Aims of the project
To deliver systematically acquired baseline distribution data for Bechstein's bat across its entire range in England and Wales.
- To better delineate the species' range and hotspots for conservation action
- To better understand the habitat associations of the species across its range in the UK
- To provide conservation management guidelines for land owners and managers of sites where Bechstein's bats are present.
- To provide a baseline against which ongoing presence/absence of the species in 10km squares can be monitored for future BAP reporting and conservation status assessments. (Note the survey is about breeding/absence, male only presence and total absence, a much more detailed result than just presence/absence.
In addition, the project aim for wider woodland bat communities is;
- To provide preliminary data on the distribution of other woodland bat species in relation to woodland quality by recording all other species caught during the surveys. This will provide a valuable foundation for a comprehensive study of the relationship between woodland quality and the structure and diversity of bat communities.