Does Myotis macrodactylus fly across the Nemuro Strait? Insights from ecological, genetic, and stable isotope analyses.

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The aim of this study was to elucidate why Myotis macrodactylus fly over the Nemuro Strait. This species occurs at both sides of the strait, in the Shiretoko Peninsula and in the island of Kunashir, and has been reported flying over the strait. We banded more than 1000 individuals of this bat species from Shiretoko Peninsula, over the strait and Kunashir Island, and analyzed their mitochondrial DNA, and stable isotopes from tissue samples.The behavior of the bats flying over the strait was observed during heavy foggy days. The analysis of the stable isotopes suggested a low probability of these bats feeding over the strait. The results of the banding survey did not provide any evidence of bats flying across the Strait. However, the mitochondrial DNA analysis showed that the genetic diversity of the species on both sides of the strait is very low, suggesting that there might be some level of gene flow between Shiretoko and Kunashir, although not detectable by ecological means.