Pipistrelle bats and their prey do not benefit from four widely applied agri-environment management prescriptions

Biological Conservation

Volumn 144, Issue 9, 2011, Pages 2233-2246

  Fuentes Montemayor, Elisa ^a   Goulson, Dave ^a   Park, Kirsty J ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Agricultural intensification; Conservation management; Landscape; Nocturnal insects; Pipistrellus spp.; Woodland

Indexed keywords

AGRI-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY; AGRICULTURAL INTENSIFICATION; AGRICULTURAL PRACTICE; BAT; BIODIVERSITY; CADDISFLY; CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT; FIELD MARGIN; GRASSLAND; HEDGEROW; INTENSIVE AGRICULTURE; LANDSCAPE PLANNING; MANAGEMENT PRACTICE; SPECIES RICHNESS; TRAPPING; WOODLAND;

SCOTLAND; UNITED KINGDOM;

DIPTERA; HEXAPODA; PIPISTRELLUS; PIPISTRELLUS PIPISTRELLUS; PIPISTRELLUS PYGMAEUS; TRICHOPTERA;

EID: 79960927821     PISSN: 00063207     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2011.05.015     Document Type: Article

References (59)

1. Akaike H. A new look at the statistical model identification. IEEE Trans. Autom. Contr. 1974, 19:716-723.
2. Albrecht M., Duelli P., Muller C., Kleijn D., Schmid B. The Swiss agri-environment scheme enhances pollinator diversity and plant reproductive success in nearby intensively managed farmland. J. Appl. Ecol. 2007, 44:813-822.
3. Anonymous, 2006. The Rural Stewardship Scheme. The Scottish Executive, Edinburgh.
4. Barlow K.E. The diets of two phonic types of the bat Pipistrellus pipistrellus in Britain. J. Zool. 1997, 243:597-609.
5. Batary P., Baldi A., Kleijn D., Tscharntke T. Landscape-Moderated Biodiversity Effects of Agri-environmental Management: A Meta-Analysis. Proc. R. Soc. B. 2011, 278:1894-1902.
6. Bates F.S., Harris S. Does hedgerow management on organic farms benefit small mammal populations?. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 2009, 129:124-130.
7. Bates, D., Maechler, M., 2010. lme4: Linear Mixed-effects Models Using S4 Classes. R Package Version 0.999375-32. <>. http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=lme4.
8. Benton T.G., Bryant D.M., Cole L., Crick H.Q.P. Linking agricultural practice to insect and bird populations: a historical study over three decades. J. Appl. Ecol. 2002, 39:673-687.
9. Carvell C., Meek W.R., Pywell R.F., Goulson D., Nowakowski M. Comparing the efficacy of agri-environment schemes to enhance bumble bee abundance and diversity on arable field margins. J. Appl. Ecol. 2007, 44:29-40.
10. Corben, C., 2006. AnalookW for Bat Call Analysis Using ZCA Version 3.3f. <>. http://www.hoarybat.com.
11. Crawley, M.J., 2007. The R Book. John Wiley & Sons, West Sussex.
12. D'Arcy-Burt S., Blackshaw R.P. Bibionids (Diptera: Bibionidae) in agricultural land: a review of damage, benefits, natural enemies and control. Ann. Appl. Biol. 1991, 118:695-708.
13. DEFRA, 2008. Agriculture in the United Kingdom. Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (Northern Ireland), Welsh Assembly Government - The Department for Rural Affairs and Heritage, The Scottish Government - Rural and Environment Research and Analysis Directorate.
14. Donald P.F., Evans A.D. Habitat connectivity and matrix restoration: the wider implications of agri-environment schemes. J. Appl. Ecol. 2006, 43:209-218.
15. Downs N.C., Racey P.A. The use by bats of habitat features in mixed farmland in Scotland. Acta Chiropterol. 2006, 8:169-185.
16. Duchamp J.E., Swihart R.K. Shifts in bat community structure related to evolved traits and features of human-altered landscapes. Landscape Ecol. 2008, 23:849-860.
17. EDINA Digimap Ordnance Survey Service, 2010. OS MasterMap Topography Layer. <> (accessed 02.10). http://edina.ac.uk/digimap.
18. EEA, 2005. Agriculture and Environment in EU-15 - the IRENA Indicator Report. Report No. 6/2005. European Environment Agency, Copenhagen.
19. Entwistle A.C., Racey P.A., Speakman J.R. Habitat exploitation by a gleaning bat, Plecotus auritus. Philos. T. Roy. Soc. B. 1996, 351:921-931.
20. ESRI Inc., 2006. ArcGIS 9.2. <>. http://www.esri.com.
21. Fenton M.B. A technique for monitoring bat activity with results obtained from different environments in southern Ontario. Can. J. Zool. 1970, 48:847-851.
22. Fuentes-Montemayor E., Goulson D., Park K.J. The effectiveness of agri-environment schemes for the conservation of farmland moths: assessing the importance of a landscape-scale management approach. J. Appl. Ecol. 2011, 48:532-542.
23. Gibson R.H., Pearce S., Morris R.J., Symondson W.O.C., Memmott J. Plant diversity and land use under organic and conventional agriculture: a whole-farm approach. J. Appl. Ecol. 2007, 44:792-803.
24. Griffin D.R., Webster F.A., Michael C.R. The echolocation of flying insects by bats. Anim. Behav. 1960, 8:141-154.
25. Harris S., Morris P., Wray S., Yalden D. A Review of British Mammals: Population Estimates and Conservation Status of British Mammals Other Than Cetaceans 1995, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough.
26. Hoare L.R. The diet of Pipistrellus pipistrellus during the pre-hibernal period. J. Zool. 1991, 225:665-670.
27. Hole D.G., Perkins A.J., Wilson J.D., Alexander I.H., Grice P.V., Evans A.D. Does organic farming benefit biodiversity?. Biol. Conserv. 2005, 122:113-130.
28. Hurvich C.M., Tsai C.-L. Regression and time series model selection in small samples. Biometrika 1989, 76:297-307.
29. Hutson, A.M., 1993. Action Plan for the Conservation of Bats in the United Kingdom. Bat Conservation Trust, London.
30. Kleijn D., Baquero R.A., Clough Y., Diaz M., De Esteban J., Fernandez F., Gabriel D., Herzog F., Holzschuh A., Johl R., Knop E., Kruess A., Marshall E.J.P., Steffan-Dewenter I., Tscharntke T., Verhulst J., West T.M., Yela J.L. Mixed biodiversity benefits of agri-environment schemes in five European countries. Ecol. Lett. 2006, 9:2432-2454.
31. Klingbeil B.T., Willig M.R. Guild-specific responses of bats to landscape composition and configuration in fragmented Amazonian rainforest. J. Appl. Ecol. 2009, 46:203-213.
32. Krebs J.R., Wilson J.D., Bradbury R.B., Siriwardena G.M. The second silent spring?. Nature 1999, 400:611-612.
33. Lye G., Park K., Osborne J., Holland J., Goulson D. Assessing the value of Rural Stewardship schemes for providing foraging resources and nesting habitat for bumblebee queens (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Biol. Conserv. 2009, 142:2023-2032.
34. McCracken D.I., Foster G.N., Kelly A. Factors affecting the size of leatherjacket (Diptera: Tipulidae) populations in pastures in the west of Scotland. Appl. Soil Ecol. 1995, 2:203-213.
35. McGarigal, K., Cushman, S.A., Neel, M.C., Ene, E., 2002. FRAGSTATS: Spatial Pattern Analysis Program for Categorical Maps. University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
36. Merckx T., Feber R., Riordan P., Townsend M.C., Bourn N.A.D., Parsons M.S., Macdonald D.W. Optimizing the biodiversity gain from agri-environment schemes. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 2009, 130:177-182.
37. Newton I. The recent declines of farmland bird populations in Britain: an appraisal of causal factors and conservation actions. IBIS 2004, 146:579-600.
38. Nicholls B., Racey P.A. Habitat selection as a mechanism of resource partitioning in two cryptic bat species Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus. Ecography 2006, 29:697-708.
39. Park K.J., Cristinacce A. Use of sewage treatment works as foraging sites by insectivorous bats. Anim. Conserv. 2006, 9:259-268.
40. Perry R.W., Thill R.E., Leslie D.M. Scale-dependent effects of landscape structure and composition on diurnal roost selection by forest bats. J. Wildlife Manage. 2008, 72:913-925.
41. Pocock M.J.O., Jennings N. Testing biotic indicator taxa: the sensitivity of insectivorous mammals and their prey to the intensification of lowland agriculture. J. Appl. Ecol. 2008, 45:151-160.
42. R Development Core Team, 2010. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.
43. Richardson, P., 2000. Distribution Atlas of Bats in Britain and Ireland 1980-1999. Bat Conservation Trust, London.
44. Robinson R.A., Sutherland W.J. Post-war changes in arable farming and biodiversity in Great Britain. J. Appl. Ecol. 2002, 39:157-176.
45. Russ J.M., Montgomery W.I. Habitat associations of bats in Northern Ireland: implications for conservation. Biol. Conserv. 2002, 108:49-58.
46. Smith P.G., Racey P.A. Natterer's bats prefer foraging in broad-leaved woodlands and river corridors. J. Zool. 2008, 275:314-322.
47. Stebbings, R.E., 1988. Conservation of European bats. Christopher Helm, London.
48. Stoate C., Boatman N.D., Borralho R.J., Carvalho C.R., Snoo G.R.D., Eden P. Ecological impacts of arable intensification in Europe. J. Environ. Manage. 2001, 63:337-365.
49. Swift S.M., Racey P.A., Avery M.I. Feeding ecology of Pipistrellus pipistrellus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) during pregnancy and lactation. II. Diet. J. Anim. Ecol. 1985, 54:217-225.
50. Tscharntke T., Klein A.M., Kruess A., Steffan-Dewenter I., Thies C. Landscape perspectives on agricultural intensification and biodiversity - ecosystem service management. Ecol. Lett. 2005, 8:857-874.
51. Vaughan N. The diets of British bats (Chiroptera). Mammal Rev. 1997, 27:77-94.
52. Vaughan N., Jones G., Harris S. Habitat use by bats (Chiroptera) assessed by means of a broad-band acoustic method. J. Appl. Ecol. 1997, 34:716-730.
53. Venables W.N., Ripley B.D. Modern Applied Statistics with S 2002, Springer, New York. fourth ed.
54. Verboom B., Huitema H. The importance of linear landscape elements for the pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus and the serotine bat Eptesicus serotinus. Landscape Ecol. 1997, 12:117-125.
55. Vickery J.A., Tallowin J.R., Feber R.E., Asteraki E.J., Atkinson P.W., Fuller R.J., Brown V.K. The management of lowland neutral grasslands in Britain: effects of agricultural practices on birds and their food resources. J. Appl. Ecol. 2001, 38:647-664.
56. Walsh A., Harris S. Foraging habitat preferences of vespertilionid bats in Britain. J. Appl. Ecol. 1996, 33:519-529.
57. Wickramasinghe L.P., Harris S., Jones G., Vaughan N. Bat activity and species richness on organic and conventional farms: impact of agricultural intensification. J. Appl. Ecol. 2003, 40:984-993.
58. Wickramasinghe L.P., Harris S., Jones G., Jennings N.V. Abundance and species richness of nocturnal insects on organic and conventional farms: effects of agricultural intensification on bat foraging. Conserv. Biol. 2004, 18:1283-1292.
59. Zuur, A.F., Ieno, E.N., Walker, N.J., Savaliev, A.A., Smith, G.M., 2009. Mixed Effects Models and Extensions in Ecology with R Springer Science+Bussines Media, New York.