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Large-scale long-term passive-acoustic monitoring reveals spatio-temporal activity patterns of boreal bats
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  • Miika Kotila,
  • Kati Suominen,
  • Ville Vasko,
  • Anna Blomberg,
  • Aleksi Lehikoinen,
  • Tommi Andersson,
  • Jouni Aspi,
  • Tony Cederberg,
  • Jari Hänninen,
  • Jasmin Inkinen,
  • Janne Koskinen,
  • Göran Lundberg,
  • Katja Mäkinen,
  • Markku Rontti,
  • Martin Snickars,
  • Jostein Solbakken,
  • Janne Sundell,
  • Ilkka Syvänperä,
  • Silja Vuorenmaa,
  • Jari Ylönen,
  • Eero Vesterinen,
  • Thomas Lilley
Miika Kotila
University of Turku

Corresponding Author:miika.h.kotila@utu.fi

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Kati Suominen
Finnish Museum of Natural History
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Ville Vasko
University of Turku
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Anna Blomberg
University of Turku
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Aleksi Lehikoinen
Finnish Museum of Natural History
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Tommi Andersson
University of Turku
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Jouni Aspi
University of Oulu
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Tony Cederberg
Åbo Akademi
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Jari Hänninen
University of Turku
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Jasmin Inkinen
University of Turku
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Janne Koskinen
University of Jyväskylä
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Göran Lundberg
University of Helsinki
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Katja Mäkinen
University of Turku
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Markku Rontti
University of Oulu
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Martin Snickars
Åbo Akademi
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Jostein Solbakken
University of Helsinki
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Janne Sundell
University of Helsinki
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Ilkka Syvänperä
University of Turku
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Silja Vuorenmaa
University of Helsinki
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Jari Ylönen
University of Oulu
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Eero Vesterinen
University of Turku
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Thomas Lilley
Finnish Museum of Natural History
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Abstract

The distribution ranges and spatio-temporal patterns in the occurrence and activity of boreal bats are yet largely unknown due to their cryptic lifestyle and lack of suitable and efficient study methods. We approached the issue by establishing a permanent passive-acoustic sampling setup spanning the area of Finland to gain an understanding on how latitude affects bat species composition and activity patterns in northern Europe. The recorded bat calls were semi-automatically identified for three target taxa; Myotis spp., Eptesicus nilssonii or Pipistrellus nathusii and the seasonal activity patterns were modeled for each taxa across the seven sampling years (2015–2021). We found an increase in activity since 2015 for E. nilssonii and Myotis spp. For E. nilssonii and Myotis spp. we found significant latitude -dependent seasonal activity patterns, where seasonal variation in patterns appeared stronger in the north. Over the years, activity of P. nathusii increased during activity peak in June and late season but decreased in mid season. We found the passive-acoustic monitoring network to be an effective and cost-efficient method for gathering bat activity data to analyze spatio-temporal patterns. Long-term data on the composition and dynamics of bat communities facilitates better estimates of abundances and population trend directions for conservation purposes and predicting the effects of climate change.
10 Nov 2022Submitted to Ecography
11 Nov 2022Submission Checks Completed
11 Nov 2022Assigned to Editor
11 Nov 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
16 Nov 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
06 Jan 2023Editorial Decision: Revise Major
20 Jan 20231st Revision Received
23 Jan 2023Submission Checks Completed
23 Jan 2023Assigned to Editor
23 Jan 2023Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
13 Feb 2023Editorial Decision: Accept