Bat Landscape
The National Biodiversity Data Centre has teamed up with Bat Conservation Ireland on the ‘Landscape Conservation for Irish Bats’ initiative, which will be a new online tool to guide conservation efforts in Ireland.
The new study ‘Landscape Conservation for Irish Bats’ will be officially launched by Dr Liam Lysaght, Director of the National Biodiversity Data Centre on Monday 23rd January 2012 at 3pm in the Royal Irish Academy, Dawson Street, Dublin 2.
‘Landscape Conservation for Irish Bats’ is a joint project between Bat Conservation Ireland (www.batconservationireland.org) and The Centre for Irish Bat Research (CIBR www.cibr.ie). This project was funded by Bat Conservation Ireland, The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) and 20 of the Republic’s local authorities: Clare, Donegal, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, South Dublin, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow.
Dr Niamh Roche (BCIreland) and Dr Mathieu Lundy (CIBR) will make a presentation at the launch on the significant results of the project. And, as part of the launch, the maps from the study will go live on the National Biodiversity Data Centre’s mapping system, Biodiversity Maps (http://maps.biodiversityireland.ie), where the information will available for decision making.
Dr Lundy combined information on land cover, altitude, climate and other information, with bat records held in BCIreland’s database to determine facts about Irish bats that will greatly assist future conservation measures. He discovered:
• The geographical areas that are suitable for the nine different bat species
• The core favourable area for each species
• The role that habitat plays in roost selection
• The building features that play a role in roost selection
Overall the report shows that Ireland has the potential to be a bat-friendly place, with suitable habitat and roosting sites found throughout the country.
For further details contact Dr Mathieu Lundy, Centre for Irish Bat Research, telephone 048 /028 90972281 or +44 7712839669 or Dr Niamh Roche, Bat Conservation Ireland, +353 41 9820864 or +353 87 8173073.
