Biology subjects

Facciolati, V.

Publications and source records attributed to Facciolati, V..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Habitat preferences of specialist bat are forest-type specific: western barbastelle in natural temperate woodlands

O_LIUnderstanding the species-habitat relationships of forest specialists is an essential challenge in their effective conservation. However, studies on habitat selection often neglect potential context dependence, even though species performance may differ between natural and managed stands or between forests composed of different tree species. The western barbastelle Barbastella barbastellus, a specialized moth predator and an old-growth forest indicator, is known to rely on fine-scale habitat structures and forest complexity, yet the relative importance of habitat traits across different forest types remains poorly understood. C_LIO_LIWe surveyed the species on 150 plots distributed across five the best-preserved temperate forest types in Poland: spruce, beech, beech-fir, oak-lime-hornbeam and willow-poplar forests. Bat presence was quantified using passive acoustic monitoring, and habitat characteristics were derived from LiDAR, stand inventories and surveys of tree-related microhabitats. C_LIO_LIWe identified canopy gaps, tree height complexity, living tree density and density of trees with insect galleries or cankers, as the best predictors of the species presence, although the strength of these relationships varied among forest types. In single-species stands, the occurrence of the western barbastelle was associated with abundance of canopy gap and complexity of tree heights, whereas in forests with more diverse tree species composition, the relationships with the stand structure were less evident and were replaced by stronger association with fine-scale habitat components such as tree-related microhabitats. C_LIO_LISynthesis and applications. Our study demonstrates that the effective conservation of forest specialists requires habitat-specific strategies, because no single habitat variable predicts species occurrence across contrasting forest conditions. For the western barbastelle, conservation actions should involve maintaining small canopy gaps and reduced tree height complexity in single-species stands, while preserving high heterogeneity, i.e. diverse age and size tree classes and high tree species richness in mixed forests. For a large group of forest specialist, strategies tailored to forest type, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, should be considered. C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2024

To be browsed or not to be browsed: differences in nutritional characteristics of blackthorn Prunus spinosa subject to the long-term pressure of herbivores

The impact of ungulates on temperate forest vegetation has been investigated for a long time. Numerous studies on food selection have identified the palatable plant species preferred by large European herbivores. However, intra-specific food selection and the question why particular plants of a given species are ignored during foraging have been neglected in the literature. In central Europe, Blackthorns Prunus spinosa growing in abandoned pastures are an important component of the red deers Cervus elaphus diet. In areas densely populated by deer, annual shoot browsing produces dwarf shrubby forms of blackthorns. However, some blackthorns are not browsed by ungulates and tend to adopt a tree-like form. The existence of distinct, browsing-dependent growth forms of blackthorns raises the question of inter-individual differences in the nutritional composition of plants. Based on factor analysis, we discovered differences in nutritional composition between browsed and unbrowsed blackthorns that might explain the individual plant-related drivers of red deer food preferences. The leaves of browsed blackthorns contained higher concentrations of C, N, P and Cu but lower levels of Ca and Mg than unbrowsed ones. Moreover, browsed blackthorns had a higher water content and higher concentrations of insoluble proteins, chlorophylls and carotenoids. We highlight the fact that the nutritional characteristics of an individual plant may explain the observed food selection pattern, leading to the unhindered growth of a fraction of the blackthorn population, in spite of severe pressure on the part of ungulate herbivores. The results of this study underline the important role of herbivores in the dynamics of plant communities, in which ungulates may mediate the persistence of certain individuals of a given species. HighlightsO_LIBrowsing by ungulates leads to the formation of dwarf shrubby forms in blackthorns C_LIO_LISome blackthorns are unbrowsed and adopt a tree-like form C_LIO_LIBrowsed blackthorns differ in chemical composition from unbrowsed ones C_LIO_LIThe nutritional profile of a given plant may influence food selection by ungulates C_LI

ecology↗