#IMC: September 14 - 18 2025

At the top of the mountain: Bat activity across elevations using acoustic monitoring in the Western Alps

Assigned Session: FS 3.149: Mountain regions as key biodiversity observatories – challenges and solutions in times of global changes

Abstract ID: 3.12442 | Accepted as Talk | Talk/Oral | TBA | TBA

Alex Bellè (0)
Froidevaux, Jérémy (2, 3), Bertolino, Sandro (1)
Alex Bellè (1)
Froidevaux, Jérémy (2, 3), Bertolino, Sandro (1)

1
(1) University of Turin, via Accademia Albertina, 13, 10123, Torino, Italia
(2) University of Franche-Comté, Chrono-environnement, UMR 6249 CNRS, Besançon, France
(3) CESCO, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne University, Paris, France

(1) University of Turin, via Accademia Albertina, 13, 10123, Torino, Italia
(2) University of Franche-Comté, Chrono-environnement, UMR 6249 CNRS, Besançon, France
(3) CESCO, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne University, Paris, France

Categories: Biodiversity, Conservation, Fieldwork, Monitoring
Keywords: Biodiversity, Acoustic monitoring, Bat activity, Elevational gradient, Bioacustics

Categories: Biodiversity, Conservation, Fieldwork, Monitoring
Keywords: Biodiversity, Acoustic monitoring, Bat activity, Elevational gradient, Bioacustics

Download
Download

Bats inhabit mountainous regions, yet research on species composition and activity across different elevations throughout an entire season remains limited. Globally, studies highlight the strong influence of temperature and water availability on bat species richness, resulting in two distinct patterns: a mid-elevation peak in mountains with dry, arid bases and a linear decrease in mountains with warm, humid bases. Furthermore, in the context of climate change, monitoring bats in mountain environments is a priority, given the decline of many species across Europe. We used Wildlife Acoustics Song Meter Mini Bat detectors, positioned at 300meter elevation intervals, from 700m to 3,100m, within the Gran Paradiso National Park, Italy. The elevational transect was replicated in two valleys, resulting in 18 sampling points. Bat detectors were deployed for two consecutive nights per month from March to November 2023. Recorded sequences were manually identified to species level using Kaleidoscope and BatExplorer software. Each sequence was standardised to a maximum duration of 5 seconds to quantify the number of sequences as a measure of bat activity. Sequences with feeding activity were also counted. Additionally, habitat parameters, such as temperature during the nights, vegetation structure, canopy cover and elevation, were acquired. A total of 34,594 bat sequences were analysed over 280 nights of recordings. Our analysis revealed a peak in bat activity at 1600m in both transects from May to September. This peak is probably driven by a greater abundance of prey, potentially influenced by a greater water availability at these elevations. Using GLMMs we found a significant but not correlated effect of elevation and temperature in shaping bat activity along elevation. Notable, bat presence was detected at 3,100m, but only in August and September, suggesting an expansion of the bat activity to extreme elevations, possibly due to rising temperatures or as evidence of migration.

N/A
NAME:
TBA
BUILDING:
TBA
FLOOR:
TBA
TYPE:
TBA
CAPACITY:
TBA
ACCESS:
TBA
ADDITIONAL:
TBA
FIND ME:
>> Google Maps

Limits: min. 3 words, max. 30 words or 200 characters

Choose the session you want to submit an abstract. Please be assured that similar sessions will either be scheduled consecutively or merged once the abstract submission phase is completed.

Select your preferred presentation mode
Please visit the session format page to get a detailed view on the presentation timings
The final decision on oral/poster is made by the (Co-)Conveners and will be communicated via your My#IMC dashboard

Please add here your abstract meeting the following requirements:
NO REFERNCES/KEYWORDS/ACKNOWEDGEMENTS IN AN ABSTRACT!
Limits: min 100 words, max 350 words or 2500 characters incl. tabs
Criteria: use only UTF-8 HTML character set, no equations/special characters/coding
Copy/Paste from an external editor is possible but check/reformat your text before submitting (e.g. bullet points, returns, aso)

Add here affiliations (max. 30) for you and your co-author(s). Use the row number to assign the affiliation to you and your co-author(s).
When you hover over the row number you are able to change the order of the affiliation list.

1
2
3
1
Add Affiliation(s)

Add here co-author(s) (max. 30) to your abstract. Please assign the affiliation(s) of each co-author in the "Assigned Aff. No" by using the corresponding numbers from the "Affiliation List" (e.g.: 1,2,...)
When you hover over the row number you are able to change the order of the co-author list.

1
2
1
Add Co-Author(s)
1
2
3
4
5
1
Add Keyword
Close