Inis Environmental Consultants Ltd.’s Post

Bats! Bat populations are under strain, especially as a result of the "white nose syndrome" that is devastating several species in North America. #Bats are also key beneficiaries of #nativeplants and the #insect populations these support. You can help bats in your area by creating or allowing natural settings that provide food, shelter, and water for these little creatures, the only mammals capable of true flight. Some 70% of bats eat only insects (they are obligate insectivores), so they do a great job of eliminating the insects that ... you help propagate ... with native plants and other habitat features. 🤷♂️ That's perhaps the point of #rewilding -- it's a good idea to let nature win sometimes, in some places. The biologist E.O. Wilson and many others have argued that "nature needs half", and we humans should, if we are to have a hope of staying around for the long term, learn to get by on no more than the other half: “Half the world for humanity, half for the rest of life, to make a planet both self-sustaining and pleasant” (Wilson, _The Future of Life_, 2003). Bats often nest in cavities in old trees, which are something of a rarity in tended urban landscapes. So one way we can help provide habitat is to build a bat box. In Canada, we're still figuring out the best way to make these, and if you have installed one on your home (share a photo!) you can help inform the science: "The Canadian BatBox Project (Wildlife Conservation Society) aims to create ideal conditions for bats by gathering information from individuals who have installed them. The program hopes to discover the optimal box design for bats based on region and species. If you are in Canada and have a bat box (or plan to get one), you can fill out this survey [ink in the article] to support their research." More here from Katharine Reid at Rewilding Magazine. https://lnkd.in/g_vtRZT5

British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) are leading The Winter Gull Survey which collects information about our wintering gull populations, through the coordinated effort of volunteer surveyors across the UK. They need help on 19th January with their survey. More information below. Visit the WinGS Vacant Site Map to view and request sites in your area. The Key Date for Winter 2025 surveys is January 19th. Counts can be conducted a week before and after, as close to this key date as possible. In winter, gulls flock together to roost communally on lakes, reservoirs and estuaries, in groups that can reach the thousands. The Winter Gull Survey (WinGS) will run over the winters of 2023/24 and 2024/25 to collect updated information on the numbers and distributions of these wintering gulls in the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Surveys will also run in autumn 2024 in order to monitor gulls at post breeding aggregations and capture seasonal peaks of species on passage from breeding to wintering locations. WinGS volunteers visit gull roost sites, counting six key species: Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull. These gulls are all of conservation concern, and their breeding populations are either Amber- or Red-listed in the UK. Gathering more detailed information about wintering populations, and which roost sites they rely on, will help us protect them and develop more effective conservation strategies. #citizenscience #environment #birds #nature #education #sustainability #climatechange #Survey https://lnkd.in/emhRnMmk

ICYMI: Bat Conservation International and partners made an exciting Sky Island discovery recently: Mexican long-nosed bats in Arizona. The finding is notable for several reasons. Mexican long-nosed bats are an endangered species, previously thought to be in just southwest Texas and New Mexico’s bootheel. But their confirmed presence now in the Chiricahuas near Portal, Arizona, expands the species’ known range. The way the bats were documented is also unique: Citizen scientists used eDNA left behind in the bats’ saliva at hummingbird feeders and were able to send it off to a lab to confirm that it was this species and not a look-alike. The finding opens up new avenues of potential research and conservation for these important pollinators of columnar cacti and agaves. Learn more about the news and what it means for these bats and conservation efforts: https://ow.ly/Vp1e50UI8xR Photo of lesser long-nosed bats (a close relative of Mexican long-nosed bats) at a hummingbird feeder by Jane Dixon/Sky Island FotoFauna. #SkyIslands #EndangeredSpecies #Bats

While you might be fearful that the presence of a bat roost might impact your development plans, finding bats on site does not mean the end of your planning permission. Prism Planning are specialists in bat emergence surveys, providing professional advice to identify how best to carry them out and how to manage any bats found in line with UK wildlife legislation. Contact our expert team to find out more. admin@prism-planning.com | 01325 740610 #Bats #Ecology #PlanningPermission #Environment

🦇31 Days of Bats🦇 Day 14: Bat boxes It is sometimes possible to attract bats to roost in an area by placing bat boxes on walls, posts or tree trunks. Bat boxes can create additional roosting places for bats where roosting options are restricted. Bat boxes are usually constructed from wood or woodcrete (a composite material made from concrete and sawdust). They can vary in size from large scale multi-chambered constructions to simple wooden boxes very similar to a bird nesting box. In addition, bat bricks and tubes can be incorporated into new builds to facilitate roosting bats. Bat boxes usually have an opening at the bottom and the bat lands and crawls up inside. In Ireland, although maternity colonies are very occasionally found using boxes, they are generally used by small numbers of bats of a limited number of species. Bat species that are most regularly found using bat boxes are soprano pipistrelles, Leisler’s bats and brown long-eared bats. Other species are less common but all species, with the exception of the lesser horseshoe bat, have been found using them from time to time. Bat Conservation Ireland has a downloadable leaflet with plans for making wooden bat boxes and another leaflet on using bat boxes on the farm as part of agri-environmental schemes. These are available at: https://lnkd.in/ecJQQBWs Daubenton's bat emerging from bat box: Paul Van Hoof

#wildlifewednesday time and this one is all about 🦉 Yes this week Rewilding Europe have announced that five more Eagle Owls have been released into the iconic and stunning landscape of the Danube Delta 👏 🦉 🦉 🦉 🦉 🦉 This is part of an ongoing and exciting reintroduction programme, with the recent releases representing a significant step forward in the programme. This aims to re-establish a viable population of the birds in the landscape and enhance the overall health of the delta ecosystem. 😀 As keystone predators, Eagle Owls play a vital role maintaining the health of ecosystems. They are particularly useful in controlling rodent populations including rats, which can increase significantly if the owls disappear. 🦉 🐁 A fantastic effort by all involved and with more of these Owls soaring high the grasslands and delta, the Danube will only increase with #biodiversity and become a more healthier and functioning #ecosystem You can read more about this exciting release and the #reintroduction programme in general below 😊 https://lnkd.in/dVpdnEy3 #wildlifewednesday #rewilding #naturerecovery #restoration #environment #speciesreintroduction

🦇 Today, our Senior Ecologist Joseph Valentine delivered an insightful lunch and learn session focused on Aerial Tree Inspection Surveys and roosting bats.   Did you know? All bat species and their roosts are legally protected in the UK, even when bats aren't present!   💡 Key Takeaways 💡   Aerial tree inspections are crucial for: 🌳 Identifying Potential Roost Features (PRFs) 🌳 Assessing the likelihood of bat presence 🌳 Informing necessary licensing requirements 🌳 Planning appropriate mitigation strategies   Our team help navigate the complexities of species protection, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and industry best practices.   Learn more about our bat survey services here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e2R98fEt #Ecology #BatSurveys #BatHabitats #EnvironmentalConsultancy #Lucion 

🦇 Today, our Senior Ecologist Joseph Valentine delivered an insightful lunch and learn session focused on Aerial Tree Inspection Surveys and roosting bats.   Did you know? All bat species and their roosts are legally protected in the UK, even when bats aren't present!   💡 Key Takeaways 💡   Aerial tree inspections are crucial for: 🌳 Identifying Potential Roost Features (PRFs) 🌳 Assessing the likelihood of bat presence 🌳 Informing necessary licensing requirements 🌳 Planning appropriate mitigation strategies   Our team help navigate the complexities of species protection, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and industry best practices.   Learn more about our bat survey services here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e2R98fEt #Ecology #BatSurveys #BatHabitats #EnvironmentalConsultancy #Lucion 

🌍 New Research: Subsistence Hunting and Its Impact on Tropical Forests 🌿 We are excited to share our recently published study, "Subsistence hunting impacts wildlife assemblages and functional ecology in tropical forests." This research explores the complex relationship between Indigenous livelihoods and wildlife conservation in Africa’s tropical forests. Through an extensive camera trap study involving 10 sedentarised Baka communities, we examined hunting areas managed with source-sink dynamics and compared them to a relatively non-hunted reference area in the adjacent Dja Faunal Reserve. Key Findings: Subsistence hunting had limited impact on species richness. However, it altered wildlife community composition and reduced the abundance of important groups such as carnivores, seed dispersers, and granivores. These results highlight the dual challenge of conserving biodiversity while supporting Indigenous livelihoods. Even though spatial management strategies like no-take zones show promise, they also reveal unintended consequences for wildlife and forest ecology. 📖 Read the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/eXn78HEb 💬 Join the conversation: How can we better balance conservation goals with the needs of Indigenous communities? Share your thoughts below! #WildlifeConservation #TropicalForests #SustainableHunting #IndigenousKnowledge #Biodiversity #ResearchInnovation