Abstract
Forests are key native habitats in temperate environments. While their structure and composition contribute to shaping local-scale community assembly, their role in driving larger-scale species distributions is understudied. We used detailed forest inventory data, an extensive dataset of occurrence records, and species distribution models integrated with a functional approach, to disentangle mechanistically how species-forest dependency processes drive the regional-scale distributions of nine forest specialist bats in a Mediterranean region in the south of Spain. The regional distribution patterns of forest bats were driven primarily by forest composition and structure rather than by climate. Bat roosting ecology was a key trait explaining the strength of the bat-forest dependency relationships. Tree roosting bats were strongly associated with mature and heterogeneous forest with large trees (diameters > 425 mm). Conversely, and contrary to what local-scale studies show, our results did not support that flight-related traits (wing loading and aspect ratio) drive species distributional patterns. Mediterranean forests are expected to be severely impacted by climate change. This study highlights the utility of disentangling species-environment relationships mechanistically and stresses the need to account for species-forest dependency relationships when assessing the vulnerability of forest specialists towards climate change.
Highlights
Forests are key native habitats in temperate environments
Forest cluttering variables contributed less (8.5–19.0%), yet slightly more than roost availability variables, which were more variable among species (1.9–20.2%), being most important (> 14%) for N. leisleri, and M. bechsteinii (Fig. 2)
The relationship found between the regional distribution of forest bats and forest characteristics suggests that future changes in forest structure driven by climate change may impact such forest specialist fauna at broad regional scales
Summary
Forests are key native habitats in temperate environments While their structure and composition contribute to shaping local-scale community assembly, their role in driving larger-scale species distributions is understudied. Contrary to what localscale studies show, our results did not support that flight-related traits (wing loading and aspect ratio) drive species distributional patterns. While bat-forest responses are usually studied at local spatial scales typically by comparing habitat use between different sites[21,25,26], the broader-scale implications of these dependency relationships are still largely unknown[15,16,27], despite recent increased research interest[28,29,30]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
