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The overall bat (Chiroptera) fauna of Protected Areas in the forest zone of European Russia has not yet been assessed, although papers on some Protected Areas are being published quite regularly. Along its north-to-south gradient, this extensive area spans a great variety of habitats suitable for bat populations with vastly diverse compositions. In our review of bat species, we focused on eight Protected Areas in the northern and middle taiga, as well as on a comparative summary of the faunal data for the forest zone of European Russia in general. Surveys using a bat detector and by mist-netting resulted in identification of the species composition, relative abundance, relative density and spatial distribution of bats in Protected Areas. The following nine bat species were recorded: Myotis nattereri, M. mystacinus, M. brandtii, M. daubentonii, M. dasycneme, Plecotus auritus, Nyctalus noctula, Eptesicus nilssonii, Vespertilio murinus. We regularly recorded ultrasonic signals from Plecotus auritus, Nyctalus noctula and Vespertilio murinus up to 66° N, which is much farther north that the species ranges indicated on IUCN maps. This result came as a surprise, considering there had been no specialised censuses in the Republic of Karelia or the Arkhangelsk region for decades. In Protected Areas, bat communities were dominated by Eptesicus nilssonii, which is specific to the northern taiga and middle taiga subzones. We discuss some ecological preferences of this species, such as a relatively higher tolerance of E. nilssonii towards temperature, but not towards air humidity in winter roosts, which may help it to thrive at high latitudes. At the same time, E. nilssonii is either missing from more southern parts of the forest zone or its relative abundance there is lower, while the dominant faunal elements are Myotis daubentonii (Darwin State Nature Reserve), Nyctalus noctula (Smolenskoye Poozerye National Park, Oksky State Nature Reserve, Bryansky Les State Nature Reserve) and Pipistrellus nathusii (Prioksko-Terrasny State Nature Reserve). Additionally, bat captures by using mist nets in the Vodlozersky National Park revealed the northernmost records of Myotis mystacinus in European Russia (62.224867° N, 37.081629° E and 62.466342° N, 36.673240° E). Finally, we argue that recent bat records demand a revision of the status of bats in regional Red Data Books.

Parapolsky Dol is one of the largest wetlands of world importance. However, there is only fragmentary information about the species composition and structure of animal communities in this area, due to its inaccessibility. This fact determines the relevance of studying small mammals as an indicator group in Parapolsky Dol. The article deals with the results of a research on the fauna and small mammal communities of Parapolsky Dol (Koryak State Nature Reserve), carried out from 25 August to 15 September 2017. The study area included the shore of Lake Talovskoye, the floodplains of the River Tylakrylvayam and the River Ichiginnyvayams. During the period of 2735 trap-nights and 144 cylinder-nights we captured 5 small mammal species: Myodes rutilus, M. rufocanus, Sorex isodon, S. caecutiens and Ochotona hyperborea. The surveyed habitats ranged from the maximum to the minimum abundance of small mammals: the floodplain of the River Ichiginnyvayam – 10.9 individuals/100 trap-nights, 8.0 individuals /100 cylinder-nights; the shore of Lake Talovskoye – 3.48 individuals/100 trap-nights; the floodplain of the River Tylakrylvayam – 1.43 individuals/100 trap-nights, 2.53 individuals/100 cylinder-nights. The largest number of species (4) was captured in the habitats with woody vegetation and berry beds. The results of the capture by snap traps revealed the tendency of M. rutilus and S. rufocanus to dominate in most habitats. The results of the capture by cylinders show that S. caecutiens is dominant in the surveyed open habitats. All studied communities are characterised by low diversity indices, average values of dominance index, sufficiently high evenness and low sustainability. One can explain such structure of small mammal communities by the zonal and climatic conditions of the territory. The diversity/evenness structure in all the communities corresponds to that of the natural habitats in central, southern Kamchatka and Siberia. The small mammal communities on the shore of Lake Talovskoye and the floodplain of the River Ichiginnyvayam are characterised by high diversity indices, while the communities of the floodplain of the River Tylakrylvayam are distinguished by a high evenness index. We observed animal reproduction in the small mammal communities (pregnant and lactating females of different age groups were captured). The largest number of pregnant females and embryos, the highest values of reproductive success, indices of conservation and the generalised indices of well-being were identified in the small mammal communities in cedar and birch ribbon forests on the shore of Lake Talovskoye and in floodplain of the River Tylakrylvayam. In the plant associations Ledum decumbens + Vaccinium uliginosum – Cladonia sp. + Cladina sp., and Ledum decumbens + Vaccinium uliginosum – Sphagnum sp. we did not observe any reproduction. The material of this research work supplement the data on the fauna and population structure of small mammals in Parapolsky Dol.

The eastern outskirts of Fennoscandia harbour two protected areas – Vodlozersky and Kenozersky national parks. They are relatively close to each other and occupy vast taiga territories in the Republic of Karelia and the Arkhangelsk Region. They are distinguished for the share of old-growth forests and the pattern of agricultural use of the land. The species composition of bats in these protected areas has not been previously studied, and the only species definitely known to inhabit the territories was the Northern bat. Special censuses of bats in these areas were carried out using traditional (mist nets, visual observations) and modern (static ultrasonic detector) methods. The counts were carried out at fixed points, along car and water transects. A total of 28 bats of 4 species were captured (Northern bat Eptesicus nilssonii Keyserling & Blasius 1839, Daubenton’s bat Myotis daubentonii Kuhl 1817, Brandt’s bat M. brandtii Eversmann 1845, whiskered bat M. mystacinus Kuhl 1817), and records were made of 185 bats of 7 species (apart from the ones listed above they were the brown long-eared bat Plecotus auritus L. 1758, common noctule Nyctalus noctula Schreber 1774, parti-coloured bat Vespertilio murinus L. 1758, pond bat M. dasycneme Boie 1825, Natterer’s bat M. nattereri Kuhl 1817), and bats classified as Brandt’s/whiskered bats. The relative abundance (%) and relative density (ind./km of transect) of some species are reported, as well as the dominance of the northern bat in all the communities, which is characteristic of the middle taiga subzone in general. The northernmost summer habitats of the whiskered bat in the European North of Russia were identified. A comparative analysis of the two protected areas in terms of species composition, relative abundance and relative density of bats did not reveal any sharp differences in these parameters.

The article deals with the least-studied taxonomic group of mammals in the Green Belt of Fennoscandia (GBF) and Karelia as a whole – bats (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae). The aim was to determine the status of species in the process of their inventory us-ing traditional and modern research methods. For the first time, an integrated assess-ment of the species composition, relative abundance (%) and relative numbers (ind./km of the route) of bats during the hibernation period and summer activity is given for GBF. Underground hibernacula (mines and former military concrete bunkers) were mon-itored in 2009–2018 years. Up to 25 bats of 5 species overwinter in the largest hibernac-ulum described for Karelia (Ruskeala) – the northern bat Eptesicus nilssonii Keyserling, Blasius, 1839, Brandt’s bat Myotis brandtii Eversmann, 1845, whiskered bat M. mystac-inus Kuhl, 1817, Daubenton’s bat M. daubentonii Kuhl, 1817, and brown long-eared bat Plecotus auritusLinnaeus, 1758. The northern bat dominated, with a relative abundance of 65.8 %. The history of bats hibernating in the Ruskeala Mining Park in connection with the reconstruction of the gallery was traced. Changes in the habitat conditions for bats and their consequences for the diversity, species numbers and hibernation ecology are shown. In summer, in addition to the species recorded at hibernacula, car transect and control point surveys using the Song Meter SM2 Bat+ (USA) static ultrasound detec-tor and Kaleidoscope Pro software (ver. 3.1.1) detected common noctule Nyctalus noct-ula Schreber, 1774, parti-coloured bat Vespertilio murinusLinnaeus, 1758, Natterer’s bat M. nattereri Kuhl, 1817, and pond bat M. Dasycneme Boie, 1825. The summer censuses reached up to 66°23ʹN, and the northern bat also dominated the records, with 52.4 % rel-ative abundance, and 0.238 ind./km route relative numbers. The high prevalence of bats at waterbodies in GBF (69.2 %) and its species-specific features at waterbodies of var-ious categories are shown. The first inventory of bats in protected areas within GBF has significantly expanded the list of bat species known in these territories. In general, studies have shown the northern bat predominated in the bat communities both at hibernacula and during the summer period. The northernmost records of species, including migrants, have been updated, modifying the previous ideas about their distribution in the region.