Long-Term Increase in Hibernating Bats in Swedish Mines - Effect of Global Warming?
(2018) In Acta Chiropterologica 20(2). p.421-426- Abstract
We present the result of bat winter censuses in three old mines in southern Sweden from 1980 until present (2017). The Taberg and Kleva mines, each with about 1.5 km of accessible passages, have winter populations of 517 and 132 bats, respectively (maximum counts) belonging to six species, the highest numbers known in underground sites in Sweden. Ädelfors is less extensive and has fewer individuals (maximum 22). The two former sites were protected and gated in the 1980′s while the third site still has no formal protection and is subject to disturbance. Generally Daubenton's bat Myotis daubentonii and the brown long-eared bat Plecotus auritus are common species and the numbers are stable. The whiskered and Brandt's bats M.... (More)
We present the result of bat winter censuses in three old mines in southern Sweden from 1980 until present (2017). The Taberg and Kleva mines, each with about 1.5 km of accessible passages, have winter populations of 517 and 132 bats, respectively (maximum counts) belonging to six species, the highest numbers known in underground sites in Sweden. Ädelfors is less extensive and has fewer individuals (maximum 22). The two former sites were protected and gated in the 1980′s while the third site still has no formal protection and is subject to disturbance. Generally Daubenton's bat Myotis daubentonii and the brown long-eared bat Plecotus auritus are common species and the numbers are stable. The whiskered and Brandt's bats M. mystacinus/brandtii and Natterer's bat M. nattereri have increased significantly, while the northern bat Eptesicus nilssonii, which is relatively rare in mines generally, has shown a slight but significant decline. At the species level the population trends conform well to those of the respective species in continental Europe and the British Isles. This suggests that there is a common factor behind the population changes across Europe. Although our data are very limited, the results question some previous explanations for the observed trends, but are in line with theoretical predictions based on global warming scenarios.
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- author
- Rydell, Jens LU ; Eklöf, Johan ; Fransson, Hans and Lind, Sabine
- organization
- publishing date
- 2018
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- bat conservation, climate change, hibernation, population change, roost survey
- in
- Acta Chiropterologica
- volume
- 20
- issue
- 2
- pages
- 6 pages
- publisher
- Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85061675348
- ISSN
- 1508-1109
- DOI
- 10.3161/15081109ACC2018.20.2.012
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 4a504b49-b191-452a-bbb2-702576da2079
- date added to LUP
- 2019-03-05 12:40:31
- date last changed
- 2022-03-17 21:52:13
@article{4a504b49-b191-452a-bbb2-702576da2079, abstract = {{<p>We present the result of bat winter censuses in three old mines in southern Sweden from 1980 until present (2017). The Taberg and Kleva mines, each with about 1.5 km of accessible passages, have winter populations of 517 and 132 bats, respectively (maximum counts) belonging to six species, the highest numbers known in underground sites in Sweden. Ädelfors is less extensive and has fewer individuals (maximum 22). The two former sites were protected and gated in the 1980′s while the third site still has no formal protection and is subject to disturbance. Generally Daubenton's bat Myotis daubentonii and the brown long-eared bat Plecotus auritus are common species and the numbers are stable. The whiskered and Brandt's bats M. mystacinus/brandtii and Natterer's bat M. nattereri have increased significantly, while the northern bat Eptesicus nilssonii, which is relatively rare in mines generally, has shown a slight but significant decline. At the species level the population trends conform well to those of the respective species in continental Europe and the British Isles. This suggests that there is a common factor behind the population changes across Europe. Although our data are very limited, the results question some previous explanations for the observed trends, but are in line with theoretical predictions based on global warming scenarios.</p>}}, author = {{Rydell, Jens and Eklöf, Johan and Fransson, Hans and Lind, Sabine}}, issn = {{1508-1109}}, keywords = {{bat conservation; climate change; hibernation; population change; roost survey}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{2}}, pages = {{421--426}}, publisher = {{Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences}}, series = {{Acta Chiropterologica}}, title = {{Long-Term Increase in Hibernating Bats in Swedish Mines - Effect of Global Warming?}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3161/15081109ACC2018.20.2.012}}, doi = {{10.3161/15081109ACC2018.20.2.012}}, volume = {{20}}, year = {{2018}}, }