The positive response of small terrestrial and semi-aquatic mammals to beaver damming.

Ecosystem engineers, such as the Eurasian beaver, Castor fiber, transform habitats, thereby creating favourable conditions for other species and increasing biodiversity. Multiple studies have revealed that beaver ponds are valuable habitats for invertebrates and vertebrates, including other mammals, but the impact of watercourse damming on the fauna of small terrestrial rodents and shrews has not yet been documented. We tested the hypothesis that the presence of beaver dams and consequent flooding enrich the small mammal assemblage both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Beaver Dams and Fallen Trees as Ecological Corridors Allowing Movements of Mammals across Water Barriers-A Case Study with the Application of Novel Substrate for Tracking Tunnels.

Physical obstacles within animal habitats create barriers to individual movements. To cross those barriers, specific corridors are used, some of them created by keystone species such as Eurasian beavers (). Their dams on rivers may also increase habitat connectivity for terrestrial mammals, but the significance of that function has never been quantified.

The Occurrence of Skin Mites from the Demodecidae and Psorergatidae (Acariformes: Prostigmata) Families in Bats, with a Description of a New Species and New Records.

The bat skin mites from the closely-related Demodecidae and Psorergatidae families occur synhospitally, populating the same host species and perhaps neighboring microhabitats. However, data on their occurrence and parasitism are fragmentary and dispersed. Thus far, 27 Demodecidae and 18 Psorergatidae species have been described, but the coexistence of mites from both families was only demonstrated in six species of bats.

Variability and repeatability of noctule bat migration in Central Europe: evidence for partial and differential migration.

Each year, large numbers of bats move across Europe between their summer and winter areas, yet even though many of them are endangered and legally protected, we are unaware about many aspects of their migratory behaviour. Here, taking Nyctalus noctula as a model species, we used stable hydrogen isotopic values in fur ( δH) as an endogenous marker to shed light on the migratory behaviour of more than 1000 bats from hibernacula across Central Europe. Specifically, we asked the following questions: how flexible is migration in temperate zone bats? Which general migration pattern do noctule bats follow? How repeatable and thus predictable is the migratory behaviour of individuals? Do morphological correlates of migration occur in bats? Our study confirmed that noctule bats engage in partial and female-biased migration across Europe, suggesting the strongest migration pressures for northern populations.

New data on the distribution of Carios vespertilionis Latreille, 1802 (Ixodida, Argasidae) in bats (Chiroptera) from northern Poland.

Carios vespertilionis Latreille, 1802 is a typical bat parasite, widely distributed in the Palearctic, Oriental and Afrotropical realms. Its localities were found throughout Poland, yet it is considerably more common in the south. Currently, 105 bats have been examined, collected in the period 1999–2017 from 27 localities in northern Poland; 102 C.

Spinturnix dasycnemi (Acari: Spinturnicidae) – a poorly known Palaearctic bat mite: first records in Poland and morphometric separation from two other species of the myoti group.

Spinturnix dasycnemi (Kolenati, 1856), an ectoparasite considered to be specific to rare and local bat species Myotis dasycneme (Boie, 1825), is reported for the first time in the fauna of Poland. Specimens were collected from M. dasycneme at two localities in the north and central parts of the country.

A triple-isotope approach to predict the breeding origins of European bats.

Despite a commitment by the European Union to protect its migratory bat populations, conservation efforts are hindered by a poor understanding of bat migratory strategies and connectivity between breeding and wintering grounds. Traditional methods like mark-recapture are ineffective to study broad-scale bat migratory patterns. Stable hydrogen isotopes (δD) have been proven useful in establishing spatial migratory connectivity of animal populations.