Lighting up our waterways: Impacts of a current mitigation strategy on riparian bats

Jun 2, 2022Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)

How current methods to reduce waterway pollution affect bats living near streams

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Abstract

Part-night lighting (PNL) strategies significantly reduced feeding activity of Myotis species along rivers.

No reduction in overall bat activity was observed despite decreased feeding for Myotis spp.
Negative effects of PNL on feeding and activity were also found for Pipistrellus pipistrellus, a species known to feed under artificial light.
PNL may fragment critical foraging habitats for bats, potentially disrupting essential movement across landscapes.
The effectiveness of PNL strategies for wildlife conservation is questioned due to their potential adverse effects on bats.

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Increasing levels of artificial light at night (ALAN) are a major threat to global biodiversity and can have negative impacts on a wide variety of organisms and their ecosystems. Nocturnal species such as bats are highly vulnerable to the detrimental effects of ALAN. A variety of lighting management strategies have been adopted to minimise the impacts of ALAN on wildlife, however relatively little is known about their effectiveness. Using an experimental approach, we provide the first evidence of negative impacts of part-night lighting (PNL) strategies on bats. Feeding activity of Myotis spp. was reduced along rivers exposed to PNL despite no reduction in overall bat activity. We also provide the first evidence of negative effects of PNL on both feeding and activity for Pipistrellus pipistrellus which has previously been recorded feeding under artificial light. Despite having considerable energy-saving benefits, we outline the potential negative impacts of PNL schemes for bats in riparian habitats. PNL are unlikely to provide desired conservation outcomes for bats, and can potentially fragment important foraging habitats leading to a breakdown of functional connectivity across the landscape. We highlight the potential dichotomy for strategies which attempt to simultaneously address climate change and biodiversity loss and recommend alternative management strategies to limit the impacts of ALAN on biodiversity.

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Lighting up our waterways: Impacts of a current mitigation strategy on riparian bats

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