The Importance of Various Habitat Types to Bats (Chiroptera: Verspertilionidae) in Lithuania During the Summer Period

Abstract

Our investigations were carried out in Lithuania during the summer periods of 1995–1998. The importance of various habitat types to bats was assessed according to the mean number of the registered species and according to the frequency of occurrence (FO%) of each bat species. The importance of four habitat types: parks, human settlements, woodlands, and fields, with and without water bodies, to eight bat species are analysed in the given article. Parks and human settlements are the most important habitat types to the majority of bat species, whereas woodland and field-type habitats are less important. The presence of water bodies in the particular habitats is also important to the majority of the analysed species. According to the FO%, Pipistrellus nathusii, Eptesicus serotinus, and Myotis daubentonii are very common; Nyctalus noctula and M. dasycneme are common, while E. nilssonii, Plecotus auritus, and P. pipistrellus/pygmaeus are considered as rare bat species in the habitat types of the primary import...