Annual numbers of hibernating Daubenton’s bats (Myotis daubentonii) and pond bats (M. dasycneme) in the dune areas of Meijendel and Uilenbosch
Abstract: Since the winter of 1977, the populations of hibernating bats have been monitored in five complexes of bunker corridors of the former Atlantic Wall remaining from World War II in the dune areas of Meijendel and Uilenbosch, which are located in the municipalities of Wassenaar and The Hague (Province of Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands). Through management measures, such as closing the entrances for uncontrolled human trespassers and increasing the number of safe hanging locations, significant numbers of Daubenton’s bats (Myotis daubentonii) and pond bats (Myotis dasycneme) now use these complexes. In addition, small numbers of the whiskered bat (Myotis mystacinus), brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus) and Natterer’s bat (Myotis nattereri) occasionally hibernate in these complexes. The dune areas in which these complexes are located have been designated as Natura 2000 areas in which the presence of the large numbers of pond bats hibernating there has played an important role. The five complexes together form the most important mating and winter sites of the pond bat in Western Europe.