Year-round monitoring of bat records in an urban area:Kharkiv (NE Ukraine), 2013, as a case study

Authors

KSENIIA KRAVCHENKO
ANTON VLASCHENKO
ALONA PRYLUTSKA
OLENA RODENKO
VITALII HUKOV
VOLODYMYR SHUVAEV

DOI

10.3906/zoo-1602-51

Abstract

This study presents information about the year-round phenology of bats of temperate zones in a city area for the first time. In total, 967 individuals of 5 bat species (Nyctalus noctula [87.5%], Eptesicus serotinus [10.6%], Pipistrellus kuhlii [0.8%], Vespertilio murinus [0.9%], and Plecotus auritus [0.1%]) were recorded during 2013 in Kharkiv. The population structures of temperate bat species are complex; segregation of sex and age groups varies spatially and seasonally. Most of the bats (88%) were collected during the hibernation period (January-March and November-December) and the autumn invasion (August-mid-September). The breeding period saw a lower number of bats collected, making up 0.5% of records (May-July). The degree of tolerance to urbanization is species-specific. The bats were found indoors (68.6%), between window frames (26.6%), outdoors (2.8%), in basements (1.05%), and on balconies (0.95%). Bats of temperate latitudes inhabit big cities in significantly increasing numbers in winter, spring, and autumn. They avoid urban areas in both the breeding period and the period of fat-store accumulation before hibernation.

Keywords

Bats, Ukraine, Kharkiv, monitoring, urban ecosystem, bat phenology

First Page

530

Last Page

548

Recommended Citation

KRAVCHENKO, KSENIIA; VLASCHENKO, ANTON; PRYLUTSKA, ALONA; RODENKO, OLENA; HUKOV, VITALII; and SHUVAEV, VOLODYMYR (2017) "Year-round monitoring of bat records in an urban area:Kharkiv (NE Ukraine), 2013, as a case study," Turkish Journal of Zoology: Vol. 41: No. 3, Article 17. https://doi.org/10.3906/zoo-1602-51
Available at: https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/zoology/vol41/iss3/17