The thousand-year history of the Slovak Karst inferred from pollen in bat guano inside the Domica Cave (Slovakia)

摘要: A thousand years old 105 cm deep deposit of bat guano in the Domica Cave (southern Slovakia, Slovak Karst National Park) has been discovered for science, and three samples were analysed pollen to identify bats’ preferred foraging habitats insect remains their diet. The species concerned, Rhinolophus euryale, is rare area, which lies at northern margin its distribution. record captured alder forests between 897–1024 AD, temperate light broad-leaved oak-hornbeam with Quercus cerris, Fraxinus ornus, Cornus mas Corylus avellana 1522–1800 almost recently willow shrubs. This pattern may, however, reflect local changes surrounding landscape where bats hunted. Pollen anemophilous taxa was underrepresented (e.g. Fagus), while entomophilous overrepresented Loranthus europaeus, Acer, Agrostemma githago). phenology encountered indicates that used mainly as spring summer roosts. further prefer forage a forest–steppe open Pannonian broadleaved humid riparian environments. Today, this kind does not occur north, may explain limit study site.