Spatial Behavior and Habitat Use of Two Sympatric Bat Species.

Movement behavior and habitat use of the long-eared bat species and were studied in the Havelland region in Brandenburg (Germany). Data collection included mist-netting, radiotelemetry, reconstruction of prey items, and monitoring of roosting sites. Body measurements confirm a high degree of phenotypic similarity between the two species. Total activity areas (100% Minimum Convex Polygons, MCPS) of (2828.3 ± 1269.43 ha) were up to five-fold larger compared to (544.54 ± 295.89 ha). The activity areas of contained up to 11 distinct core areas, and their mean total size (149.7 ± 0.07 ha) was approximately three-fold larger compared to core areas of (49.2 ± 25.6 ha). The mean distance between consecutive fixes per night was 12.72 ± 3.7 km for and 4.23 ± 2.8 km for While was located most frequently over pastures (>40%) and meadows (>20%), was located mostly within deciduous (>50%) and mixed forests (>30%) in close vicinity to its roosts. Roost site monitoring indicates that the activity of is delayed relative to in spring and declined earlier in autumn. These phenological differences are probably related to the species' respective diets. Levins' measure of trophic niche breadth suggests that the prey spectrum for is more diverse during spring (B = 2.86) and autumn (B = 2.82) compared to (spring: B = 1.7; autumn: B = 2.1). Our results give reason to consider these interspecific ecological variations and species-specific requirements of and to develop adapted and improved conservation measures.