Molecular dietary analysis reveals plasticity in habitat requirements of a clutter specialist bat

Abstract

In recent decades, there has been significant progress in studying the foraging habitats of bats. However, these studies provide only a limited understanding of their requirements. Metabarcoding allows species-level identification of consumed prey, allowing us to determine their source habitats. In this study, we sampled faeces from three Rhinolophus hipposideros colonies in different climatic zones from spring to late August. Using metabarcoding, we examined how the lesser horseshoe bat diet changes over time and whether their most-consumed prey varies seasonally across landscapes. Our results show that bat diets change seasonally and differ between colonies, often presumably in response to new prey outbreaks. We deduced from the prey eaten by bats that they have varied habitat requirements. While woodland and shrubs are primary prey source habitats, bats also rely on other environments. We inferred that, in particular, open habitats are exploited more frequently than expected, indicating a high degree of plasticity in their trophic habitat needs. Therefore, protecting diverse, interconnected landscapes with varied prey is crucial for their conservation.