Citizen science reveals trends in bat populations: The National Bat Monitoring Programme in Great Britain

Biological Conservation

Volumn 182, Issue , 2015, Pages 14-26

  Barlow, K E ^a   Briggs, P A ^a   Haysom, K A ^a,c   Hutson, A M ^a,d   Lechiara, N L ^a   Racey, P A ^a,e   Walsh, A L ^a,f   Langton, S D ^b  

^a BAT CONSERVATION TRUST   (United Kingdom)

^b Steve Langton (Statistical Consultancy)   (United Kingdom)

^c Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust   (United Kingdom)

^d Winkfield   (United Kingdom)

^e UNIVERSITY OF EXETER   (United Kingdom)

^f INSTITUTE FOR CONSERVATION RESEARCH   (United States)

Author keywords

Bats; Biodiversity; Chiroptera; Conservation; Indicators; Population trends; Survey methods

Indexed keywords

BAT; BIODIVERSITY; BIOINDICATOR; ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE; ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING; POPULATION DECLINE; POPULATION STRUCTURE; RELATIVE ABUNDANCE;

UNITED KINGDOM;

CHIROPTERA; EPTESICUS SEROTINUS; MYOTIS NATTERERI; PIPISTRELLUS PIPISTRELLUS; PIPISTRELLUS PYGMAEUS; RHINOLOPHUS FERRUMEQUINUM;

EID: 84949115814     PISSN: 00063207     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2014.11.022     Document Type: Article

References (95)

1. Adams A.M., Jantzen M.K., Hamilton R.M., Fenton M.B. Do you hear what I hear? Implications of detector selection for acoustic monitoring of bats. Methods Ecol. Evol. 2012, 3:992-998.
2. Ahlén I., Baagøe H.J. Use of ultrasound detectors for bat studies in Europe: experiences from field identification, surveys, and monitoring. Acta Chiropterol. 1999, 1:137-150.
3. Anon, 2013. UK Biodiversity Indicators in Your Pocket 2013. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London. http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/BIYP_2013.pdf.
4. Balmford A., Green R.E., Jenkins M. Measuring the changing state of nature. Trends Ecol. Evol. 2003, 18:326-330.
5. Barlow K.E., Jones G. Roosts, echolocation calls and wing morphology of two phonic types of Pipistrellus pipistrellus. Z. Säugertierkd. 1999, 64:257-268.
6. Battersby, J., 2010. Guidelines for Surveillance and Monitoring of European Bats. EUROBATS Publication Series No. 5. UNEP/EUROBATS Secretariat, Bonn, Germany.
7. Beeker T.A., Millenbah K.F., Gore M.L., Lundrigan B.L. Guidelines for creating a bat-specific citizen science acoustic monitoring programme. Hum. Dimens. Wildl. 2013, 18:58-67.
8. Bell S., Marzano M., Cent J., Kobierska H., Podjed D., Vandzinskaite D., Reinart H., Armaitiene A., Grodzińska-Jurczak M., Muršič R. What counts? Volunteers and their organisations in the recording and monitoring of biodiversity. Biodivers. Conserv. 2008, 17:3443-3454.
9. Boughey K.L., Lake I.R., Haysom K.A., Dolman P.A. Improving the biodiversity benefits of hedgerows: How physical characteristics and the proximity of foraging habitat affect the use of linear features by bats. Biol. Conserv. 2011, 144:1790-1798.
10. Boughey K.L., Lake I.R., Haysom K.A., Dolman P.A. Effects of landscape-scale broadleaved woodland configuration and extent on roost location for six bat species across the UK. Biol. Conserv. 2011, 144:2300-2310.
11. Boyles J.G., Cryan P.M., McCracken G.F., Kunz T.H. Economic importance of bats in agriculture. Science 2011, 332:41-42.
12. Chamberlain D.E., Fuller R.J., Bunce R.G.H., Duckworth J.C., Shrubb M. Changes in the abundance of farmland birds in relation to the timing of agricultural intensification in England and Wales. J. Appl. Ecol. 2000, 37:771-788.
13. Chauvenet A.L.M., Hutson A.M., Smith G.C., Aegerter J.N. Demographic variation in the U.K. serotine bat: filling gaps in knowledge for management. Ecol. Evol. 2014, 4:3820-3829. 10.1002/ece3.1174.
14. Clavel J., Julliard R., Devictor V. Worldwide decline of specialist species: toward a global functional homogenization?. Front. Ecol. Environ. 2011, 9:222-228.
15. Davey C.M., Chamberlain D.E., Newson S.E., Noble D.G., Johnston A. Rise of the generalists: evidence for climate driven homogenization in avian communities. Global Ecol. Biogeogr. 2012, 21:568-578.
16. Davidson-Watts I., Jones G. Differences in foraging behaviour between Pipistrellus pipistrellus (Schreber, 1774) and Pipistrellus pygmaeus. J. Zool. 2005, 268:55-62.
17. Dickinson J.L., Zuckerberg B., Bonter D.N. Citizen science as an ecological research tool: challenges and benefits. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 2010, 41:149-172.
18. Eglington S.M., Pearce-Higgins J.W. Disentangling the relative importance of changes in climate and land-use intensity in driving recent bird population trends. PLoS ONE 2012, 7:e30407.
19. Ekman M., de Jong J. Local patterns of distribution and resource utilisation of four bat species (Myotis brandtii, Eptesicus nilssoni, Plecotus auritus and Pipistrellus pipistrellus) in patchy and continuous environments. J. Zool. 1996, 238:571-580.
20. 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.
21. Fewster R.M., Buckland S.T., Siriwardena G.M., Baillie S.R., Wilson J.D. Analysis of population trends for farmland birds using generalized additive models. Ecology 2000, 81:1970-1984.
22. Fischer J., Stott J., Law B.S., Adams M.A., Forrester R.I. Designing effective habitat studies: quantifying multiple sources of variability in bat activity. Acta Chiropterol. 2009, 11:127-137.
23. Fujita M.S., Tuttle M.D. Flying foxes (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae): threatened animals of key ecological and economic importance. Conserv. Biol. 1991, 5:455-463.
24. Gerard P.D., Smith D.R., Weerakkody G. Limits of retrospective power analysis. J. Wildlife Manage. 1998, 62:801-807.
25. Gerell R., Lundberg K.G. Decline of a bat Pipistrellus pipistrellus population in an industrialized area in south Sweden. Biol. Conserv. 1993, 65:153-157.
26. Gregory R.D., van Strien A., Vorisek P., Gmelig Mayling A.W., Noble D.G., Foppen R.P.B., Gibbons D.W. Developing indicators for European birds. Philos. Trans. Roy. Soc. London B 2005, 360:269-288.
27. Harris S., Yalden D.W. Mammals of the British Isles: Handbook 2008, Mammal Society, 799 pp. fourth ed.
28. 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, 183 pp.
29. Haysom K.A., Jones G., Merrett D., Racey P.A. Bats. Silent Summer. The State of Wildlife in Britain and Ireland 2010, 259-280. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. N. Maclean (Ed.).
30. Haysom, K.A., Dekker, J., Russ, J., Van der Meij, T., Van Strien, A. 2014. European bat population trends. A prototype biodiversity indicator. European Environment Agency Technical Report No 19/2013.
31. Hoenig J.M., Heisey D.M. The abuse of power: the pervasive fallacy of power calculations for data analysis. Am. Stat. 2001, 55:1-6.
32. Horáček I. Monitoring bats in underground hibernacula. A tribute to Bats 2010, Lesnické Práce, Kostelec nad Černými Lesy. I. Horáček, M. Uhrin (Eds.).
33. Hutson, A.M., Mickleburgh, S.P., Racey, P.A., 2001. IUCN/SSC Chiroptera Specialist Group. Microchiropteran Bats: Global Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan, IUCN.
34. Ingersoll T.E., Sewall B.J., Amelon S.K. Improved analysis of long-term monitoring data demonstrates marked regional declines of bat populations in the Eastern United States. PLoS ONE 2013, 8:e65907.
35. Jones G., Jacobs D.S., Kunz T.H., Willig M.R., Racey P.A. Carpe noctem: the importance of bats as bioindicators. Endanger. Species Res. 2009, 8:93-115.
36. Jones J.P.G., Collen B., Atkinson G., Baxter P.W.J., Bubb P., Illian J.B., Katzner T.E., Keane A., Loh J., McDonald-Madden E., Nicholson E., Pereira H.M., Possingham H.P., Pullin A.S., Rodrigues A.S.L., Ruiz-Gutierrez V., Sommerville M., Milner-Gulland E.J. The why, what, and how of global biodiversity indicators beyond the 2010 target. Conserv. Biol. 2011, 25:450-457.
37. Jones K.E., Russ J.A., Bashta A., Bilhari Z., Catto C., Csosz I., Gorbachev A., Gyorfi P., Hughes A., Ivashkiv I., Koryagina N., Kurali A., Langton S., Collen A., Margiean G., Pandourski I., Parsons S., Prokofev I., Szodoray-Paradi A., Szodoray-Paradi F., Tilova E., Walters C.L., Weatherill A., Zavarzin O. Indicator bats program: a system for the global acoustic monitoring of bats. Biodiversity Monitoring and Conservation: Bridging the Gap Between Global Commitment and Local Action 2013, 211-247. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. B. Collen, N. Pettorelli, J.E.M. Baillie, S.M. Durant (Eds.).
38. Kalka M.B., Smith A.R., Kalko E.K.V. Bats limit arthropods and herbivory in a tropical forest. Science 2008, 320:71.
39. Kerbiriou C., Julien J.F., Deguines N., Gasc A., Lorillière R., Lois G., Jiguet F., Juilliard R., Couvet D. Suivi temporel des chauves-souris communes, premiers résultats et perspectives. Symbioses 2010, 25:73-79.
40. Kervyn T., Lamotte S., Nyssen P., Verschuren J. Major decline of bat abundance and diversity during the past 50 years in southern Belgium. Belg. J. Zool. 2009, 139:124-132.
41. Kunz T.H., Arnett E.B., Erickson W.P., Hoar A.R., Johnson G.D., Larkin R.P., Strickland M.D., Thresher R.W., Tuttle M.D. Ecological impacts of wind energy development on bats: questions, research needs, and hypotheses. Front. Ecol. Environ. 2007, 5:31-324.
42. Kunz T.H., Braun de Torrez E., Bauer D., Lobova T., Fleming T.H. Ecosystem services provided by bats. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 2011, 1223:1-38.
43. Kunz T.H., Parsons S. Ecological and Behavioural Methods for the Study of Bats 2009, Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 901.
44. Le Viol I., Jiguet F., Brotons L., Herrando S., Lindström A., Pearce-Higgins J.W., Reif J., Van Turnhout C., Devictor V. More and more generalists: two decades of changes in the European avifauna. Biol. Lett. 2012, 8:780-782.
45. Lesiński G., Fuszara E., Fuszara M., Jurczyszyn M., Urbańczyk Z. Long-term changes in the numbers of the barbastelle Barbastella barbastellus in Poland. Folia Zool. 2005, 54:351-358.
46. Lesiński G., Ignaczak M., Kowalski M. Increasing bat abundance in a major winter roost in central Poland over 30 years. Mammalia 2011, 75:163-167.
47. Lewis S.E. Roost fidelity of bats: a review. J. Mammal. 1995, 76:481-496.
48. Lintott P.R., Fuentes-Montemayor E., Goulson D., Park K.J. Testing the effectiveness of surveying techniques in determining bat community composition within woodland. Wildlife Res. 2014, 40:675-684.
49. Loh J., Green R.E., Ricketts T., Lamoreux J., Jenkins M., Kapos V., Randers J. The Living Planet Index: using species population time series to track trends in biodiversity. Philos. Trans. Roy. Soc. London B 2005, 360:289-295.
50. MacSwiney G.M.C., Clarke F.M., Racey P.A. What you see is not what you get: the role of ultrasonic detectors in increasing inventory completeness in Neotropical bat assemblages. J. Appl. Ecol. 2008, 45:1364-1371.
51. Magurran A.E., Baillie S.R., Buckland S.T., Dick J.M.P., Elston D.A., Scott E.M., Smith R.I., Somerfield P.J., Watt A.D. Long-term datasets in biodiversity research and monitoring: assessing change in ecological communities through time. Trends Ecol. Evol. 2010, 25:574-582.
52. Marchant J.H., Forrest C., Greenwood J.J.D. A review of large-scale generic population monitoring schemes in Europe. Bird Census News 1997, 10:42-79.
53. Meschede, A., Rudolph, B.U., 2010. 1985-2009: 25 Jahre Fledermausmonitoring in Bayern, Bayerisches Landesamt für Umwelt, Augsburg. http://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/lfu_%20nat_00174.htm.
54. Meyer C.F.J., Aguiar L.M.S., Aguirre L.F., Baumgarten J., Clarke F.M., Cosson J.-F., Estrada Villegas S., Fahr J., Faria D., Furey N., Henry M., Hodgkison R., Jenkins R.K.B., Jung K.G., Kingston T., Kunz T.H., MacSwiney Gonzalez M.C., Moya I., Pons J.-M., Racey P.A., Rex K., Sampaio E.M., Stoner K.E., Voigt C.C., von Staden D., Weise C.D., Kalko E.K.V. Long-term monitoring of tropical bats for anthropogenic impact assessment: Gauging the statistical power to detect population change. Biol. Conserv. 2010, 143:2797-2807.
55. Meyer C.F.J., Aguiar L.M.S., Aguirre L.F., Baumgarten J., Clarke F.M., Cosson J.-F., Villegas S.E., Fahr J., Faria D., Furey N., Henry M., Hodgkison R., Jenkins R.K.B., Jung K.G., Kingston T., Kunz T.H., Cristina MacSwiney Gonzalez M., Moya I., Patterson B.D., Pons J.-M., Racey P.A., Rex K., Sampaio E.M., Solari S., Stoner K.E., Voigt C.C., von Staden D., Weise C.D., Kalko E.K.V. Accounting for detectability improves estimates of species richness in tropical bat surveys. J. Appl. Ecol. 2011, 48:777-787.
56. Mickleburgh, S.P., Hutson, A.M., Racey, P.A., 1992. IUCN/SSC Chiroptera Specialist Group. Old World Fruit Bats: An Action Plan for their Conservation, IUCN.
57. Mitchell-Jones A.J., Hutson A.M., Racey P.A. The growth and development of bat conservation in Britain. Mammal Rev. 1993, 23:139-148.
58. Newman C., Buesching C.D., Macdonald D.W. Validating mammal monitoring methods and assessing the performance of volunteers in wildlife conservation-"Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodies?". Biol. Conserv. 2003, 113:189-197.
59. Newson S.E., Mendes S., Crick H.Q.P., Dulvy N.K., Houghton J.D.R., Hays G.C., Hutson A.M., MacLeod C.D., Pierce G.J., Robinson R.A. Indicators of the impact of climate change on migratory species. Endanger. Species Res. 2009, 7:101-113.
60. O'Shea, T.J., Bogan, M.A., 2003. Monitoring trends in bat populations of the United States and territories: problems and prospects. U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Discipline, Information Technology Report USGS/BRD/ITR-2003-0003.
61. Obrist M.K., Boesch R., Flückiger P.F. Variability in echolocation call design of 26 Swiss bat species: consequences, limits and options for automated field identification with a synergetic pattern recognition approach. Mammalia 2004, 68:307-322.
62. Parsons S., Jones G. Acoustic identification of twelve species of echolocating bat by discriminant function analysis and artificial neural networks. J. Exp. Biol. 2000, 203:2641-2656.
63. Pearce-Higgins J.W., Gill J.A. Unravelling the mechanisms linking climate change, agriculture and avian population declines. Ibis 2010, 152:439-442.
64. Penone C., Le Voil I., Pellissier V., Julien J.-F., Bas Y., Kerbiriou C. Use of large-scale acoustic monitoring to assess anthropogenic pressures on Orthoptera communities. Conserv. Biol. 2013, 27:979-987.
65. Puechmaille S.J., Frick W.F., Kunz T.H., Racey P.A., Voigt C.C., Wibbelt G., Teeling E.C. White-nose syndrome: is this emerging disease a threat to European bats?. Trends Ecol. Evol. 2011, 26:570-576.
66. Racey P.A. Bat conservation: past, present and future. Bat Ecology, Evolution and Conservation 2013, 517-532. Springer. R.A. Adams, S.C. Pedersen (Eds.).
67. Racey P.A., Stebbings R.E. Bats in Britain - a status report. Oryx 1972, 11:319-327.
68. Ransome R.D. Population changes of greater horseshoe bats studied near Bristol over the past twenty-six years. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 1989, 38:71-82.
69. Raven P.J., Holmes N.T.H., Dawson F.H., Everard M. Quality assessment using river habitat survey data. Aquat. Conserv. Mar. Freshw. Ecosys. 1998, 8:477-499.
70. Razgour, O., Whitby, D., Dahlberg, E., Barlow, K., Hanmer, J., Haysom, K., McFarlane, H., Wicks, L., Williams, C., Jones, G., 2013. Conserving grey long-eared bats (Plecotus austriacus) in our landscape: a conservation management plan. Available to download from the Bat Conservation Trust http://www.bats.org.uk/.
71. Razgour O., Hanmer J., Jones G. Using multi-scale modelling to predict habitat suitability for species of conservation concern: the grey long-eared bat as a case study. Biol. Conserv. 2011, 144:2922-2930.
72. Rebelo H., Tarroso P., Jones G. Predicted impact of climate change on European bats in relation to their biogeographic patterns. Glob. Change Biol. 2010, 16:561-576.
73. Roche N., Langton S., Aughney T., Russ J.M., Mardell F., Lynn D., Catto C. A car-based monitoring method reveals new information on bat populations and distributions in Ireland. Anim. Conserv. 2011, 14:642-651.
74. Rodhouse T.J., Ormsbee P.C., Irvine K.M., Vierling L.A., Szewczak J.M., Vierling K.T. Assessing the status and trend of bat populations across broad geographic regions with dynamic distribution models. Ecol. Appl. 2012, 22:1098-1113.
75. Russ J. British Bat Calls. A Guide to Species Identification 2012, Pelagic Publishing, Exeter.
76. Russo D., Cistrone L., Jones G., Mazzoleni S. Roost selection by barbastelle bats (Barbastella barbastellus, Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in beech woodlands of central Italy: consequences for conservation. Biol. Conserv. 2004, 117:73-81.
77. Schmeller D.S., Henry P.-Y., Julliard R., Gruber B., Clobert J., Dziock F., Lengyel S., Nowicki P., Déri E., Budrys E., Kull T., Tali K., Bauch B., Settele J., van Swaay C., Kobler A., Babij V., Papastergiadou E., Henle K. Advantages of volunteer-based biodiversity monitoring in Europe. Conserv. Biol. 2009, 23:307-316.
78. Sewell D., Guillera-Arroita G., Griffiths R.A., Beebee T.J.C. When is a species declining ? Optimizing survey effort to detect population changes in reptiles. PLoS ONE 2012, 7:e43387.
79. Simmons N.B. Order chiroptera. Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference 2005, 213-529. Johns Hopkins University Press. D.E. Wilson, D.M. Reeder (Eds.).
80. Stebbings R.E. Conservation of European Bats 1988, Christopher Helm, London.
81. Thogmartin W.E., Sanders-Reed C.A., Szymanski J.A., McKann P.C., Pruitt L., King R.A., Runge M.C., Russell R.E. White-nose syndrome is likely to extirpate the endangered Indiana bat over large parts of its range. Biol. Conserv. 2013, 160:162-172.
82. Uhrin M., Benda P., Obuch J., Urban P. Changes in abundance of hibernating bats in central Slovakia (1992-2009). Biologia 2010, 65:349-361.
83. Van der Meij T., Van Strien A.J., Haysom K.A., Dekker J., Russ J., Biala K., Bihari Z., Jansen E., Langton S., Kurali A., Limpens H., Meschede A., Petersons G., Presetnik P., Prüger J., Reiter G., Rodrigues L., Schorcht W., Uhrin M., Vintulis V. Return of the bats? A prototype indicator of trends in European bat populations in underground hibernacula. Mamm. Biol. 2014, in press. 10.1016/j.mambio.2014.09.004.
84. Verboom B., Spoelstra K. Effects of food abundance and wind on the use of tree lines by an insectivorous bat, Pipistrellus pipistrellus. Can. J. Zool. 1999, 77:1393-1401.
85. Walsh, A.L., Catto, C.M.C., Hutson, A.M., Langton, S., Racey, P.A., 2003. The United Kingdom National Bat Monitoring Programme: Turning Conservation Goals into tangible results. In: O'Shea, T.J., Bogan, M.A., (Eds.), Monitoring Trends in Bat Populations of the United States and Territories: Problems and Prospects. U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Discipline, Information Technology Report USGS/BRD/ITR-2003-0003, pp. 103-117.
86. Walsh, A.L., Catto, C.M.C., Hutson, A.M., Racey, P.A., Richardson, P.W., Langton, S.D., 2001. The UK's National Bat Monitoring Programme, Final Report 2001. DETR Contract Ref. CR018. The Bat Conservation Trust, London.
87. Walsh A.L., Harris S. Factors determining the abundance of vespertilionid bats in Britain: geographical, land class and local habitat relationships. J. Appl. Ecol. 1996, 33:519-529.
88. Walsh A.L., Harris S. Foraging habitat preferences of vespertilionid bats in Britain. J. Appl. Ecol. 1996, 33:508-518.
89. Walsh A.L., Harris S., Hutson A.M. Abundance and habitat selection of foraging vespertilionid bats in Britain: a landscape-scale approach. Symp. Zool. Soc. London 1995, 67:325-344.
90. Walters C.L., Freeman R., Collen A., Dietz C., Fenton M.B., Jones G., Obrist M.K., Puechmaille S.J., Sattler T., Siemers B.M., Parsons S., Jones K.E. A continental-scale tool for acoustic identification of European bats. J. Appl. Ecol. 2012, 49:1064-1074.
91. Warren R.D., Witter M.S. Monitoring trends in bat populations through roost surveys: methods and data from Rhinolophus hipposideros. Biol. Conserv. 2002, 105:255-261.
92. Waters D., Walsh A.L. The influence of bat detector brand on the quantitative estimation of bat abundance. Bioacoustics 1994, 5:205-221.
93. Wright L.J., Newson S.E., Noble D.G. The value of a random sampling design for annual monitoring of national populations of larger British terrestrial mammals. Eur. J. Wildl. Res. 2013, 60:213-221.
94. Zeale, M., Stone, E., Bennitt, E., Newson, S., Parker, P., Haysom, K., Browne, W.J., Harris, S., Jones, G., 2014. Improving mitigation success where bats occupy houses and historic buildings, particularly churches. Defra Research Project WM0322, Final Report. Defra, London, pp. 125.
95. Zuur A., Ieno E.N., Walker N., Saveliev A.A., Smith G.M. Mixed Effects Models and Extensions in Ecology with R 2009, Springer, pp. 574.