BAT ROOSTS IN THE ALPINE AREA: GUIDELINES FOR THE RENOVATION OF BUILDINGS
INTERREG IIIB Living space network
October 06
BAT ROOSTS IN THE ALPINE AREA: GUIDELINES FOR THE RENOVATION OF BUILDINGS
INTERREG IIIB Project Habitat Network www.livingspacenetwork.bayern.de
Project partners The Nature Conservation authorities of the Federal States of Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, Salzburg, of the autonomous Provinces of South Tyrol and Trento as well as the Cantons of St. Gallen, Grisons and Ticino.
Lead partner The Bavarian State Ministry of Environment, Health and Consumer Protection, Department of Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection Rosenkavalierplatz 2, D-81925 Munich
The project is supported with funding from the European Union’s INTERREG III B Alpine Space Programme, from Arge Alp, and from Swiss Federal Funds.
Authors Dr Guido REITER Co-ordination Centre for Bat Conservation and Research in Austria (KFFÖ) Bäckerstrasse 2a/4, A-4072 Alkoven, Austria [email protected] Dr Andreas ZAHN Co-ordination Centre for Bat Conservation in South Bavaria Department of Biology II, LMU Munich H.Löns Strasse 4, D-84478 Waldkraiburg, German [email protected]
Project support Hans-Dieter SCHUSTER, Bavarian State Ministry of Environment, Health and Consumer Protection, Munich Ursula CALLÈDE, RaumUmwelt GmbH, Vienna
Translation Christine WILDPANNER-KROIS
TransLang, Drobollach October 2006
REITER G. & A. ZAHN 1 October 06
BAT ROOSTS IN THE ALPINE AREA: GUIDELINES FOR THE RENOVATION OF BUILDINGS
The following people have made their expert knowledge of the subject available to us, or have supported the project in other ways:
BECK A., BINKER G., BRAUN M., BORNKESSEL G., BRINKMANN R., CALLÈDE U., CATTO C.,
CORDES B., DIETZ M., DRESCHER C., EICHER C., EHRENBOLD-ETZWEILER R., FRIEMEL D.,
FUHRMANN M., GEIGER H.J., GERBER R., GÜTTINGER R., HAMMER M., HARBUSCH C.,
HERMANNS U., HOLDERIED M., HÜTTMEIR U., JAZBEC K., JERABEK M., KRÄTTLI H.,
KRETZSCHMAR F., KRINER E., LADURNER E., LEUZINGER Y., LIEGL C., LIMBRUNNER H.,
LUBELEY S., LUTSAR L., LUTZ-MÜHLETHALER M., MARTI M., MAYER R., MORF L., MORGENROTH
S., MÜHLETHALER E., PARSONS K., PFEIFFER R., PRESETNIK P., PUCKETT J., RACKOW W.,
ROESLI M., RUDOLPH B.-U., SAFI-WIDMER K., SCHÄFFLER M., SCHÄFLI B., SCHMID M.,
SCHUSTER H.-D., SEIDLER F., STUTZ H.-P., THEILER A., THIES M., UHL G., VLASIN M., VAN DER
WIJDEN B., WEISHAAR M., K.-P. WELSCH & B. WIMMER.
so have participants in the workshops on this subject in:
Tuebingen, FRG; as part of the BAG Bat Conservation Conference at NABU (1st-3rd April 2005) Trento, Italy; as part of an International Conference on “Bats and their conservation in the Alps” (28th- 29th April 2005) Galway, Ireland; as part of the 10th European Bat Research Symposium (21st-26th August 2005)
WE WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO EXTEND OUR WARMEST THANKS TO ALL OF THEM, NOT LEAST FOR THE HUGE AMOUNT OF TIME THEY HAVE INVESTED IN THIS PROJECT!
REITER G. & A. ZAHN 2 October 06
BAT ROOSTS IN THE ALPINE AREA: GUIDELINES FOR THE RENOVATION OF BUILDINGS
Table of contents
1 Introduction...... 5 1.1 Project aims ...... 6 2 Materials and methods...... 7 2.1 Literature search ...... 7 2.2 Questionnaires ...... 7 2.3 Workshops ...... 7 2.4 Procedures...... 7 3 Data bases ...... 8 4 Description of the individual bat species...... 9 4.1 Greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum)...... 10 4.2 Lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros)...... 15 4.3 Daubenton´s bat (Myotis daubentonii)...... 28 4.4 The Brandt's bat (Myotis brandtii) ...... 30 4.5 Whiskered bat (Myotis mystacinus)...... 33 4.6 Geoffroy's bat (Myotis emarginatus)...... 40 4.7 Natterer's bat (Myotis nattereri)...... 47 4.8 Greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) and lesser mouse-eared bat (Myotis bythii)...... 51 4.9 Noctule bat (Nyctalus noctula) ...... 66 4.10 Common Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus)...... 77 4.11 Midge bat (Pipistrellus pygmaeus)...... 82 4.12 Kuhl’s pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus kuhlii) ...... 84 4.13 Parti-coloured bat (Vespertilio murinus) ...... 85 4.14 Serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus) ...... 89 4.15 Northern serotine bat (Eptesicus nilssonii) ...... 94 4.16 Brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus) ...... 98 4.17 Grey long-eared bat (Plecotus austriacus)...... 103 4.18 Alpine long-eared bat (Plecotus macrobullaris) ...... 107 4.19 Barbastelle bat (Barbastella barbastellus)...... 110 5 Bats and wood preservatives ...... 114 6 Future prospects...... 117
REITER G. & A. ZAHN 3 October 06
BAT ROOSTS IN THE ALPINE AREA: GUIDELINES FOR THE RENOVATION OF BUILDINGS
7 Summary ...... 118 8 Literatur ...... 120 9 Appendix...... 126 9.1 Examples for the construction of new bat roosts ...... 126
REITER G. & A. ZAHN 4 October 06 BAT ROOSTS IN THE ALPINE AREA: GUIDELINES FOR THE RENOVATION OF BUILDINGS INTRODUCTION
1 Introduction
Many bat species in the alpine area almost invariably make use of the insides of buildings or their external fittings for their nurseries. Among them are some of those listed in Appendix II of the EU’s Fauna-Flora Habitat Guidelines, such as the greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum), the lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros), the lesser mouse-eared bat (Myotis bythii), the greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis), and the Geoffroy's bat (Myotis emarginatus). When buildings are rebuilt or altered, or when there are disturbances, their roosting places are seriously jeopardised and so too are the bats themselves. Because of its near-natural state and its varied climate and landscape, the alpine area is characterised by a fauna rich in bat species. However, many species here are heavily dependent on buildings for their roosting places. This is because natural hiding places have become rare in woodlands as a result of particular forms of cultivation. Caves are not suitable for raising the young because of the alpine area’s climate – this is in contrast with Southern Europe where caves are important roosting places in the summer months. Indeed, places at higher altitudes in the alpine area are characterised by particularly high percentages of buildings that accommodate bat roosts (HOLZHAIDER & ZAHN 2001). In the alpine area some bat species, such as the greater mouse-eared bat, fly every day to hunting grounds that are up to 20 km away (GÜTTINGER 1997). This means that the loss of roosting places in buildings can be of decisive significance for the bat population in large areas. Consequently, if bat fauna in the alpine area is to be permanently preserved, it is all the more important that roosting places are preserved in such locations, when buildings are renovated or rebuilt.
Measures have been, and continue to be, put in place in various countries to monitor building works from the point of view of bat studies. In this way, it has already been possible to accumulate experience about preserving roosting places during the course of renovation and rebuilding. Yet, most of this work has at best been only partially documented or published and at worst not at all (the so- called "Grey Literature"). It is therefore not available to a broader circle of users. The first key works dealing with this subject came from Switzerland (BLANT 1992), Belgium (FAIRON et al. 2002), and England (MITCHELL-JONES 2004). However, these works place their main emphasis on procedures for the general conservation of buildings (BLANT 1992, MITCHELL-JONES 2004) or on the implementation of such measures (FAIRON et al. 2002). The task of this present study is to deal with the effects of renovation, as seen from the point of the species, and in the process to give specific definition to a framework of conditions for renovation work. The target group for these guidelines are bat experts. If the requirements of the laws covering the protection of bats in Europe are to be met in full, every single renovation project for a building that accommodates a bat roosting place will need to be monitored by experienced bat experts. These guidelines are no substitute either for scientific knowledge about the biology and ecology of bats, or for familiarity with methods of studying or dealing with bats. It is by no means the case that these guidelines will equip persons lacking specialist knowledge of bats professionally to execute renovation work on buildings accommodating bat roosts. It should also be borne in mind that renovation work on bat roosting places requires authorisation under laws covering the protection of nature – according to the legislation of the particular country in question. Persons monitoring renovation work from the point of view of the study of bats, or who enter bat roosting places in the course of such work, need authorisation under the laws governing the protection of nature. Drafting of conservation proposals must be carried out in close consultation with the appropriate nature conservation authorities. The strong element of trans-regional co-operation involved in this Arge Alp INTERREG IIIB project gives it a sufficiently broad discussion-base. The increased number of case studies associated with
REITER G. & A. ZAHN 5 October 06 BAT ROOSTS IN THE ALPINE AREA: GUIDELINES FOR THE RENOVATION OF BUILDINGS INTRODUCTION this breadth makes it possible to reach more precise conclusions about individual bat species as well as about regional differences in the ecology of the roosting places of the various species, and in construction designs and the level to which bat conservation has developed.
1.1 Project aims
The aim of the project is to provide an overall summary of current specialist knowledge and established experience as regards the renovation of buildings that accommodate bat roosting places. This will be made available to bat experts in form of guidelines. In a helpful and concise format, these guidelines should provide bat experts with essential information about the ecology of the roosting places of the species concerned. They should also give a catalogue of examples and established experience. Finally they should provide a procedural framework for the successful renovation of buildings accommodating bat roosting places.
REITER G. & A. ZAHN 6 October 06 BAT ROOSTS IN THE ALPINE AREA: GUIDELINES FOR THE RENOVATION OF BUILDINGS MATERIALS AND METHODS
2 Materials and methods
2.1 Literature search
A first step was to write to all bat specialists working within the field of investigation and to request copies of their in-house reports and/or publications pertaining to renovation work for buildings with bat roosts or to bats' roosting needs. The second step was to search the specialist literature for published articles about the subject. These were, for example, learned journals, anthologies about the bat and/or mammal fauna in the various regions, annual reports from the co-ordination centres, conference transcripts and Diploma and Doctoral theses.
2.2 Questionnaires
To provide a record of renovation projects that had not been documented in writing, a questionnaire was devised (see appendix) and sent to the appropriate professionals. In the first place, this was intended to give an indication as to which were the important factors in renovation projects. It was a means whereby reports and publications could be supplemented and/or confirmed, as the case may be.
2.3 Workshops
To tap into colleagues' wider expertise and as a way of subjecting procedures and methodologies to critical scrutiny, the authors organised the following three workshops on their field of study: