Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 35/2. (2015)
Zoology
NISTREANU Victoria, ANDREEV Sergiu, LARION Alina, POSTOLACHI Vlad, CALPARI Vlad Material and methods Abandoned stone quarries near Saharna village are located near the monastery (47°4Г N, 28°57’ E) at an altitude ranging between 88-100 m and there are several entries located along the slopes. The entries aren’t protected in any way and the population has free access. A positive aspect for bats is that during the cold period the tourism and other recreational activities are less intense. The ceiling consists of multiple cracks left after extraction activities and has a height ranging from 1.5 to 5 m. The studies were performed in winter-beginning of the spring period of 2013-2014. The temperature outside was of-l°C-0°C in February and of 7°C 10°C in March. Inside the quarries the temperature was practically the same in both study periods: 7°C—8°C at 10 m from the entrance. The relative humidity ranged between 76% and 87%. The bats were studied directly by visual observations, all individuals were identified. During winter the individuals weren’t disturbed, while at the beginning of spring, when bats become more active, some of them were extracted from the ceiling cracks in order to determine their sex and age, weight and some morphological peculiarities. Results and discussions A total of 7 km of underground passages were investigated and 325 individuals from 9 species (Rhynolophus hipposideros, Myotis blythi, M. daubentonii, M. dasycneme, M. mystacinus, Plecotus auritus, P. austriacus, Barbastella barbastellus, Eptesicus serotinus) were registered. In 2013 we recorded only 112 individuals from 7 species, while in 2014 — 213 individuals from 9 species. This fact is probably due to the late period of study in 2013, which was at the end of March, when bats become active and begin to leave the underground shelters, while in 2014 the bat monitoring occurred at the beginning of February. In spring there were observed 12 individuals flying in the quarries. The first individuals, belonging to E. serotinus, P austriacus and P. auritus were observed near the entrance, at 3-4 from it. The Plecotus species usually hibernate near the entrances of underground shelters, up to 8—10 m, while the serotine bat can be found near the entrances, as well as deeper in the underground. Most of the individuals were found in cracks solitarily, only E. serotinus individuals were found in small groups, ranging from 2 to 10 individuals (fig. 1). Other species were found exclusively solitarily. Fig. 1: Eptesicus serotinus found in cracks in groups of 2 and 9 individuals 76
