The greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) in Slovenia is endangered mainly by destruction of roosts, while other factors are poorly known. For analysis of the state the species in a given area is in, it is crucial to know its population trend. One of the important but very often neglected factors that influence population dynamics is the availability of feeding habitats. By using radio telemetry on greater mouse-eared bats from the roost in the church sv. Štefan in Spodnja Polskava (SE Slovenia) we investigated their feeding patterns considering different land uses in the vicinity of the roost. Moreover, we collected data on microclimatic conditions within the roost using data-loggers, as well as other roost characteristics. Differences between the expected and realized habitat uses were significant, which points to selective use of feeding habitats, especially forests. Our results supported the hypothesis that bats will select for deciduous woodlands with little undergrowth. Land use categories that were most frequent among the feeding locations were forest (40 %), followed by fields (35,9 %) and permanent meadows (13,8 %). In 67 % of feeding locations, forest was the main habitat type, in nine occasions it covered more that 50 % of the surface. Results on microclimatic conditions supported the hypothesis that temperatures of the roost follow the ones outside, but they were significantly higher. We used collected data as a basis to propose the guidelines for managing the roost as well as the surrounding habitats.
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