Direct and indirect impacts of beaver ecosystem engineering have mixed effects on bats across feeding guilds.
Gespeichert in:
| Titel: | Direct and indirect impacts of beaver ecosystem engineering have mixed effects on bats across feeding guilds. |
|---|---|
| Autoren: | Browning E; School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. |
| Quelle: | The Journal of animal ecology [J Anim Ecol] 2025 Dec; Vol. 94 (12), pp. 2358-2361. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Oct 03. |
| Publikationsart: | Journal Article |
| Sprache: | English |
| Info zur Zeitschrift: | Publisher: Blackwell Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 0376574 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1365-2656 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00218790 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Anim Ecol Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Oxford : Blackwell Original Publication: Oxford, British Ecological Society. |
| MeSH-Schlagworte: | Chiroptera*/physiology , Ecosystem* , Feeding Behavior* , Conservation of Natural Resources*, Animals ; Biodiversity ; Switzerland |
| Abstract: | Research Highlight: Moser, V., Capitani, L., Zehnder, L., Hürbin, A., Obrist, M., Ecker, K., Boch, S., Minnig, S., Angst, C., Pomati, F., & Risch, A. (2025). Habitat heterogeneity and food availability in beaver-engineered streams foster bat richness, activity and feeding. Journal of Animal Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.70136. Ecosystem engineers increase habitat heterogeneity, altering abiotic and biotic resources and are key to effective nature recovery. Reintroductions of Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) in Europe have indirectly benefitted multiple taxonomic groups, aquatic and terrestrial, as their activities result in wetland restoration and diversification of vegetation composition and structure. Bats have been found to be positively impacted by beaver activity, yet the causal drivers were unknown. In a recent study, Moser et al. (2025) monitored bat species richness, activity and foraging activity at beaver pools and control beaver-free sites in Switzerland, finding significant increases in all three measures. Importantly, this study is the first to show significant positive impacts on bat foraging at beaver-engineered sites, and increases in species richness included red-listed species of conservation concern. By testing causal links of the impact of direct (increased canopy heterogeneity and standing deadwood density) and indirect (increased arthropod prey abundance) impacts of beaver engineering on bats, the authors found mixed responses at the foraging guild level. Edge-hunting aerial hawkers benefitted most from beaver engineering, and increased standing deadwood density was shown to have the strongest impact on bats. This study provides key evidence for the positive outcomes of beaver reintroductions on local biodiversity, highlighting the value of ecosystem engineers for nature recovery strategies. (© 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Animal Ecology © 2025 British Ecological Society.) |
| References: | Andersen, L. H., Nummi, P., & Bahrndorff, S. (2024). Can beavers help improve terrestrial invertebrate diversity? Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 12, 1396207. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1396207. Boonman, M. (2000). Roost selection by noctules (Nyctalus noctula) and Daubenton's bats (Myotis daubentonii). Journal of Zoology, 251(3), 385–389. http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0952836900007123. Boughey, K. L., Lake, I. R., Haysom, K. A., & Dolman, P. M. (2011). Improving the biodiversity benefits of hedgerows: How physical characteristics and the proximity of foraging habitat affect the use of linear features by bats. Biological Conservation, 144(6), 1790–1798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2011.02.017. Browning, E., Barlow, K. E., Burns, F., Hawkins, C., & Boughey, K. L. (2021). Drivers of European bat population change: A review reveals evidence gaps. Mammal Review, 51, mam.12239. https://doi.org/10.1111/mam.12239. Bush, B. M., Stenert, C., Maltchik, L., & Batzer, D. P. (2019). Beaver‐created successional gradients increase β‐diversity of invertebrates by turnover in stream‐wetland complexes. Freshwater Biology, 64(7), 1265–1274. https://doi.org/10.1111/FWB.13302. Ciechanowski, M., Kubic, W., Rynkiewicz, A., & Zwolicki, A. (2011). Reintroduction of beavers Castor fiber may improve habitat quality for vespertilionid bats foraging in small river valleys. European Journal of Wildlife Research, 57(4), 737–747. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10344‐010‐0481‐Y. Denzinger, A., & Schnitzler, H. U. (2013). Bat guilds, a concept to classify the highly diverse foraging and echolocation behaviors of microchiropteran bats. Frontiers in Physiology, 4, 164. https://doi.org/10.3389/FPHYS.2013.00164. Fedyń, I., Przepióra, F., Sobociński, W., Wyka, J., & Ciach, M. (2022). Eurasian beaver – A semi‐aquatic ecosystem engineer rearranges the assemblage of terrestrial mammals in winter. Science of the Total Environment, 831, 154919. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2022.154919. Frey‐Ehrenbold, A., Bontadina, F., Arlettaz, R., & Obrist, M. K. (2013). Landscape connectivity, habitat structure and activity of bat guilds in farmland‐dominated matrices. Journal of Applied Ecology, 50(1), 252–261. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365‐2664.12034. Graham, C., & Goodenough, A. E. (2024). Beneficial impacts of Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) reintroduction on bat communities and aquatic macroinvertebrate prey: A case study from Lowland Britain. Acta Chiropterologica, 26(1), 63–76. https://doi.org/10.3161/15081109ACC2024.26.1.006. Heim, O., Lenski, J., Schulze, J., Jung, K., Kramer‐Schadt, S., Eccard, J. A., & Voigt, C. C. (2018). The relevance of vegetation structures and small water bodies for bats foraging above farmland. Basic and Applied Ecology, 27, 9–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2017.12.001. Hooker, J., Foxley, T., Stone, E. L., & Lintott, P. R. (2024). Re‐establishing historic ecosystem links through targeted species reintroduction: Beaver‐mediated wetlands support increased bat activity. Science of the Total Environment, 951, 175661. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2024.175661. Jones, C. G., Lawton, J. H., & Shachak, M. (1994). Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos, 69(3), 373. https://doi.org/10.2307/3545850. Jung, K., Kaiser, S., Böhm, S., Nieschulze, J., & Kalko, E. K. V. (2012). Moving in three dimensions: Effects of structural complexity on occurrence and activity of insectivorous bats in managed forest stands. Journal of Applied Ecology, 49(2), 523–531. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365‐2664.2012.02116.x. Law, A., Levanoni, O., Foster, G., Ecke, F., & Willby, N. J. (2019). Are beavers a solution to the freshwater biodiversity crisis? Diversity and Distributions, 25(11), 1763–1772. https://doi.org/10.1111/DDI.12978. Moser, V., Capitani, L., Zehnder, L., Hürbin, A., Obrist, M., Ecker, K., Boch, S., Minnig, S., Angst, C., Pomati, F., & Risch, A. (2025). Habitat heterogeneity and food availability in beaver‐engineered streams foster bat richness, activity and feeding. Journal of Animal Ecology, 94(12), 2403–2420. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365‐2656.70136. Murphy, S. E., Greenaway, F., & Hill, D. A. (2012). Patterns of habitat use by female brown long‐eared bats presage negative impacts of woodland conservation management. Journal of Zoology, 288(3), 177–183. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469‐7998.2012.00936.x. Nicholls, B., & Racey, P. A. (2006). Habitat selection as a mechanism of resource partitioning in two cryptic bat species Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus. Ecography, 29(5), 697–708. https://doi.org/10.1111/J.2006.0906‐7590.04575.X. Russ, J. (2021). Bat calls of Britain and Europe. Pelagic Publishing. https://doi.org/10.53061/NLHC3923. Russo, D., Cistrone, L., & Jones, G. (2007). Emergence time in forest bats: The influence of canopy closure. Acta Oecologica, 31(1), 119–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2006.11.001. Rydell, J., Miller, L. A., & Jensen, M. E. (1999). Echolocation constraints of Daubenton's bat foraging over water. Functional Ecology, 13(2), 247–255. https://doi.org/10.1046/J.1365‐2435.1999.00304.X. Thompson, S., Vehkaoja, M., & Nummi, P. (2016). Beaver‐created deadwood dynamics in the boreal forest. Forest Ecology and Management, 360, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FORECO.2015.10.019. Thompson, S., Vehkaoja, M., Pellikka, J., & Nummi, P. (2021). Ecosystem services provided by beavers Castor spp. Mammal Review, 51(1), 25–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/MAM.12220. Tillon, L., Bouget, C., Paillet, Y., & Aulagnier, S. (2016). How does deadwood structure temperate forest bat assemblages? European Journal of Forest Research, 135(3), 433–449. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342‐016‐0944‐0. Todd, V. L. G., & Williamson, L. D. (2019). Habitat usage of Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentonii), common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus), and soprano pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus) in a North Wales upland river catchment. Ecology and Evolution, 9(8), 4853–4863. https://doi.org/10.1002/ECE3.5085. Vaughan, N., Jones, G., & Harris, S. (1997). Habitat use by bats (Chiroptera) assessed by means of a broad‐band acoustic method. Journal of Applied Ecology, 34(3), 716–730. https://doi.org/10.2307/2404918. Willby, N. J., Law, A., Levanoni, O., Foster, G., & Ecke, F. (2018). Rewilding wetlands: Beaver as agents of within‐habitat heterogeneity and the responses of contrasting biota. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, B: Biological Sciences, 373(1761), 20170444. https://doi.org/10.1098/RSTB.2017.0444. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: arthropods; canopy heterogeneity; cascade; deadwood; ecosystem engineers; foraging guilds; nature recovery; rewilding |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20251003 Date Completed: 20251203 Latest Revision: 20251203 |
| Update Code: | 20251203 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/1365-2656.70144 |
| PMID: | 41041816 |
| Datenbank: | MEDLINE |
Full Text Finder 
Nájsť tento článok vo Web of Science | Abstract: | Research Highlight: Moser, V., Capitani, L., Zehnder, L., Hürbin, A., Obrist, M., Ecker, K., Boch, S., Minnig, S., Angst, C., Pomati, F., & Risch, A. (2025). Habitat heterogeneity and food availability in beaver-engineered streams foster bat richness, activity and feeding. Journal of Animal Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.70136. Ecosystem engineers increase habitat heterogeneity, altering abiotic and biotic resources and are key to effective nature recovery. Reintroductions of Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) in Europe have indirectly benefitted multiple taxonomic groups, aquatic and terrestrial, as their activities result in wetland restoration and diversification of vegetation composition and structure. Bats have been found to be positively impacted by beaver activity, yet the causal drivers were unknown. In a recent study, Moser et al. (2025) monitored bat species richness, activity and foraging activity at beaver pools and control beaver-free sites in Switzerland, finding significant increases in all three measures. Importantly, this study is the first to show significant positive impacts on bat foraging at beaver-engineered sites, and increases in species richness included red-listed species of conservation concern. By testing causal links of the impact of direct (increased canopy heterogeneity and standing deadwood density) and indirect (increased arthropod prey abundance) impacts of beaver engineering on bats, the authors found mixed responses at the foraging guild level. Edge-hunting aerial hawkers benefitted most from beaver engineering, and increased standing deadwood density was shown to have the strongest impact on bats. This study provides key evidence for the positive outcomes of beaver reintroductions on local biodiversity, highlighting the value of ecosystem engineers for nature recovery strategies.<br /> (© 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Animal Ecology © 2025 British Ecological Society.) |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1365-2656 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/1365-2656.70144 |