In order to collect base line data for setting up bat boxes, we established a total of 30 bat boxes in 2017. The bat boxes were established on the sidewalls of overpass and on the inside of girder bridges. Since establishing bat boxes, we regularly confirmed whether or not they were used; in June 2018, we confirmed that a total of six bat boxes were being used by Pipistrellus abramus and Myotis aurascens. It was confirmed that P. abramus used one bat box each out of five bat boxes, and that many adult females of M. aurascens used a single bat box as a place for maternity roosts. This result is the first use case for setting up bat boxes across the country, and could be used as baseline data to build roosts for bats by setting up additional bat boxes in the future.

The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of the home range and habitat use of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum individuals that inhabit urban areas. The bats were tracked using GPS tags. For analysis of the home rage, Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) and Kernel Home Range (KHR) methods were used. The landscape types of all positional information were analyzed using ArcGIS 9.3.1 (ESRI Inc.). The average home range of 16 R. ferrumequinum individuals was 68.63 ± 25.23 ha, and the size of the overall home range for the females (85.49 ± 25.40 ha) was larger than that for the males (51.76 ± 8.30 ha). The highest average home range for the males was found in August (61.21 ± 0.01 ha), whereas that for the females was found in September (112.27 ± 5.94 ha). The size of 50% KHR ranged from a minimum of 13.26 ha to a maximum of 31.00 for the males and a minimum of 8.02 ha to a maxinum of 42.16 ha for the females, showing no significant differences between the two sexes. In addition, males and females showed no differences in the size of 50% KHR in the monthly comparisons. However, the females showed differences in the size of their core area between periods before and after giving birth. The comparisons between 100% MCP and 50% KHR showed that the types of habitats used by R. ferrumequinum were mostly forest areas, including some farmlands. In addition, comparisons with a land cover map showed that the proportion of broad-leaved forests was the highest, followed by that of mixed forests.

In this study, we analyzed the changes in the echolocation and prey-capture behavior of the horseshoe bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum from search phase to capture time. The experiment was conducted in an indoor free-flight room fitted with an ultra-high-speed camera. We found that the bats searched for food while hanging from a structure, and capturing was carried out using the flight membrane. In addition, it was confirmed that the mouth and uropatagium were continuously used in tandem during the capturing process. Furthermore, using Constant Frequency (CF), we confirmed that the prey catching method reflected the wing morphology and echolocation pattern of R. ferrumequinum. The echolocation analysis revealed that the pulse duration, pulse interval, peak frequency, start-FM-bandwidth, and CF duration decreased as the search phase approached the terminal phase. Detailed analysis of echolocation pulse showed that the end-FM bandwidth, which increases as it gets nearer to the capture time of prey, was closely related to the accurate grasp of the location of an insect. At the final moment of prey capture, the passive listening that stopped the divergence of the echolocation was identified; this was determined to be the process of minimizing the interruption from the echo of the echolocation call emitted from the bat itself and sound waves emitted from the prey.

Sightings of long-tailed bats have only been recorded twice in Korea, and their morphology and ecology are virtually unknown. We captured a female long-tailed bat in May 2016, in Gangwon Province, and to the best of our knowledge, this has been done for the first time in approximately 30 years. The captured bat had a very small craniofacial area and the length of its tibia was > 19 mm. The wing membrane penetrated the distal portion of the metatarsus of its first toe. The fur of the bat had a lusterless yellowish-brown color and its terminal tail vertebra was free beyond the posterior edge of the uropatagium. It had an obvious lambdoid crest on the lateral side. The anterior and central premolars were located inward with respect to the tooth row. In the mandible, the central premolar was located slightly inward and was nearly 80% of the anterior premolar in height.