Bat Community and Roost Site Selection of Tree-Dwelling Bats in a Well-Preserved European Lowland Forest

Worldwide species density of bats is highest in forests ecosystems. European primeval forests are now reduced to a few small and isolated patches because almost all forests are subject to management. Therefore, knowledge about bats in ancient and near-natural forests in Europe is scarce. In the well-preserved forest stands of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park in Belarus we studied the bat community (1), the presence of maternity colonies and their preference in tree roost selection (2) and parameters of roosts used by forest dwelling bats (3). By mist-netting surveys, we identified 13 bat species and acoustic data suggested the presence of another three species. We detected 15 maternity colonies of seven bat species by radio-tracking reproductive females and 40 tree roosts within the forest. Roosts of Barbastella barbastellus, Pipistrellus pygmaeus and Plecotus auritus were almost exclusively behind the loose tree bark of decaying trees, or within narrow crevices. Myotis nattereri and Nyctalus leisl...