Il sistema di relazioni morfoadattative del gruppo Myotis myotis/M. blythii/M. punicus nel Bacino del Mediterraneo

Bats are the second order of mammals for number of species and the cryptic diversity is still widespread among species and a hotspot in systematic and consequentially in ecology and conservation. So in many cases monitoring bats is hampered by the lack of a reliable method of identification especially by bioacoustic studies, with regards to the analysis of their echolocation calls. In this contest for example the distinction among the three species of “large Myotis”, Myotis myotis, M. blythii and M. punicus is very difficult especially by identification of ultrasound. Target of the study is to clarify differences among the species on morphological, bioacoustic and parasitological point of view, as interpretation of the evolutionary model of these three species. About the bioacoustic, 216 sonograms belonging to the three species were tested in different regions of the Mediterranean basin comparing the performance of quadratic and linear discriminant function analysis (DFA) of calls as a means to identify species. Data collection took place in strategic geographical contexts, which has allowed us to explore the variability of signals, exploring the impact of geographical isolation in regions such as in Sardinia and Crete where respectively only M. punicus and M. blythii are present. The comparison within Italy and Greece, where the two species M. myotis and M. blythii are in close sympatry, and the comparison of M. punicus of Sardinia with data coming from the Maghreb (Algeria) revealed that the influence of geographic location is a strong factor only in Greece samples of M. myotis where values of all measured parameters, especially those related to frequency, deviate from the results obtained for the species in Italy and Spain. Sound parameters of M. blythii in Greece are very similar to the Italian and Cretan samples demonstrating that differences in M. myotis are not due to the sampling method. Regarding morphometry, in Italy have been measured 217 specimens of which 152 M. myotis and 65 M. blythii; morphological comparisons between species and gender were performed, however no statistical significance was found except for the greater size of female specimens. Regarding the ectoparasite community, among the different colonies examined there are strong differences in prevalence and intensity correlated to the diversity of host. Among the three species of large Myotis also there were very low intensity and prevalence in sample of both M. myotis and M. blythii from Tuscany, but the sample were constituted only by male suggesting, as previously published, the role of aggregation of reproductive females to increment the presence and fecundity also of ectoparasites. There are statically differences in Penicillidia dufourii, Spinturicidae e Macronissidae prevalence on the three species in which M. punicus and M. blythii show a heavier charge in the mean number of parasite per host. During the research on ectoparasites were collected new information on morphology and ecology of Cimex pipistrelli, not common species in Italy, also about his role in the transmission of blood parasites and viruses. A new Coronavirus was described for Italy. Actually the research provides a new perspective in the complex bioecology of the three species of large Myotis, opening new perspective in the knowledge of evolutionary model of these three species.