Do bat gantries and underpasses help bats cross roads safely?

ABSTRACT: Major roads can reduce bat abundance and diversity over considerable distances. To mitigate against these effects and comply with environmental law, many European countries install bridges, gantries or underpasses to make roads permeable and safer to cross. However, through lack of appropriate monitoring, there is little evidence to support their effectiveness. Three underpasses and four bat gantries were investigated in northern England. Echolocation call recordings and observations were used to determine the number of bats using underpasses in preference to crossing the road above, and the height at which bats crossed. At gantries, proximity to the gantry and height of crossing bats were measured. Data were compared to those from adjacent, severed commuting routes that had no crossing st

SUBMITTER: Berthinussen A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3374807 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature