TY - JOUR A1 - Heim, Olga A1 - Lenski, Johannes A1 - Schulze, Jelena A1 - Jung, Kirsten A1 - Kramer-Schadt, Stephanie A1 - Eccard, Jana A1 - Voigt, Christian C. T1 - The relevance of vegetation structures and small water bodies for bats foraging above farmland JF - Basic and applied ecology : Journal of the Gesellschaft für Ökologie N2 - Bats are known to forage and commute close to vegetation structures when moving across the agricultural matrix, but the role of isolated landscape elements in arable fields for bat activity is unknown. Therefore, we investigated the influence of small isolated ponds which lie within arable fields close to vegetation structures on the flight and foraging activity of bats. Additionally, we compared species-specific activity measures between forest edges and linear structures such as hedgerows. We repeatedly recorded bat activity using passive acoustic monitoring along 20 transects extending from the vegetation edge up to 200 m into the arable field (hereafter: edge-field interface) with a small pond present at five transects per edge type (linear vs. forest). Using generalized linear mixed effect models, we analyzed the effects of edge type, pond presence and the season on species-specific flight and foraging activity within the edge-field interface. We found a higher flight activity of Nyctalus noctula and Pipistrellus pygmaeus above the arable field when a pond was present. Furthermore, Pipistrellus nathusii and Pipistrellus pipistrellus foraged more frequently at forest edges than at linear structures (e.g. hedgerows). Additionally, we found three major patterns of seasonal variation in the activity of bats along the edge-field interface. This study highlights the species-specific and dynamic use of forest and hedgerow or tree line edges by bats and their importance for different bat species in the agricultural landscape. Further, additional landscape elements such as small isolated ponds within arable fields might support the activity of bats above the open agricultural landscape, thereby facilitating agroecosystem functioning. Therefore, additional landscape elements within managed areas should be restored and protected against the conversion into arable land and better linked to surrounding landscape elements in order to efficiently support bats within the agroecosystem. KW - Hedgerow KW - Forest edge KW - Pond KW - European bats KW - Agricultural landscape KW - Wind turbines Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2017.12.001 SN - 1439-1791 SN - 1618-0089 VL - 27 SP - 9 EP - 19 PB - Elsevier GMBH CY - München ER - TY - GEN A1 - Heim, Olga A1 - Lorenz, Lukas A1 - Kramer-Schadt, Stephanie A1 - Jung, Kirsten A1 - Voigt, Christian C. A1 - Eccard, Jana T1 - Landscape and scale-dependent spatial niches of bats foraging above intensively used arable fields T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Introduction Bats are threatened by agricultural intensification, and although bat ecology in agricultural landscapes is in the focus of current research, the effects of interacting spatiotemporal factors on species-specific bat activity above farmland remain understudied. Our aim was to identify spatiotemporal factors and their interactions relevant for the activity of bat species above conventionally managed arable fields. Methods We repeatedly monitored relative bat activity above open arable fields in Germany using acoustic monitoring. We used site-related biotic and abiotic factors and landscape characteristics across five spatial scales, their combinations, and interactions to identify those factors which best explain variation in bat activity. Results Numerous interactions between landscape characteristics and the insect abundance affected bat activity above fields. For instance, Pipistrellus pipistrellus became more active with increasing insect abundance, but only above fields with a low proportion of woody vegetation cover in the surroundings. Additionally, the level of bat activity in summer depended on landscape characteristics. For example, the activity of Pipistrellus nathusii was relatively low in summer above fields that were surrounded by vegetation patches with a high degree of edge complexity (e.g., hedgerow). However, the activity remained at a relatively high level and did not differ between seasons above fields that were surrounded by vegetation patches with a low degree of edge complexity (e.g., roundly shaped forest patch). Conclusions Our results revealed that landscape characteristics and their interactions with insect abundance affected bat activity above conventionally managed fields and highlighted the opportunistic foraging behavior of bats. To improve the conditions for bats in agricultural landscapes, we recommend re-establishing landscape heterogeneity to protect aquatic habitats and to increase arthropod availability. KW - AgroScapeLabs KW - european bat species KW - agriculture KW - landscape KW - multi-scale habitat modeling KW - ecosystem service KW - conservation Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-428166 IS - 826 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Voigt, Christian C. A1 - Roeleke, Manuel A1 - Marggraf, Lara A1 - Petersons, Gunars A1 - Voigt-Heucke, Silke L. T1 - Migratory bats respond to artificial green light with positive phototaxis JF - PLoS one Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177748 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 12 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER -