On the Presence of Pipistrelle Bats (PipistrellusandHypsugo; Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in Sardinia

Islands are biodiversity hotspots, often containing numerous endemic species. This makes them also hotspots for conservation. Within the Mediterranean region, Sardinia is known for its comparatively high degree of endemism, including cryptic diversity. In this paper we aim to elucidate the variability of pipistrelles (Pipistrellus and Hypsugo) on Sardinia. More specifically, we ask which species occur on Sardinia and we describe the geographic affiliations of these evolutionary lineages. We sequenced ca. 560 bp of the 16S rRNA gene from 36 pipistrelle specimens representing 17 localities from all major parts of Sardinia. For comparison we added samples from the entire Mediterranean region a…

Genetic cohesion of Eresus walckenaeri (Araneae, Eresidae) in the eastern Mediterranean

The eresid spider genus Eresus is morphologically and ecologically conservative. At least three species occur in Europe. However, deep genetic divergence among geographical samples within two species, E. cinnaberinus and E. sandaliatus, may suggest more cryptic species. In the present study we investigate the genetic cohesion of the third species, Eresus walckenaeri, throughout its eastern Mediterranean distribution range, relative to the E. cinnaberinus–E. sandaliatus species complex. Eresus walckenaeri specimens were monophyletic. Genetic discreteness of E. walckenaeri in a region of sympatry with its sister species in Greece provides evidence for species integrity of E. walckenaeri withi…

The role of swarming sites for maintaining gene flow in the brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus)

Bat-swarming sites where thousands of individuals meet in late summer were recently proposed as 'hot spots' for gene flow among populations. If, due to female philopatry, nursery colonies are genetically differentiated, and if males and females of different colonies meet at swarming sites, then we would expect lower differentiation of maternally inherited genetic markers among swarming sites and higher genetic diversity within. To test these predictions, we compared genetic variance from three swarming sites to 14 nursery colonies. We analysed biparentally (five nuclear and one sex-linked microsatellite loci) and maternally (mitochondrial D-loop, 550 bp) inherited molecular markers. Three m…

Echolocation signals of the plecotine bat, Plecotus macrobullaris Kuzyakin, 1965

Plecotus macrobullaris was recorded in an alpine region in Switzerland. Like other species of the genus Plecotus, P. macrobullaris emitted multiharmonic, downward frequency-modulated signals consisting mostly of the 1st and the lower part of the 2nd harmonic. Signal structure depended on the distance to the background. The shortest signals (0.8 ms) were recorded close to the background. The first harmonic began at about 46 kHz and ended around 23 kHz. Signals were emitted in groups. The longest signals (up to 7.3 ms) were recorded above a meadow, far from background targets. These signals, which were more shallowly modulated, started at about 42 kHz and ended around 15 kHz. They occasionall…

Interannual Fidelity to Roosting Habitat and Flight Paths by Female Western Barbastelle Bats

The roost area selection of reproductive female western barbastelles was examined throughout four study seasons (2004–2007) via radio-tracking and automated acoustic monitoring. We specifically analysed the spatial structure of the roosting habitat and roost fidelity including a flight path connecting the roosts. We radio-tracked 13 colony members to 46 natural roosts, mainly dead oaks with large pieces of loose bark. Simultaneous tracking of four pairs of females revealed the existence of subgroups and fission-fusion-behaviour in Barbastella barbastellus. The colony displayed fidelity to the roost area rather than to single roost trees, although some trees were reused in two or three study…

Multiple morphological characters needed for field identification of cryptic long‐eared bat species around the Swiss Alps

The identification of cryptic species may significantly change our view about their distribution, abundance, ecology and therefore conservation status. In the European Alps, molecular studies have revealed the existence of three sibling species of plecotine bats Plecotus auritus, Plecotus austriacus and, very recently, Plecotus macrobullaris. Knowledge of the ecological niche partitioning of cryptic species is a requisite to develop sound conservation policies. Yet, this requests the development of unambiguous identification methods easily applicable in the field. This study investigates the reliability of several morphological methods used for species recognition and proposes a new identif…

Sex-Specific Habitat Selection in an Edge Habitat Specialist, the Western Barbastelle Bat

The niche variation hypothesis suggests that a population's ability to react to varying environmental conditions depend on the behavioural variability of its members. However, most studies on bats, including the work on the habitat use of the western barbastelle bat, Barbastella barbastellus, have not considered sex-specific and individual variability. We studied the habitat use of 12 female and five male western barbastelle bats within their home ranges with respect to available habitat types by applying kernel methods and Euclidean distances. Our results indicate individual habitat preferences within and among sexes of this species. Females preferred deciduous forest and linear elements w…

The lack of obvious morphological differences between species impedes the identification of species in many groups of organisms. Meanwhile, DNA-based approaches are increasingly used to survey biological diversity. In this study we show that sequencing the mitochondrial protein-coding gene NADH dehydrogenase, subunit 1 (nd1) from 534 bats of the Western Palaearctic region corroborates the promise of DNA barcodes in two major respects. First, species described with classical taxonomic tools can be genetically identified with only a few exceptions. Second, substantial sequence divergence suggests an unexpected high number of undiscovered species.

Cracking the nut: Geographical adjacency of sister taxa supports vicariance in a polytomic salamander clade in the absence of node support

The urodelan genus Lyciasalamandra, which inhabits a relatively small area along the southern Turkish coast and some Aegean islands, provides an outstanding example of a diverse but phylogenetically unresolved taxon. Molecular trees contain a single basal polytomy that could be either soft or hard. We here use the information of nuclear (allozymes) and mitochondrial (fractions of the 16S rRNA and ATPase genes) datasets in combination with area relationships of lineages to resolve the phylogenetic relationships among Lyciasalamandra species in the absence of sufficient node support. We can show that neither random processes nor introgressive hybridization can be invoked to explain that the m…

A New species of long-eared bat (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) from Sardinia (Italy)

We describe a new species of long eared bat, genus Plecotus, from the island of Sardinia (Italy). The new species is clearly distinguishable from other European Plecotus species by its mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene (4.1–9.6 % sequence divergence) as well as by a unique combination of morphological characters such as brownish colour of dorsal pelage, a relatively large thumb and thumb claw, an almost cylindrical form of the penis and the characteristic shape of the baculum. The most important morphological diagnostic characters is a relatively long (≥18mm) and wide (≥6mm) tragus. The new species is currently known from three localities on Sardinia. In addition to the new species we discovered …

The genus Troglophilus Krauss, 1879 (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae) in the west Balkans

We present a revision of the genus Troglophilus in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula based on morphological and genetic analysis, and provide distribution data for the species. The results of these analyses reduced the number of the known taxa within the genus Troglophilus in this area to five valid species: Troglophilus cavicola (Kollar, 1833), Troglophilus neglectusKrauss, 1879, Troglophilus ovuliformisKarny, 1907, Troglophilus brevicauda Chopard, 1934, and Troglophilus lazaropolensis Karaman, 1958. A new species Troglophilus zorae sp. nov. is described and Troglophilus neglectus serbicus Maran, 1958, Troglophilus neglectus vlasinensis Maran, 1958, Troglophilus bukoviki Karaman, 19…

Foraging site fidelity shapes the spatial organisation of a population of female western barbastelle bats

Abstract Information about the spatial distribution of individual foraging habitats, which determines the space required by a population to be viable, is vitally important for the conservation of bats. Detailed knowledge of this kind is crucial for the design of nature reserves and management plans. Recent field studies that examined habitat use and home range distribution of bats largely ignored factors like traditional range use vs. intra- and interspecific competition, which may be responsible for the spatial organisation of a population home range. We investigated the home range sizes and distribution of a maternity colony of the western barbastelle bat via radio telemetry in four conse…

Distortion of symmetrical introgression in a hybrid zone: evidence for locus-specific selection and uni-directional range expansion

The fate of species integrity upon natural hybridization depends on the interaction between selection and dispersal. The relative significance of these processes may be studied in the initial phase of contact before selection and gene flow reach equilibrium. Here we study a hybrid zone of two salamander species, Lyciasalamandra antalyana and Lyciasalamandra billae, at the initial phase of hybridization. We quantify the degree and mode of introgression using nuclear and mtDNA markers. The hybrid zone can be characterized as an abrupt transition zone, the central hybrid zone being only c. 400 m, but introgressed genes were traced up to 3 km. Introgression was traced in both sexes but gene flo…

Cryptic Diversity in Mongolian Vespertilionid Bats (Vespertilionidae, Chiroptera, Mammalia). Results of the Mongolian-German Biological Expeditions Since 1962, No. 299

In contrast to the Eastern Palaearctic region a high degree of cryptic diversity was discovered among temperate bats of the Western Palaearctic region in the last ten years. Climatic oscillations caused severe changes in the distribution of species throughout the Palaearctic region during the Pleistocene. Exploring multiple taxa can help to understand general evolutionary differentiation processes. In the present study genetic variation within and among 94 Mongolian vespertilionid bats of six genera (Hypsugo, Eptesicus, Vespertilio, Myotis, Plecotus, and Nyctalus) was screened by sequencing a 798 bp fragment of the mitochondrial ND1 gene and then subsequently compared with those of Western …

Conflicting molecular phylogenies of European long-eared bats (Plecotus) can be explained by cryptic diversity

Abstract Conflicting phylogenetic signals of two data sets that analyse different portions of the same molecule are unexpected and require an explanation. In the present paper we test whether (i) differential evolution of two mitochondrial genes or (ii) cryptic diversity can better explain conflicting results of two recently published molecular phylogenies on the same set of species of long-eared bats (genus Plecotus). We sequenced 1714 bp of three mitochondrial regions (16S, ND1, and D-loop) of 35 Plecotus populations from 10 European countries. A likelihood ratio test revealed congruent phylogenetic signals of the three data partitions. Our phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the exis…