Vincent Wildlife Trust, Ledbury, HR8 1EP, UK.
National Environmental Isotope Facility, Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, Glasgow, UK.
BMC Ecol. 2020 Sep 29;20(1):52. doi: 10.1186/s12898-020-00321-7.
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.
After obtaining the hydrogen isotopic composition (δH) of each sample, we performed geographic assignment tests by comparing the δH of samples with the δH 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.
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.
斯克里伯氏蝙蝠（Miniopterus schreibersii）适应长距离飞行，但长距离迁徙仅通过捕获-标记-再捕获的方法零星记录。在本研究中，我们使用了该物种分布于欧洲的 208 个翅膀和 335 个皮毛样本的氢同位素组成，以检验该物种进行长距离迁徙的假设。
获得每个样本的氢同位素组成（δH）后，我们通过比较样本的 δH 与采样地点的 δH 进行地理分配测试。我们发现，在分析皮毛或翅膀样本时，325 只蝙蝠中有 95 只表现出长距离迁徙的证据。物种分布范围的东欧部分（希腊、保加利亚和塞尔维亚）有迁徙的蝙蝠数量最多。分配测试还有助于确定可能的迁徙路线，例如阿尔卑斯山脉和巴尔干半岛之间的迁徙。
这是首个在欧洲范围内提供斯克里伯氏蝙蝠迁徙行为证据的大陆范围研究。该研究强调了需要进一步调查这种行为，以提供适当的保护策略。
