Foraging activity of central European Myotis myotis in a landscape dominated by spruce monocultures

In Bavarian forests dominated by spruce monocultures, radio-tracked Myotis myotis did not select stands of deciduous forests but used them according to their availability. The bats preferred tall single strata forests with little undergrowth. Twenty-six per cent of the foraging time was spent outside forests in meadows and fields. An explanation for the existing relationship in Bavaria between population density of the ground-gleaning A myotis and the extent of deciduous forests appears to be the higher percentage of open floor suitable for foraging in old beech forests and beech-mixed forests compared to old stands of spruce. A major recommendation from our study is that in order to preserve the density of A myotis in Bavaria, habitat management (use of beech in forestry, reintroduction of cattle grazing in forests) is necessary to compensate for an expected decrease in foraging area quality in spruce-dominated forests. (c) 2005 Deutsche Gesellschaft for Saugetierkunde. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.