10 October 2007
Fly by night in Dartmoor National Park
The first phase of a challenging research project to look into the distribution, numbers and feeding habits of the rare barbastelle bat on Dartmoor has been completed. A partnership of Dartmoor National Park Authority, the Woodland Trust and the National Trust, with funding from the SITA Trust, through the Landfill Communities Fund, set up the £25,000 research project to shed more light on the ecology of the barbastelle, one of the rarest British mammals.
 | The partnership employed Matt Zeale, a PhD student from Bristol University, to spend over 120 nights, from late May to September 2007, trapping and tracking these elusive creatures in wooded Dartmoor river valleys. During his research he discovered a thriving new breeding colony of barbastelle bats on Woodland Trust land in the Bovey Valley. He also confirmed the presence of two barbastelle breeding colonies in the Dart Valley and in Dendles Wood National Nature reserve in the south of the National Park. |
The barbastelle is a rare species, with only about 16 known breeding colonies in England and Wales, so the Dartmoor discoveries add significantly to our understanding of the species’ ecology and distribution. Until recently, it has been very difficult to research barbastelles’ habits, as they roost under peeling bark and in splits and holes in damaged and dead trees – just the sort of habitat one might be inclined to ‘tidy up’ in woodland.
New technology has been used during the research, which involves acoustic lures that playback the bats’ calls and attract them into nets, enabling researchers to catch them in remote woods and follow them on their nightly forays.
Miriam Glendell, Dartmoor National Park Authority Ecologist said:
’The research will continue next year and it is hoped that once we know the areas used by all the colonies, practical conservation action can follow to secure the bat’s future within the river valleys. As a top predator, barbastelles are at the head of the food chain and depend on a well connected healthy landscape. Thus conservation measures to benefit the barbastelle could potentially benefit a whole range of other species and habitats.’
For Further Information
Miriam Glendell, Ecologist
Mike Nendick, Communications Officer, Dartmoor National Park Authority
Tel: (01626) 832093
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Notes for Editors
SITA Trust
SITA Trust was set up in 1997 and runs three funding programmes:
- Enhancing Communities – for community improvement projects around landfill sites owned by SITA UK;
- Enriching Nature – for biodiversity projects within the vicinity of landfill sites in England;
- GreenPrints – launched in June 2007 to encourage 16-25 year olds to volunteer their time and energy to improving green spaces in their local communities.
Each year, SITA Trust commits over £7 million nationwide through the Landfill Communities Fund.
www.sitatrust.org.uk (external link, opens new window)
The Landfill Communities Fund (formerly the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme)
Landfill tax was introduced in 1996 to encourage more sustainable ways of managing waste.
The landfill tax legislation also brought about the Landfill Communities Fund. This scheme allows landfill operators to voluntarily donate 6.6% of their landfill tax liability to environmental improvement projects.
The Landfill Communities Fund is independently regulated on behalf of HM Government’s Revenue & Customs by ENTRUST.
Barbastelles
There are seventeen bat species in the UK, 14 of which have been found in Dartmoor National Park. Because of their declining numbers in the past, all UK bats are protected by law.
The first breeding colony of barbastelles on Dartmoor was found in 2002 in Dendles Wood National Nature Reserve. Barbastelles are a priority species for conservation under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. There are thought to be about 5,000 barbastelle bats in the UK but the exact status and distribution is unknown.
The research has shown that Dartmoor barbastelles seem to travel up to 4km to their feeding grounds, where they prey on moths over mature hedges. However, on occasions, the Bovey Valley bats have been tracked up to 20km towards Teignmouth. The Dendles Wood bats foraged well beyond Ivybridge towards Plympton. Elsewhere, the bats are known to travel long distances to their preferred foraging grounds to feed over wetlands as well as hedgerows. Interestingly, the Dartmoor bats seem to strictly divide their feeding areas between individual bats, which may explain why they are so ‘thin on the ground’.
Images of barbastelle bats may be obtained from Frank Greenaway, tel: (01403) 753745
For more information on barbastelles and woodland management in Woodland Trust woods, contact James Mason, Woodland Officer, the Woodland Trust. .Tel: (01626) 835897
National Parks cover 10% of the land area of England, Wales and Scotland. They are of special value to the whole nation because of their great beauty, their wildlife and cultural interests and the opportunities they offer for quiet enjoyment. However, they are not nationally owned - the land is in the hands of many landowners or occupiers including farmers. Over 33,500 people live inside the Dartmoor National Park and many millions of visits are made to it each year.
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This page last updated 10 October 2007
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Page updated 9 October 2007
