Chauvenet Alienor L M, Hutson Anthony M, Smith Graham C, Aegerter James N
National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratory Agency Sand Hutton, York, YO41 1LZ, U.K.
Station Road, Winkfield, Plumpton Green, East Sussex, BN7 3BU, U.K.
Ecol Evol. 2014 Oct;4(19):3820-9. doi: 10.1002/ece3.1174. Epub 2014 Sep 17.
Species of conservation concern, or those in conflict with man, are most efficiently managed with an understanding of their population dynamics. European bats exemplify the need for successful and cost-effective management for both reasons, often simultaneously. Across Europe, bats are protected, and the concept of Favourable Conservation Status (FCS) is used as a key tool for the assessment and licensing of disruptive actions to populations. However, for efficient decision-making, this assessment requires knowledge on the demographic rates and long-term dynamics of populations. We used capture-mark-recapture to describe demographic rates for the Serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus) at two sites in England and investigate the transition rates between three stages: juveniles, immatures, and breeders. We then use these rates in an individual-based population dynamics model to investigate the expected trajectories for both populations. Our results demonstrate for the first time the presence and scale of temporal variation in this species' demography. We describe the lengthy prereproductive period (3.5 years) that female Serotines experience. Finally, we show how site-specific variation in demographic rates can produce divergent population trajectories. Effective management of European bat populations can be achieved through the understanding of life histories, and local demographic rates and population dynamics, in order to anticipate the presence of source and sink sites in the landscape. Using the Serotine bat in England, we show that these can be obtained from rigorous and systematic studies of long-term demographic datasets.
对于受保护的物种，或那些与人类存在冲突的物种，若要对其进行有效管理，就需要了解它们的种群动态。欧洲蝙蝠很好地例证了同时出于这两个原因进行成功且具成本效益管理的必要性。在整个欧洲，蝙蝠受到保护，“良好保护状态”（FCS）这一概念被用作评估和许可对种群造成干扰行为的关键工具。然而，为了做出有效的决策，这种评估需要了解种群的人口统计学比率和长期动态。我们利用标记重捕法来描述英国两个地点的棕蝠（Eptesicus serotinus）的人口统计学比率，并研究三个阶段之间的转变率：幼体、未成熟个体和成体。然后，我们将这些比率用于基于个体的种群动态模型，以研究这两个种群的预期轨迹。我们的结果首次证明了该物种人口统计学中时间变化的存在及其规模。我们描述了雌性棕蝠经历的漫长繁殖前期（3.5年）。最后，我们展示了人口统计学比率的特定地点变化如何产生不同的种群轨迹。通过了解生活史、当地人口统计学比率和种群动态，从而预测景观中源地和汇地的存在，可以实现对欧洲蝙蝠种群的有效管理。以英国的棕蝠为例，我们表明这些可以从对长期人口统计数据集的严格且系统的研究中获得。
