Lutra 54(1)_Boonman_2011

Factors determining the use of culverts underneath highways and railway tracks by bats in lowland areas

In urbanising environments the construction of suitable underpasses for bats under highways and railway tracks is becoming increasingly important to avoid habitat fragmentation. Culverts provide valuable and low cost underpasses as they are already an intrinsic part of highway design and many bat species associated with water are likely to follow the streams or canals that flow through them. Bat detectors were employed to study the use of 54 culverts by bats in the Netherlands. The aim of the study was to define the factors that determine bats’ use of culverts. Bats were observed in the vast majority of the culverts that were studied, thereby underlining the importance of culverts in habitat de-fragmentation. Species adapted to hunting in open habitats, such as the noctule (Nyctalus noctula) and the serotine (Eptesicus serotinus), were often recorded in front of the entrance but rarely inside culverts. For the three species that were regularly recorded inside culverts, Daubenton’s bat (Myotis daubentonii), the pond bat (Myotis dasycneme) and the common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus), cross sectional area was the most important factor that determined their use of culverts. Height was the most important component of cross sectional area for bats. Length proved a non-significant factor, suggesting that bat underpasses are not affected by the widening of the above-lying infrastructure. Additional guidance by treelines along the banks did not increase the use of culverts by the three species. The implication of the different preferences for cross sectional area on the design of infrastructure is discussed.