Follow-up inventory
of underground bat sites
in western part of Ukraine

In previous years Ukrainian bat-workers had started with the systematical search and examination of underground sites, which are shelters for bats. Some previous results may be looked through at the pages of this web-site: here – on caves of Crimea, here – on Podolia and Middle Dniester River Region, here – about bats in underground cavities of the Continental South of Ukraine; or in the corresponding publications.

In 2010 and 2011 we continued the work.

Aim: Follow-up inventory of underground cavities in the region for determining of important bat sites for their further protection and monitoring and carrying out of the entire winter bat census in already identified key bat sites.

Place: western part of Ukraine.

Executors

Lena Godlevska (team leader), Maria Ghazali (Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology), Volodymyr Tyshchenko (National University of Bioresources and Nature Management). Anna Khokhlova and Volodymyr Oschepkov also took part in the work.

Main results

The field data were gathered during three expeditions: in summer and in autumn 2010, and in winter 2010/2011. The work had concerned 7 administrative provinces of Ukraine (Zhytomyr, Rivne, Ternopil, Khmelnytsky, Vinnytsya, Chernivtsi and Mykolaiv Oblasts).

During the expeditions, over 80 undeground units were revealed and / or examined. More than a half of them were examined for bats for the first time.

The work had been carried out by the standard scheme.

In sum, in the checked underground sites we recorded 14 bat species: Rhinolophus hipposideros, Myotis bechsteinii, M. myotis, M. blythii, M. daubentonii, M. dasycneme, M. nattereri, M. mystacinus, M. alcathoe, Plecotus austriacus, P. auritus, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Barbastella barbastellus, and Eptesicus serotinus.

The work enabled to receive additional data on the status and distribution of the row of bat species in Ukraine.

Five new key underground sites, important for bat conservation and monitoring, were determined: 2 – in Vinnytsya Oblast, 1 – in Zhytomyr Oblast, 1 – in Rivne Oblast, 1 – in Chernivtsi Oblast.

Photo: L. Godlevska

Publications on the results of the work

• Godlevskaya E. V., Ghazali M. A. New data on bats’ wintering at the territory of Zhytomyr and Rivne Oblasts (Ukraine) // Vestnik zoologii. – 2011. – Vol. 45, № 4. – P. 346. (In Russian.)
• Godlevskaya E. V., Ghazali M. A., Tyshchenko V. M. Results of the first full-scaled bat census in underground sites of the Continental Black Sea Region of Ukraine // Nature reserves in Ukraine. – 2011. – Vol. 17, issue 1-2. – P. 34-41. (In Ruusian.)
• Godlevskaya E. V., Ghazali M. A., Tyshchenko V. M. Additional data about troglophilous bats of Podolia and Middle Dniester River region (Ukraine). – under preparation.

Supported by Stichting Zoogdierenwerkgroep Zuid-Holland and the Bat Support Fund for Eastern Europe.

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24.11.2013