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Haplotype diversity in common pipistrelle’s mass hibernacula from central Europe

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Abstract

Mass hibernacula of several tens of thousands of Pipistrellus pipistrellus associated with the swarming of bats during seasonal movements should serve as important sites of gene flow in this species. The massive occurrence of hibernating bats which is observed in few caves in the Carpathian Mountains encourages the idea that the genetic diversity at these sites will be greater comparing to known situation in surrounding region. This study aimed to determine the genetic diversity of individuals that aggregate in two such caves in Slovakia and Romania with the help of a common and available genetic marker. Using an mtDNA cytochrome b, 571 bp long fragment, very low haplotype diversity was found within both mass hibernacula of P. pipistrellus (15 haplotypes only, from which one significantly predominated with > 80% in both caves). The initial screening did not suggest that hibernating bats migrated to mass hibernacula from remote areas behind central European region. However, reliable study of the species’ migratory behaviour is required to understand more about the phenomenon of the mass hibernacula of these bats.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Moyzesova 11, SK-04001, Košice, Slovakia

    Gréta Nusová, Martina šemeláková, Lenka paučulovÁ, Marcel Uhrin & Peter Kañuch

  2. Institute of Forest Ecology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Ľ. Štúra 2, SK-96053, Zvolen, Slovakia

    Peter Kañuch

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  1. Gréta Nusová
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  2. Martina šemeláková
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  3. Lenka paučulovÁ
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  4. Marcel Uhrin
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  5. Peter Kañuch
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Correspondence to Peter Kañuch.

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Nusová, G., šemeláková, M., paučulovÁ, L. et al. Haplotype diversity in common pipistrelle’s mass hibernacula from central Europe. Biologia 72, 548–553 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1515/biolog-2017-0061

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/biolog-2017-0061

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