii, prompting an investigation into its interaction with Eptesicus nilssonii, a northern Palearctic species overlapping with the previous in many ecological characteristics. This study examines the spatiotemporal variations between the two boreal bat species to form an evidence-based background onto which future research on, e.g., resource competition, can be built. A comprehensive community science project engaged over 470 participants from 45 high schools to collect acoustic data on bat echolocation calls across Finland, in northern Europe, during the summers of 2019-2020. Our modelling approach reveals distinct spatiotemporal patterns for each species. In early summer, E. nilssonii activity is concentrated in the southern region, whereas by late summer, observations are distributed across our study area, though predominantly in the south. This pattern suggests that E. nilssonii could exhibit post-breeding vagrant behaviour, an observation only recently evidenced in bats. Conversely, the activity of P. nathusii remains notably low throughout the season, with observations concentrated along the south coast during both early and late seasons, making it challenging to fully model its distribution. Despite initial expectations of overlap given their similar foraging behaviour and habitat preferences, the limited activity and coastal association of P. nathusii suggest low competitive interaction with E. nilssonii. These findings contribute to our understanding of bat spatial ecology amid changing environmental conditions, emphasising the necessity for ongoing monitoring to ascertain the long-term implications of shifting species distributions.


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Julkaisussa olevat rahoitustiedot
We thank the the Research Council of Finland, Kone Foundation and Maj ja Tor Nessling Foundation for funding our research. We are also grateful to everyone who helped us in the acoustic data collection. Without the efforts of our citizen scientists, we would not have been able to collect such comprehensive data for analysis. We also thank Janne Lundberg for developing software for pre-programming the recording period for the AudioMoth devices and Melissa Meierhofer for commenting on the manuscript. In addition, we thank the Finnish Museum of Natural History and especially the ICT-team for their help in managing a large among of data and for setting up a site on the FinBIF portal for adding the locations of our study sites. No permits were needed to conduct this study.


Last updated on 2025-24-02 at 13:45