Habitat heterogeneity and food availability in beaver‐engineered streams foster bat richness, activity and feeding

作者：Valentin Moser, Leonardo Capitani, Luca Zehnder, Alex Hürbin, Martin К. Obrist, Klaus Ecker, Steffen Boch, Silvan Minnig, Christof Angst, Francesco Pomati, Anita C. Risch · 发表于：Journal of Animal Ecology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1111/1365-2656.70136 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Ecology and biodiversity studies、Botany and Plant Ecology Studies、Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

As ecosystem engineers, Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) modify aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, which can benefit the biodiversity and community composition of plant and animal species. However, in contrast to aquatic taxa, beaver engineering impacts on terrestrial taxa, like bats, are so far largely overlooked. While it has been shown that bats prefer beaver-engineered ecosystems, the reason for this choice is poorly understood. We hypothesized that this preference may be associated with beaver-related changes in habitat characteristics and food availability. To address this knowledge gap, we recorded bat species richness, activity and feeding activity in eight beaver-engineered ecosystems (pool) with paired control sites without beavers (control) along the same stream in Switzerland. In addition, we collected data on food availability (arthropods) with arthropod flight interception traps and characterized habitat suitability with deadwood volume and vegetation surveys, as well as assessing canopy heterogeneity based on different digital height models. The nighly bat species richness increased from four to five species between control and pool sites. Bat activity increased 1.6 times and bat feeding activity 2.3 times in beaver-engineered systems compared to controls. These increases in richness and activity were explained by higher volumes of standing deadwood, higher canopy heterogeneity and higher arthropod abundance in beaver systems compared to controls. Overall, the ...