Bolliger Janine
Evaluating methods to predict commuting flyway of Greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis): Do corridors represent ecological infrastructure networks?
Project Number: Parcs Data Center 50050 / 4D CH-7136
| Project Type: |
Master |
| Project Duration: |
01/01/2019 - 02/02/2019 project completed |
| Funding Source: |
other , |
| Leading Institution: |
WSL, Birmensdorf |
| Project Leader: |
PD Dr. Janine Bolliger
Research Associate
Landnutzungsdynamik
WSL
Zürcherstrasse 111
8903 Birmensdorf
Phone: ; +41 (0) 44 739 21 11
FAX: +41 (0) 44 739 22 15
e-Mail: janine.bolliger(at)wsl.ch
http://www.wsl.ch |
Research Areas:
Disciplines:
Abstract:
Dark corridors have been suggested as conservation tool to restore landscape connectivity and enhance species movement across fragmented and artificially illuminated landscapes. Bats are known to use dark corridors for commuting between roost and foraging habitats. Thus, bats can serve as model spe-cies to evaluate efforts in urban and land-use planning. Such plans aim at restoring connectivity and at establishing an ecological infrastructure network that links remaining habitat patches through corri-dors. While foraging areas and roosts have been investigated in numerous studies, state of knowledge about the bat commuting corridors is scarce. To contribute to a better understanding of how corridors are chosen by bats and to expand data basis for planners from expert opinion to a general, reproducible conservation tool, a corridor model was developed. In this study, the numeric bat corridor model has been validated by means of empirical data and expert opinions. The activity of Myotis myotis has been recorded at 34 locations in the community of Veltheim (Canton of Aargau, Switzerland), the church of which is home to a large maternity roost of this species. The empirical activity measures were then compared to the corridors predicted by the numeric corridor model and to corridors identified by the regional bat expert. The delineation of corridors by the expert was found to outperform the corridors by the numeric model and the strong negative influence of artificial light on the activity of M. myotis was confirmed. Further relations between the activity recorded and a large number of variables associ-ated to artificial light and the ecological infrastructure network was modelled, using the two modelling approaches Multiple Linear Regression and Random Forest. Among light variables derived from ISS images and streetlight position we could not account for a variable to overcome current data gap in the extensively representation of night lighting. The activity of M. myotis was found to be related to land-scape elements of the ecological infrastructure networks, revealing the potential of this approach.
Publications:
Nater, A. (2019): Evaluating methods to predict commuting flyways of Greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis):
Do corridors represent ecological infrastructure networks? Master thesis, WSL.
PDF Masterarbeit
Last update: 8/11/22
Source of data: ProClim- Research InfoSystem (1993-2024)
Update the data of project: CH-7136
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