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. 2020 Sep 29;20(1):52.
doi: 10.1186/s12898-020-00321-7.

Hydrogen isotopes reveal evidence of migration of Miniopterus schreibersii in Europe

Patrick G R Wright  1 , Jason Newton  2 , Paolo Agnelli  3 , Ivana Budinski  4 , Ivy Di Salvo  5 , Carles Flaquer  6 , Antonio Fulco  7 , Panagiotis Georgiakakis  8 , Adriano Martinoli  9 , Maria Mas  6 , Mirna Mazija  10 , Mauro Mucedda  11 , Eleni Papadatou  12 , Boyan Petrov, Luisa Rodrigues  13 , Fiona Mathews  14 , Danilo Russo  15
Affiliations

Hydrogen isotopes reveal evidence of migration of Miniopterus schreibersii in Europe

Patrick G R Wright et al. BMC Ecol. .

Abstract

Background: The Schreiber's bat, Miniopterus schreibersii, is adapted to long-distance flight, yet long distance movements have only been recorded sporadically using capture-mark-recapture. In this study, we used the hydrogen isotopic composition of 208 wing and 335 fur specimens from across the species' European range to test the hypothesis that the species migrates over long distances.

Results: After obtaining the hydrogen isotopic composition (δ2H) of each sample, we performed geographic assignment tests by comparing the δ2H of samples with the δ2H of sampling sites. We found that 95 bats out of 325 showed evidence of long-distance movement, based on the analysis of either fur or wing samples. The eastern European part of the species range (Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia) had the highest numbers of bats that had moved. The assignment tests also helped identify possible migratory routes, such as movement between the Alps and the Balkans.

Conclusions: This is the first continental-scale study to provide evidence of migratory behaviour of M. schreibersii throughout its European range. The work highlights the need for further investigation of this behaviour to provide appropriate conservation strategies.

Keywords: Chiroptera; Climate change; Long-distance migration; Movement ecology; Schreiber’s bat; Stable isotope; Wildlife conservation.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Proportion of Miniopterus schreibersii predicted as being ‘local’ and ‘non-local’ at each site in autumn and spring. A bat was classified as ‘non-local’ if either the wing or fur sample was predicted as ‘non-local’. The size of the pie chart is proportional to the sample size. The species’ distribution map as currently described by the IUCN [2] is shown in green
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Examples of Miniopterus. schreibersii probability (p value—values ranging from 0 to 1) maps of geographical assignments (sampling sites in blue areas indicate that the site was rejected as a source of origin for the bat or group of bats). Probability maps of geographical assignment based on a a group of bats predicted as being ‘local’; b an individual sampled at the same site as a predicted as ‘non-local’; c an individual bat predicted as being ‘local’ based on the wing sample; and d the same individual bat predicted as being ‘non-local’ based on the fur sample
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References

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