Animal sampling
In 2016 we investigated five maternity colonies of greater mouse-eared
bats located in the roof of five active churches of South Tyrolean
valleys, the northernmost region in Italy. From each colony, a mean
number of 32 individuals were captured within their roost during the
day, manually or using hand nets according to the structure of the roof
and the position of the colony, and placed in individual cotton bags to
rest for 10-15 minutes. All animals were inspected and measured to
determine the species, age, sex and physiological status. Relevant
measurements included the length of the upper tooth row
(CM3), which is critical to resolve morphological
taxonomy of our target species M. myotis against the siblingM. blythii, which has sporadically been reported in the area
(Arlettaz, Ruedi, & Hansser, 1991). From each animal, we collected a
tissue sample from the right patagium using a 3 mm biopsy punch and
20-100 µl of blood from the uro-patageal vein using a 300 µl insulin
syringe with a 30 G needle. Biopsies and blood samples were used for
genetic and serological studies, respectively. All procedures were
performed under physical restraint for a maximum of 6
minutes/individual; after sampling, animals were given water to prevent
dehydration and were placed in a ventilated cotton bag for small animal
transport in groups of 15, until release within the roost. All roosts
were sampled twice around mid-May and mid-September, before and after
the birth pulse, respectively. A total of 318 blood samples and 338
uropatageal biopsies were collected for the purpose of the study. All
personnel working with bats was vaccinated against rabies and showed a
protective antibody titer throughout the duration of the project (WHO,
2018).