Impact of artificial lighting on bats
The saying ‘as blind as a bat’ is factually incorrect: bats have good eyesight that is adapted for low light conditions. Now a new scientific study just published has also discredited the popular…
Category: Bat ecology
Could bats be an issue for offshore wind farms?
There is increasing evidence that wind energy developments have the potential to have significant negative impacts on bat populations (Voigta et al, 2012). Both Bat Conservation Ireland (Bat Conservation Ireland, 2012) and the Bat Conservation…
Bats use vision to see and echolocation to hunt
Bats rule the night skies, using the power of echolocation, or reflected sound. More than 1,000 species of echolocating bats exist, compared to just 80 species of nocturnal non-echolocating birds.…
Wind turbines unlikely to cause fatal barotrauma in bats
For years scientists have speculated that the unexpected number of bat fatalities around wind farms is the result of barotrauma-related injuries. Baerwald et al (2008) published a paper entitled ‘Barotrauma is…
Wind turbines can have a long range impact on bat populations
Wind turbines and wind farms can cause problems for bats , and according to researchers the pressure differences that build up as the blades turn can implode the inner organs and lungs…
Yorkshire bat colonies ‘cohabit all year’
Colonies of Daubenton’s bats in the Yorkshire Dales that have males and females living alongside each other all year round have surprised scientists. Normally, the bats display “segregation behaviour”, meaning the…
Bats Build Mental Maps Of Their Surroundings And Remember Them For Future Flights
Many species of bats use echolocation to orient themselves and to hunt their insect prey, but they also rely on a pretty detailed memory to find their way around, a…
Bat Surveys Ireland 