Abstract
Surveying and monitoring bat populations by recording their calls with stationary detectors has become increasingly popular. This study tested the hypothesis that placing stationary detectors at water bodies yielded more species than in other habitat types in a temperate landscape (settlement, forest, open land). The number of species was significantly affected by habitat type, and sampling at water bodies yielded approximately 50% more species than in open land, the habitat type which was second in species richness. In contrast, bat calling activity was not significantly related to habitat type. With the exception of the northern bat Eptesicus nilssoni, the incidence of species was higher at the water bodies than in other habitat types. Calling activity and the number of recorded species did not correlate among habitat types, and I did not find evidence that the determinability of bat calls was related to habitat type. This indicated that the higher richness at water bodies was a result of short-term visitors that significantly enhanced species counts but not total activity. For surveys and monitorings, these results imply that sampling at water bodies may be preferred especially if resources for field work are limited.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Erhard Christian and Marcela Suarez-Rubio for improving an earlier version of this manuscript. Brian Hillcoat corrected the English. I gratefully acknowledge the amazingly supportive R community for providing this wonderful data analysis platform. You have changed my scientific life.
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