We surveyed the bat fauna of the Jebel Mghilla National Park (central Tunisia) in the five main habitats from the lowland to the summit: cultivated area, open juniper (Juniperus spp.) forest, Stipa tenacessima steppe, open and dense forest of Pinus halepensis, with a special emphasis on water bodies. We mist-netted three bat species: Eptesicus isabellinus, Myotis emarginatus and Myotis punicus. We also identified echolocation calls of Rhinolophus blasii, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rhinolophus hipposideros, Tadarida teniotis, Miniopterus schreibersii, Pipistrellus kuhlii, Plecotus gaisleri and Hypsugo savii. Pipistrellus kuhlii and E. isabellinus were the most active and widely distributed species. The bat fauna was richer in the dense and open pine forest than in cultivated area and open juniper forest, but water bodies are also very attractive for bats.

The Biodiversity Heritage Library works collaboratively to make biodiversity literature openly available to the world as part of a global biodiversity community.

The seasonal activity of the Isabelline serotine bat Eptesicus isabellinus was studied in eight habitats of the Bou Hedma National Park, central Tunisia. From June 2010 to June 2011 two techniques, mist-netting and echolocation call recording, were implemented. This bat species was captured throughout the year but only at water bodies and particularly at Nouh basin. Captures peaked in late spring — early summer, and declined in winter. Pregnant females were captured from April to June, and lactating females in May and June. Echolocation calls were recorded throughout the year, but not every month in all habitats. Most activity was reported at water bodies and street lamps. Activity peaked in late spring and early autumn, and declined during winter period. Terminal buzzes were mainly detected at basins, peaking in late spring — early summer and early autumn. Our study provided further insights on the importance of water bodies which should draw particular attention in the management plan of the national pa...

We recorded and analysed sequences belonging to 11 bat species from Northern Algeria, in order to compare the baseline results with studies performed across the region, where potentially major geographical barriers may have limited gene flow and population dynamics. We have found that most of the Rhinolophus species exhibit some form of variation, especially regarding the values of the maximum energy frequency (CF), while vespertilionides differ mostly in pulse start frequency. The shape of the pulse and the terminal frequency usually define most of the variation for this family.

Body mass variations of Pipistrellus kuhlii and Eptesicus isabellinus were studied in the Bou Hedma National Park (central Tunisia) from June 2010 to June 2011. In both species, adult females were significantly heavier than males throughout the year. Seasonal variations were larger in adult females, body mass peaking during late pregnancy. After a secondary peak in September–October observed in both sexes in E. isabellinus, in males only in P. kuhlii, body mass reached a minimum value in winter when activity is low. Significant differences were also noticed between years in June for both species. Such pattern of seasonal variations of sexual size dimorphism is typical of hibernating vespertilionids.