Ecology of bat species in the arid region of the Daurian steppe at the peak of drought

Abstract

Bats (Chiroptera) are the least studied group of mammals in the Daurian steppe (Inner Asia: Mongolia, Russia and China). We surveyed the bat fauna of the Daurian steppe and some ecological features of bat species in 2008–2019. We recorded six bat species in this region, of which Vespertilio murinus, V. sinensis and Myotis davidii are the most abundant. Myotis davidii tended to hide in the rocks near fresh water sources. Unlike Vespertilio, М. davidii avoided settling in human constructions. Vespertilio species can live farther from water sources compared to М. davidii. The sex ratio of collected adult V. murinus, V. sinensis, M. davidii was female-based. This indicates that these species do not hibernate in the Daurian steppe region. Our results show the important role of the studied region for these migratory bat species, as it is a breeding territory. At the beginning of the XXI century, many lakes and rivers dried up partially or completely in Dauria. In the Russian part of the Daurian steppe, we observed an increase in the V. sinensis population and a decrease in the populations of M. petax and M. davidii. We speculate that the change in the bat community is a consequence of the reduction in the number of water bodies in Dauria, especially in the Mongolian part (Dornod aimag).

Keywords

• climate change
• dry period
• mongolia
• range extension
• sex ratio