Comparative Study of Forest-Dwelling Bats' Abundances and Species Richness between Old-Growth Forests and Conifer Plantations in Nikko National Park, Central Japan

Abstract

Abstract. To determine the influence of the forest type on bats in terms of roosting sites and foraging habitats, we compared species richness and abundance (total and by species) of forest-dwelling bats in old-growth forests and conifer (larch) plantations in central Japan. We also compared species richness and abundance of the bats in riparian and non-riparian habitats, and compared the old-growth forest stands with the larch plantation stands to examine differences in the forest stand structures. Species richness, total bat abundance, and the abundances of two tree-roosting specialists, the Ikonnikovi's Myotis (Myotis ikonnikovi) and the Ussurian tube-nosed bat (Murina ussuriensis), were significantly higher in the old-growth forests than in the conifer plantations. The old-growth forests contained larger trees and more snag trees, which provided roosting sites for tree-roosting species. Species richness, total bat abundance, and abundances of the two tree-roosting specialists and the Japanese large-fo...