Continuous low-intensity predation by owls (Strix aluco) on bats (Nyctalus lasiopterus) in Spain and the potential effect on bat colony stability.

Abstract

Owls prey on bats, but information on owl predation is scarce, its impact on bat mortality is unclear, and reports on behavioural responses, including roost-switching and fission-fusion behaviour, are equivocal. To study the link between owl predation and anti-predator behaviour in bats, we evaluated seven months of video recordings at roosts and the behaviour of 51 passive integrated transponder (PIT)-tagged bats and bats without tags in a geographically isolated colony of greater noctule bats (Nyctalus lasiopterus) in Spain. We found the tawny owl Strix aluco to almost continuously hunt N. lasiopterus, from perches and on the wing, well after the bats emerged at dusk and when they returned to their roosts. We recorded 39 unsuccessful and three successful attacks. Nonetheless, we found no evidence that owl predation modifies bat behaviour. While the bats constituted only a very small proportion of the owls' diet, owl predation accounted for an estimated 30-40% of bat mortality, which may have a significant impact on small, local or isolated bat populations, in particular, and thereby shape regional bat distributions. We hypothesize that low roost availability may also affect the bats' potential response to predation, which could lead to natural predation having an excessive impact on bat populations.