Broadening the focus of bat conservation and research in the USA for the 21st century

Weller, Theodore J.; Cryan, Paul M.; O’Shea, Thomas J.

doi:10.3354/esr00149

Cited by 56 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 105 publications

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“…Our findings demonstrate the importance of connectivity for bat communities in farmland‐dominated landscapes and support Weller, Cryan & Shea's () claim that fragmentation is a major threat to bat populations. Higher bat activity around structural elements suggests that the presence of a single isolated tree to a highly connected hedgerow or forest stand may benefit bats.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Landscape connectivity, habitat structure and activity of bat guilds in farmland‐dominated matrices

Frey-Ehrenbold

Bontadina

Arlettaz

et al. 2013

Journal of Applied Ecology

185

115

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Summary1. Agricultural intensification has caused a decline in structural elements in European farmland, where natural habitats are increasingly fragmented. The loss of habitat structures has a detrimental effect on biodiversity and affects bat species that depend on vegetation structures for foraging and commuting. 2. We investigated the impact of connectivity and configuration of structural landscape elements on flight activity, species richness and diversity of insectivorous bats and distinguished three bat guilds according to species-specific bioacoustic characteristics. We tested whether bats with shorter-range echolocation were more sensitive to habitat fragmentation than bats with longer-range echolocation. We expected to find different connectivity thresholds for the three guilds and hypothesized that bats prefer linear over patchy landscape elements. 3. Bat activity was quantified using repeated acoustic monitoring in 225 locations at 15 study plots distributed across the Swiss Central Plateau, where connectivity and the shape of landscape elements were determined by spatial analysis (GIS). Spectrograms of bat calls were assigned to species with the software BATIT by means of image recognition and statistical classification algorithms. 4. Bat activity was significantly higher around landscape elements compared to open control areas. Short-and long-range echolocating bats were more active in well-connected landscapes, but optimal connectivity levels differed between the guilds. Species richness increased significantly with connectivity, while species diversity did not (Shannon's diversity index). Total bat activity was unaffected by the shape of landscape elements. 5. Synthesis and applications. This study highlights the importance of connectivity in farmland landscapes for bats, with shorter-range echolocating bats being particularly sensitive to habitat fragmentation. More structurally diverse landscape elements are likely to reduce population declines of bats and could improve conditions for other declining species, including birds. Activity was highest around optimal values of connectivity, which must be evaluated for the different guilds and spatially targeted for a region's habitat configuration. In a multispecies approach, we recommend the reintroduction of structural elements to increase habitat heterogeneity should become part of agri-environment schemes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Landscape connectivity, habitat structure and activity of bat guilds in farmland‐dominated matrices

Frey-Ehrenbold

Bontadina

Arlettaz

et al. 2013

Journal of Applied Ecology

185

115

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“…Not only were there marked differences in activity levels, but the top models and relative importance of explanatory variables differed among time periods. This is not surprising given that behavioral and energetic needs of bats change seasonally (Weller et al 2009). For example, conditions conducive to foraging during summer may differ from those that favor migration during spring and autumn.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Using echolocation monitoring to model bat occupancy and inform mitigations at wind energy facilities

Weller

Baldwin

2011

J Wildl Manag

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Fatalities of migratory bats, many of which use low frequency (<35 kHz; LowF) echolocation calls, have become a primary environmental concern associated with wind energy development. Accordingly, strategies to improve compatibility between wind energy development and conservation of bat populations are needed. We combined results of continuous echolocation and meteorological monitoring at multiple stations to model conditions that explained presence of LowF bats at a wind energy facility in southern California. We used a site occupancy approach to model nightly LowF bat presence while accounting for variation in detection probability among echolocation detectors and heights. However, we transposed the spatial and temporal axes of the conventional detection history matrix such that occupancy represented proportion of nights, rather than monitoring points, on which LowF bats were detected. Detectors at 22 m and 52 m above ground had greater detection probabilities for LowF bats than detectors at 2 m above ground. Occupancy of LowF bats was associated with lower nightly wind speeds and higher nightly temperatures, mirroring results from other wind energy facilities. Nevertheless, we found that building separate models for each season and considering solutions with multiple covariates resulted in better fitting models. We suggest that use of multiple environmental variables to predict bat presence could improve efficiency of turbine operational mitigations (e.g., changes to cut‐in speeds) over those based solely on wind speed. Increased mitigation efficiencies could lead to greater use of mitigations at wind energy facilities with benefits to bat populations. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.

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“…Such moderate management may positively affect biodiversity as a whole, including endangered species that depend on old trees. Among the species that may potentially benefit from such restoration, insectivorous bats (Microchiroptera) constitute one of the most endangered taxonomic groups worldwide (Arita, 1993;Ceballos and Brown, 1995;Mickleburgh et al, 2002;Safi and Kerth, 2004;Schaub et al, 2007;Weller et al, 2008), and particularly in Europe where, of the 25 species on the red-list for southern Switzerland only Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus kuhlii were classified as not vulnerable (Duelli, 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of bat species to sylvo-pastoral abandonment

Obrist

Rathey

Bontadina

et al. 2011

Forest Ecology and Management

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a b s t r a c tWe assessed the effect of abandonment of sylvo-pastoral practices in chestnut orchards (Castanea sativa) on bats in southern Switzerland to determine practical recommendations for bat conservation. We compared bat species richness and foraging activities between traditionally managed and unmanaged chestnut orchards, testing the hypothesis that managed orchards provide better foraging opportunities and harbour more bat species. Echolocation calls of foraging bats were sampled simultaneously at paired sites of managed and unmanaged orchards using custom made recorders. Vegetation structure and aerial insect availability were sampled at the recording sites and used as explanatory variables in the model. In a paired sampling design, we found twice the number of bat species (12) and five times higher total foraging activity in the managed chestnut orchards compared to the unmanaged ones. Bat species with low flight manoeuvrability were 14 times more common in managed orchards, whereas bats with medium to high manoeuvrability were only 5 times more common than in abandoned orchards. The vegetation structure was less dense in managed orchards. However, management did not affect relative insect abundance. Bats primarily visited the most open orchards, free of undergrowth. As a result of restricted access into the overgrown forests, the abandonment of chestnut orchards leads to a decline in bat species richness and foraging activities. Continued management of chestnut orchards to maintain an open structure is important for the conservation of endangered bat species in the southern Swiss Alps.

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Broadening the focus of bat conservation and research in the USA for the 21st century

Cited by 56 publications

References 105 publications

Landscape connectivity, habitat structure and activity of bat guilds in farmland‐dominated matrices

Landscape connectivity, habitat structure and activity of bat guilds in farmland‐dominated matrices

Using echolocation monitoring to model bat occupancy and inform mitigations at wind energy facilities

Response of bat species to sylvo-pastoral abandonment

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