Bat Ecology and Conservation

Humans have shared buildings with bats for thousands of years, probably as early as first humans built primitive huts. Indeed, many bat species can be defined as synanthropic, i.e., they have a strong ecological association with humans. Bats have been observed using buildings as roosting and foraging sites, temporary shelters, for reproduction and hibernation. A synanthropic lifestyle may result in direct fitness benefits owing to energetic advantages in warmer roosts, which may ultimately lead to more rapid gestation and faster development of juveniles, or by being less exposed to natural predators in urban environments. All

Correlation between flight activity of noctule bats and air temperature and habitat features influencing roost-site selection were studied in the prefab buildings estate in the Zvolen town during the season October 2003 – April 2004. Using the ultrasound bat detector, the flight activity of noctules was observed during whole winter period (n=28 surveys). Intensity of relative flight activity positively correlated with average day temperature. Noctules were often flying in temperatures between 0 and –5 °C. In the coolest days, when average day temperature decreased to more than –10 °C, no bat passes were recorded. Altogether, 27 noctule roosts were found, mostly located in the roof attics. There was no preference in the height of the shelter and bats preferred less western, possibly southern orientation of the
roosts. It appears that the selection of the roost depends mainly on the general accessibility of the shelters in prefabs. Recorded two movements of banded bats, concerning the study area, broaden the knowledge about the residence and short movements of males during the year and migrating site fi delity in females of the noctules in Slovakia. Predation of bats by the long-eared owl (Asio otus) was observed there.

Rain effects in the capture of bats in a coastal island in southeastern Brazil. Climatic factors are difficult to be analyzed because of their intrinsic unpredictability. For example, rain and wind occur in different intensities and in different nights each year. The objective of this work was to analyze the effects of the rain in the capture success of bats in an island in southeastern Brazil. A total of 31 sampling nights resulted in 2000 captures of 28 species, 1507 of which were obtained in nights without rain and 493 captures in rainy nights. The relationship between the total of captures and the species richness was observed for nights without rain as for rainy nights. The species richness and the capture efficiency in every night for all of the species were significantly higher for the nights without rain. The differences in feeding guilds were observed for the insectivorous species among the nights without rain and with rain heavy intensity, and nectar-feeding species among nights without rain and with rain intensities moderate and heavy. Heavy rain shows different effects in the bat species, generally inhibiting the activity or reducing the capture frequency.

For the assessment of the habitat use of bats with consideration of a complexity of environmental features a largescale multivariate canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was performed. Data were collected in April–September (1999–2005) using mist-netting and bat-detectors (n ¼ 209 samplings) in Slovakia (n ¼ 160 sites). For the habitat description, 17 environmental variables that characterised the sampling site, tree-species composition and general character of surrounding forest were selected. In study sites, altogether 93% of Slovak chiropterofauna species were recorded but only 16 species (2466 individuals) were recorded in more than 5% of samplings. The most common and frequent species were Myotis mystacinus (frequency of occurrence ¼ 57%, species dominance ¼ 12%) and Myotis myotis (44%, 10%), followed by Barbastella barbastellus (32%, 6%), Plecotus auritus (32%, 6%), Nyctalus noctula (31%, 9%) and Myotis brandtii (31%, 7%). Of the tested environmental variables used in CCA analysis, 13 had significant influence on the species’ presence. On the base of gradients in ordination analysis, there were two main groups of species. In the first ‘‘true’’ forest bats group the tree-dwelling and gleaning species Myotis bechsteinii, Myotis nattereri and P. auritus dominated. Their occurrence was connected mainly with old forests of natural tree-species composition. The second group comprised species, which foraged in more open space or along the forest edge (with the
farmland) and avoided closed interior (particularly Eptesicus serotinus, N. noctula, Nyctalus leisleri, Pipistrellus pipistrellus). The presence of mountain species Eptesicus nilssonii and Vespertilio murinus was associated mainly with dominance of spruce. Suggested predictive modelling of species composition in forest bat assemblages in conditions of natural forests can help in nature conservation.

Excessive water loss during the day due to heat stress in bats of the genus Pteropus appears to be inevitable, because these bats are exposed to direct sunlight. Rain also affects the rest pattern of the Indian flying fox Pteropus giganteus during the day. When rain occurred during the day, most of the bats hung in a slanting position and did not exhibit any movements. After rain, they licked both ventral and dorsal surfaces of the wing membrane and scratched their body with their thumb claws. They also licked the water droplets that remained on the leaves and branches of the tree. Even though their rest had been affected by the rain, bat utilized the water droplets to quench the thirst, cool their body and clean their fur. The construction of water reservoirs near Pteropus roosts will help to assure their long-term conservation.

A b s t r a c t . Carpathian forests represent unique and well-preserved ecosystems in relatively intensively managed forests of europe. habitat use, foraging assemblages and activity patterns of a bat community were investigated in semi-natural beech-oak forest by monitoring echolocation calls and mist-netting at three localities during the summers of 2003 and 2004. Six different forest habitat types were studied: oak forest, beech forest, stream, road, forest edge and open area within the forest. Bats were detected in all habitats. Sixteen species were found. habitats were used differently by the individual species. The highest species diversity was observed in the forest interior. The first peak of flight activity was after sunset which then declined and was relatively even through the night until the second peak before sunrise, which was recorded in the forest interior, open area and on the road. The highest flight activity was recorded at the forest edge, forest stream and in open area. Recorded activity was 3× lower in the oak forest interior compared to the forest edge, but if the extent of the forests is considered, forest interior is the most important foraging habitat. Consequently future forest management should consider the needs of this endangered group of animals.

Bats have partially evolved in response of predation pressure and have developed several strategies
to cope with these threats. Nevertheless, the role played by many predators and their true impact on bat populations
is poorly known and to date have only ever been considered superficially in studies. In this manuscript we
review the role of genet as potential bat predator. We herein present an in-depth literature review of bats as prey
of genets and also provide 4 new reports from scat analysis and 1 opportunistic event in a mist net placed next to
a cave entrance. While the fact that only few reports of genet predation on bats have been detected seems to suggest
that they only hunt bats occasionally, other repeated reports from South Portugal inside hibernating roosts
(Palmeirim & Rodrigues 1991) and our new predation event next to a cave entrance suggests that genets could
also repeatedly hunt bats in some caves (not as occasionally as usually considered).

On April 13 2002 first bat survey of the Mišarica cave (cave cadastre number 2382) 7 km SE of Banjaluka town has been undertaken. Although some of the data from this survey have been previously used in some documents and publications (crediting author and survey), as well as analysed in review publications, full details of the survey and individual records have never been reported since. Standard methods of visual daytime roost survey, hand-catching and hand-netting have been used. Maternity colony of about 7.000 Greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis) and 3.500 Schreiber's bent-winged bats (Miniopterus schreibersii) has been discovered, which is still one of the largest known bat colonies known in the Republika Srpska and in the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition 7 Greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) and single Mediterranean horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus euryale) have also been found. Based on this survey legal protection of the cave has been initiated but it has not been realised so far. Meanwhile bats and the cave were subjected to vandalism and later colony counts were threefold lower; therefore, necessity of legal and practical protection and establishment of bat monitoring programme is further emphasised and actualised.
13. aprila 2002. godine realizovana su prva istraživanja faune slepih miševa pećine Mišarice (katastarski broj 2382) 7 km JI od Banjaluke. Iako su podaci prikupljenih ovim istraživanjem (uz pozivanje na autora ovog članka i ovo istraživanje) već delimično predstavljeni u postojećim publikacijama i dokumentima, kao i zbirno obrađivani u preglednim publikacijama, detalji ovih nalaza nisu nikada do sada bili objavljeni. Korišćene su standardne metode vizuelne dnevne inspekcije skloništa i hvatanje rukom i ručnom mrežom. Otkriveno je da je pećina sklonište mešovite porodiljske kolonije sa ukupno oko 7.000 jedinki evropskog velikog večernjaka (Myotis myotis) i oko 3.500 jedinki evropskog dugokrilaša (Miniopterus schrei-bersii) – još uvek jedna od najbrojnijih poznatih kolonija u Republici Srpskoj i celoj Bosni i Hercegovini. Osim navedenih, u pećini je registrovano i 7 pojedinčanih primeraka velikog potkovičara (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) i jedan sredozemnog potkovičara (Rhinolophus euryale). Na osnovu ovoga pokrenut je postupak zakonske zaštite pecine Mišarice koji ni do danas nije sproveden do kraja. U međuvremenu slepi miševi i pećina bili su izloženi vandalizmu a u koloniji je prebrojano trostruko manje jedinki, pa se neophodnost zakonske i praktične zaštite kao i uspostavljenje monitoringa slepih miševa dodatno potencira i aktuelizuje.

La gestion des habitats est un des principaux facteurs déterminants pour la conservation d’espèces. Nous avons étudié les habitats utilisées par différentes espèces de chauves-souris en France métropolitaine pendant deux périodes reproductives : Lactation (P1) et arrivées des jeunes (P2). Les données utilisées proviennent du programme Vigie Nature du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris et concernent les années 2006 à 2009. Nous avons observé dans un premier temps (sans influence du passage) une correspondance forte entre les habitats utilisées par les différentes espèces, et la littérature. Postérieurement, nous avons observé deux groupes d’espèces selon leur variation d’abondance entre le P1 et le P2. Un premier groupe qui diminuait son abondance au P2, composé des deux espèces de Nyctalus et de E. serotinus, présente une diminution sur ses habitats les plus importants, et une notable augmentation sur des habitats nouveaux ou peu préférés en P1. Et un deuxième groupe composé de P. nathusii/kulhii et P. pipistrellus, dont l’activité augmente au P2 sur les habitats prédominants au P1 aussi bien que sur d’autres habitats, ce qui peut être expliqué par une compétition intra spécifique avec les adultes et pour l’exploration de divers milieux par les jeunes. Ces deux résultats ont été traduits par des coefficients de variation pour chaque passage, lesquels ont montré une valeur plus élevée pour le P1, donc une niche plus étroite, due à une spécialisation sur les habitats les plus « productifs » pour la chasse pendant le période de lactation.

Saccopteryx gymnura is a rare emballonurine bat distributed from Guiana to the state of Par á , Brazil. This record extends its range more than 500 km from the easternmost locality. The presence of this species in an ecotonal Amazonian area suggests that these regions may act as possible refuges for other bat species and deserve more conservation attention.

Understanding biodiversity patterns as well as drivers of population declines, and range losses provides crucial baselines for monitoring and conservation. However, the information needed to evaluate such trends remains unstandardised and sparsely available for many taxonomic groups and habitats, including the cave-dwelling bats and cave ecosystems. We developed the DarkCideS 1.0 (https://darkcides.org/), a global database of bat caves and species synthesised from publicly available information and datasets. The DarkCideS 1.0 is by far the largest database for cave-dwelling bats, which contains information for geographical location, ecological status, species traits, and parasites and hyperparasites for 679 bat species are known to occur in caves or use caves in part of their life histories. The database currently contains 6746 georeferenced occurrences for 402 cave-dwelling bat species from 2002 cave sites in 46 countries and 12 terrestrial biomes. The database has been developed to be collaborative and open-access, allowing continuous data-sharing among the community of bat researchers and conservation biologists to advance bat research and comparative monitoring and prioritisation for conservation.

Lasiurus egregius (Peters, 1870) is an insectivorous bat species known from Central and South America. This species has few confirmed records throughout its distribution. Here we report the first record of L. egregius from the northern coast of Paraná state, southern Brazil. We captured a female individual of L. egregius using an ultrathin mist-net installed over a river knee, at Salto Morato Natural Reserve, municipality of Guaraqueçaba. This is the fourteenth locality with confirmed occurrence of L. egregius, being eight of them in Brazil. The knowledge on the bat fauna in Paraná has been increasing in recent decades, mainly due to the new studies in coast areas of this state. In addition to contributing to the knowledge of the bat fauna from Paraná, the new record of L. egregius reinforces the essential role of the Salto Morato Natural Reserve in conserving bats in the southern portion of the Atlantic Forest.

Agricultural intensification is one of the major causes for the global loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. As an alternative to conventional farming, organic management is considered a way to mitigate some of the negative impacts on biodiversity in agricultural landscapes; however, their benefits for bats are not very conclusive. We investigated the hypothesis that organic farming benefits bats in vineyards by improving conditions for foraging through increased availability of prey. We also hypothesized that bat activity would vary between edges and the interior of vineyards in response to prey availability that in turn would be influenced by agricultural management. Bat activity was quantified along edge and the interior of each vineyard type by using acoustic surveys. In addition, we sampled nocturnal flying insects at each site using light traps. Species richness and overall bat activity were significantly higher in organic than conventional vineyards, with organic edges concentrating the highest bat activity. Our results suggest negative effects of agricultural intensification on insectivorous bats. The high bat activity along edges compared to the interior of vineyards suggest that these structural features of the landscape are important components for bat populations in vineyards, and therefore should be considered within agricultural management in order to promote bat abundance and their role as pest suppressors.

Bats are under threat from habitat loss, energy development, and the disease white-nose syndrome. The North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) suggests standardized, large scale monitoring to benefit ecologists and managers. Our first objective was to determine the efficacy of NABat in South Carolina. Detection probabilities differ within and among species and among survey conditions. Thus, our second objective was to determine factors affecting detection probabilities. Finally, effective management strategies addressing large scale threats require landscape scale analyses. Thus, our third objective was to conduct state-wide assessments of environmental factors influencing landscape occupancy and generate predicted distributions.

We conducted NABat acoustic surveys across South Carolina from mid-May through July 2015 and 2016. To determine the efficacy of NABat, we compared species detections to known distributions based on historical records, and to predicted distributions based on environmental occupancy models. We detected some species throughout their ranges and others in ≤ 50% of cells within their ranges, and detected some species outside their ranges. Thus, NABat monitoring may be suitable for many species but may not be suitable for species with echolocation calls that are difficult to detect or identify, and may also reveal new information about species distributions.

To determine factors that affected detection, we evaluated support for detection models. We found that detection covariates greatly varied among species, but most species had higher detection probabilities at stationary points than mobile transects. Our results suggested that effects of factors on detection probabilities were based on biological and behavioral characteristics of species, which indicated the importance of monitoring survey variables and accounting for them in analyses.

To assess effects of environmental factors on occupancy, we evaluated temporally dynamic occupancy models. Occupancy probability differed among ecoregions for northern yellow bats (Dasypterus intermedius) and Myotis species. Hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus) were negatively associated with forest edge density. We found no significant effects of habitat conditions for five species. Thus, for some species, site-use analyses of NABat data may be more appropriate than grid-based occupancy analyses. However, predicted distributions closely matched species habitat associations. Our findings can improve future monitoring efforts and inform conservation priorities.

The greater round-eared bat, Tonatia bidens (Spix, 1823), is a medium-sized phyllostomid bat distributed in the north of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. The diet and foraging patterns of this species are poorly known. We analyzed the composition of the diet of a population of T. bidens and how the temperature influences the consumption of vertebrates and invertebrates. To describe diet composition, we conducted weekly collections of food scrap from two monospecific night-perches. Data of temperature for the study period were taken from the meteorological station installed 300 m from the collection perches. The influence of temperature was evaluated using generalized linear models (GLMs) with negative binomial distribution. Tonatia bidens consumed 28 taxons (204 records), being at least 17 Artropods and 11 Passeriformes birds. Temperature explained a greater proportion of vertebrate abundance (R2 = 0.23) than invertebrate (R2 = 0.16) or to both pooled (R2 = 0.11). The relation with t...

The common vampire bat apparently is expanding its range northwards in Mexico and seems poised to enter the southern United States. Climate models predict suitable habitat in the U.S. in south Texas and parts of southern Arizona. While vampire bats’ northward range expansion is not unexpected, the fact that this species brings a strain of rabies that impacts livestock and people warrants a strategic response. Annual economic damages from bats are estimated between $7M and $9M, largely associated with deaths of livestock from rabies. To prepare for the emerging rabies issue, USDA Wildlife Services programs in Texas
and Arizona have begun training employees to recognize symptoms and respond to bat presence. Surveillance of livestock at sale barns and on ranches is designed to maximize the opportunity to detect bat bites in livestock. Outreach on the issue, via one-on-one training and a DVD handout to landowners along both sides of the border, has been initiated. This paper details the extent of preparations for an emerging disease; quantifies expenditures necessary for a responsive program; and discusses some issues associated with the proximity of vampire bats to the U.S.-Mexico border.

The reproduction of Nyctalus noctula in a building in Slovakia was confirmed. It is in accordance with considerable increasing of the species occurrence in urban habitats during the last years. The first roost of Pipistrellus pygmaeus in Slovakia was found in a prefab house. Few individuals were mixed with Pipistrellus pipistrellus during spring migrating period. Subsequently, the first nursery of P. pygmaeus in Slovakia was confirmed in the similar urban habitat. Conservation activities in prefab buildings should consider this fact.

Studies of foraging habitat use by bats are nowadays common in many surveys and nature conservation projects. The use of ultrasound detectors has revolutionized the field studies of bats, but fast spreading methods are often not properly used in the beginning. We discuss the pitfalls of comparing bat detector data from habitats with different availability. Our examples show that in many situations smaller habitats may be assessed as preferred habitats and extensive habitats are regarded as “avoided”, in spite of the fact that the animal spends most of the time there. We conclude that it is important to consider also habitat availability, habitat function and prey availability to correctly evaluate habitat preference. We find that in habitat use studies in bats, the time spent in a habitat is probably a more objective measure for habitat preference than relative flight activity. Improper interpretation of the data from acoustic studies may lead to serious mistakes in conservation management of bat populations.

Agricultural intensification is one of the major causes for the global loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. As an alternative to conventional farming, organic management is considered a way to mitigate some of the negative impacts on biodiversity in agricultural landscapes; however, their benefits for bats are not very conclusive. We investigated the hypothesis that organic farming benefits bats in vineyards by improving conditions for foraging through increased availability of prey. We also hypothesized that bat activity would vary between edges and the interior of vineyards in response to prey availability that in turn would be influenced by agricultural management. Bat activity was quantified along edge and the interior of each vineyard type by using acoustic surveys. In addition, we sampled nocturnal flying insects at each site using light traps. Species richness and overall bat activity were significantly higher in organic than conventional vineyards, with organic edges concentrating the highest bat activity. Our results suggest negative effects of agricultural intensification on insectivorous bats. The high bat activity along edges compared to the interior of vineyards suggest that these structural features of the landscape are important components for bat populations in vineyards, and therefore should be considered within agricultural management in order to promote bat abundance and their role as pest suppressors.

Infundadamente se han mencionado a los murciélagos como los portadores del SARS-CoV-2 y como los causantes de la actual pandemia COVID-19, sin embargo, ellos nos proporcionan grandes beneficios y servicios como depredadores de insectos transmisores de enfermedades y plagas de nuestros cultivos, como polinizadores y dispersores de semillas, entre otros servicios ambientales. Los responsables de muchas enfermedades infecciosas somos nosotros al destruir los bosques y sustituirlos con enormes sistemas de producción agrícola y ganadero, y con el comercio ilegal de fauna silvestre, estamos provocando las crisis que actualmente nos aquejan. Las zoonosis como la malaria, el dengue, la rabia, la fiebre amarilla, etc., existen desde nuestro origen. Frente a la Covid-19, el objetivo de este artículo enfatiza que los murciélagos no son los responsables de la pandemia. No se ha encontrado el SARS-CoV-2 en murciélagos, el contagio de la Covid-19 es entre humanos. Destruir refugios de murciélagos o matarlos es perjudicial para los ecosistemas, para nuestra salud, economía y bienestar.

Carpathian forests represent unique and well-preserved ecosystems in relatively intensively managed forests of europe. habitat use, foraging assemblages and activity patterns of a bat community were investigated in semi-natural beech-oak forest by monitoring echolocation calls and mist-netting at three localities during the summers of 2003 and 2004. Six different forest habitat types were studied: oak forest, beech forest, stream, road, forest edge and open area within the forest. Bats were detected in all habitats. Sixteen species were found. habitats were used differently by the individual species. The highest species diversity was observed in the forest interior. The first peak of flight activity was after sunset which then declined and was relatively even through the night until the second peak before sunrise, which was recorded in the forest interior, open area and on the road. The highest flight activity was recorded at the forest edge, forest stream and in open area. Recorded activity was 3× lower in the oak forest interior compared to the forest edge, but if the extent of the forests is considered, forest interior is the most important foraging habitat. Consequently future forest management should consider the needs of this endangered group of animals.

Gibraltar is a small country near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula bordering Spain. Covering an area of just 7km2, most of the territory is dominated by the famous Rock of Gibraltar, a monolithic Jurassic limestone promontory rising 426m above the Mediterranean Sea. Riddled with over 200 recorded natural caves and 55km of tunnels, Gibraltar is the perfect roosting habitat for bats. Or at least it once was… The first bat census records for Gibraltar dating from the 1960s-70s account for over 36,000 bats, mostly of two cave-dwelling species – the Schreibers’ bat (Miniopterus schreibersii) and the Greater Mouse-Eared bat (Myotis myotis). These censuses were not scientific in nature and carried out by non-specialists but nevertheless mark the origins of bat conservation in Gibraltar. Following the founding of the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society in 1976, its Mammal Section eventually took over responsibility for safeguarding the future of bats on the Rock. However, their records already showed a sharp decline in numbers from those previously recorded which is corroborated by correspondence from visiting bat specialists from the United Kingdom in the 1980s-90s. Links with the Bat Conservation Trust where later established. The Gib-Bats project was created in 2013 as a collaborative study which sought to identify all bat species found on the Rock as well as their roosts in order to better understand their ecology, with the ultimate aim of developing a national conservation strategy for bats. Initial findings have shown that up to seven different species are currently found in Gibraltar, some previously unrecorded on the Rock. However, four species have become locally extinct and populations have crashed with an alarming 97% decline since records began. The reasons for this decline range in complexity and these need to be studied in detail if the remaining populations are to survive.

Saccopteryx gymnura is a rare emballonurine bat distributed from Guiana to the state of Par á , Brazil. This record extends its range more than 500 km from the easternmost locality. The presence of this species in an ecotonal Amazonian area suggests that these regions may act as possible refuges for other bat species and deserve more conservation attention.

Understanding biodiversity patterns as well as drivers of population declines, and range losses provides crucial baselines for monitoring and conservation. However, the information needed to evaluate such trends remains unstandardised and sparsely available for many taxonomic groups and habitats, including the cave-dwelling bats and cave ecosystems. Here, we present the DarkCideS 1.0, a global database of bat caves and bat species based on curated data from the literature, personal collections, and existing datasets. The database contains information for geographical distribution, ecological status, species traits, and parasites and hyperparasites for 679 bat species known to occur in caves or use caves in their life-histories. The database contains 6746 georeferenced occurrences for 402 cave-dwelling bat species from 2002 cave sites in 46 countries and 12 terrestrial biomes. The database has been developed to be a collaborative, open-access, and user-friendly platform, allowing con...

Caves are elective shelters for bat fauna, above all from a climatic point of view. The “buffer effect” on the variability of environmental parameters of cavities, make them a suitable habitat for bats. The choice of roosting sites, the shift of colonies from one chamber or passage to another and the different species composition in the communities during the year, might be linked to changes in the microclimatic parameters in the cavities. In order to explain the real links between the roosts climate and the cave bats communities dynamics, a monitoring protocol both environmental and faunal, has been applied on four natural cavities in south-west Sicily (Grotta del Salnitro, Grotta dell’Acqua Fitusa, Grotta dei Personaggi, Grotta Barone). Three of these cavities are home to large bat colonies, while the fourth cavity is not used and serves as a control. Inside these caves 60 dataloggers (T/Rh) have been installed and periodical inspections and captures have been carried out in order...

... más profundo agradecimiento. A mis sinodales: M. en C. Miguel Ángel Villavicencio Nieto, M. en C. Jesús M. Castillo Cerón, Dr. Numa P. Pavón Hernández, Dra. ... Page 5. iv Escorcia Maldonado,Paty Milo, Paty Rodríguez del Rosal, Caren Cruz Sánchez, Jorge ...

Agricultural intensification is one of the major causes for the global loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. As an alternative to conventional farming, organic management is considered a way to mitigate some of the negative impacts on biodiversity in agricultural landscapes; however, their benefits for bats are not very conclusive. We investigated the hypothesis that organic farming benefits bats in vineyards by improving conditions for foraging through increased availability of prey. We also hypothesized that bat activity would vary between edges and the interior of vineyards in response to prey availability that in turn would be influenced by agricultural management. Bat activity was quantified along edge and the interior of each vineyard type by using acoustic surveys. In addition, we sampled nocturnal flying insects at each site using light traps. Species richness and overall bat activity were significantly higher in organic than conventional vineyards, with organic edges concentrating the highest bat activity. Our results suggest negative effects of agricultural intensification on insectivorous bats. The high bat activity along edges compared to the interior of vineyards suggest that these structural features of the landscape are important components for bat populations in vineyards, and therefore should be considered within agricultural management in order to promote bat abundance and their role as pest suppressors.