집박쥐 (Pipistrellus abramus)는 인간의 주거 지역을 중심으로 서식하는 대표적인 종으로, 우리나라에 광범위하게 분포하고 있다. 그러나 대부분의 박쥐류가 유사한 크기의 다른 포유동물보다 상대적으로 긴 수명을 가지는 것에 반하여 집박쥐는 매우 짧은 수명을 가지는 것으로 알려져 왔다. 지금까지 집박쥐의 장기 수명에 관한 내용으로는 암컷 5년, 수컷 3년의 확인 기록이 전부였다. 그러나 본 연구자들은 284개체에 대한 밴딩을 통하여 지금까지 알려진 집박쥐의 최대 수명보다 2배 이상 생존한 개체를 재포획 하였으며, 그 결과를 정리하였다. 집박쥐는 인간의 생활권과 가장 밀접한 종으로 서식지의 환경은 본 종의 수명에 직접적인 영향을 미친다고 볼 수 있다. 따라서 향후 서식지 환경에 따른 수명과의 연계성에 대한 연구가 이루어져야 할 것으로 판단되며, 본 자료는 집박쥐의 장기 생존과 수명에 관한 국내 첫 보고로써 향후 박쥐의 수명에 관한 기초 자료가 될 것으로 기대된다.

The morphological characteristics of the baculum were compared among Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Hypsugo alaschanicus, Vespertilio sinensis, and Murina hilgendorfi. Their bacula were located at the distal end but their shapes were differed among species. V. sinensis had the longest baculum (mean=7.27 mm), followed by R. ferrumequinum (mean=5.02 mm), H. alaschanicus (mean=2.60 mm) andM. hilgendorfi (mean=2.15 mm). The baculum of R. ferrumequinum was Y-shaped, with a pointed tip and that of V. sinensis was long and conical. However, the baculum of H. alaschanicus was I-shaped, with the widths of proximal and distal ends larger than that of the shaft. The baculum ofM. hilgendorfi was small, and oval shaped. The shaft of the baculum of R. ferrumequinum and H. alaschanicus was linear in shape, whereas that of V. sinensis was curved towards the distal end, and that ofM. hilgendorfi was bent upward. The results showed that the baculum morphology differed among these four species. These findings can be utilized as an identification key for these species, and they can be used as baseline data for studying the phyletic relationships of bats.

2002년부터 2010년까지 봄에 관측된 황사는 모두 66회였다. 월별로 보면, 3월에 26회, 4월에 23회, 5월에 17회로 5월의 황사는 3, 4월에 비해 드문 현상이다. 2010년 5월 22일부터 25일까지 동아시아에 나타난 황사는 발원하여 이동하면서 한반도를 비껴 일본으로 갔다. 이 황사는 22일 몽골 및 중국 북부지역에서 강한 저기압이 발달하면서 그 후면을 따라 남동진 하였고, 3일 뒤인 25일 일본에서 황사가 관측되었다. 본 연구에서는 사례기간의 종관기상 분석, 기류의 이동 방향, 위성을 이용한 황사의 수평 분포 등을 분석하였다. 그 결과 남중국해에서 발달한 저기압이 북상하면서 그 중심이 한반도 가장자리에 위치하였기 때문에 중국 내륙으로 내려온 황사는 저기압성 기류를 따라 한반도를 돌아 일본으로 이동한 것으로 분석되었다. 이러한 기류의 흐름은 850 hPa면의 바람벡터와 풍속장 분석 및 1000 hPa면의 상대습도 분포에서도 나타났다. 300 hPa 일기도상에서 제트기류는 몽골 서쪽 부근에서 남동진하여 몽골 내륙으로 사행하였다. 이후 이 기류의 영향으로 지상에서 한반도에 저기압이 발달하였는데 이는 황사가 한반도를 돌아 일본으로 이동한 결정적인 흐름이었다. 72시간의 후방공기궤적 분석결과, 일본에서 맨눈으로 관측된 곳의 기류는 모두 중국 산동반도와 동중국해에서 유입된 것으로 나타났다. 황사의 수평분포 결과, MODIS 위성의 RGB 영상에서 5월 24일에는 중국 산둥반도와 동중국해, 일본 규슈지역 남서쪽에서 황사가 탐지되었고, 5월 25일에는 동중국해와 일본 남해지역으로 황사가 이동되는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 지금까지의 황사 연구는 우리나라에 영향을 미치는 황사의 발원지나 황사의 이동 경로 또는 에어러솔의 특성에 대한 연구가 대부분이지만, 이후 본 연구에서 분석된 사례와 같은 황사가 발생했을 경우 황사예보에 효과적으로 활용될 수 있을 것이다.

In this study, 12 environmental factors were used to evaluate the potential habitat of Pteromys volans living around some development areas. The analyzed value ranged from 0 to 20.1, and the area with a score of 10 or less was analyzed to have a low possibility of inhabiting Pteromys volans. To verify the analyzed results, a field survey was conducted on areas with 10 or more scores, and traces of habitat of Pteromys volans were confirmed in areas with 16 or more scores. All the areas with an evaluation score of 16 or higher showed high crown density and age class. However, despite the high crown density and age class, the evaluation score in some areas was low owing to the influence of other environmental factors. Therefore, in evaluating Pteromys volans habitats, it is necessary to apply various and complex criteria suitable for field conditions rather than applying uniform and fragmentary environmental factors only.

Seventy Pipistrellus abramus samples were caught to analyze their sexual dimorphism and mophological characteristics. The mean HB and FA were 50.86 mm and 34.93 mm, respectively, based on external measurements and skull shape. The length of the TL, Hfcu, and Tra were approximately 70%, 55.6%, and 38% of the HB, Tib, and E, respectively. Both the lambdoid crest and the sagittal crest were well developed and the H.BC was approximately 84% of the W.BC. P2 was inside the toothrow and metacone of canine was clearly visible. According to the analysis of sexual dimorphism, the following characteristics were different in between males and females: WS, C-M3, C-C, M3-M3, LOM, LUC, and i-m3. The WS, C-M3, C-C, M3-M3, LOM, and i-m3 were bigger in females than males, whereas the LUC was bigger in males.

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.