%0 Journal Article

%A Amorim, Francisco 

%A Alves, Pedro 

%A Rebelo, Hugo 

%D 2013

%T Bridges over the troubled conservation of Iberian bats

%J Barbastella, Journal of Bat Research

%V 6

%N 1

%P 3-12

%! Bridges over the troubled conservation of Iberian bats

%O Barb

%R http://dx.doi.org/10.14709/BarbJ.6.1.2013.01

%X In the last decades the availability of roosts has been one of the major limiting factors in bat conservation. Several human-made structures mimic the conditions occurring in natural roosts allowing the maintenance of bat populations and in some cases, even their range expansion. In the USA and Europe several bridges have been reported to be used by bats as roosts. We surveyed 52 bridges in Northeastern Portugal and found that 28 bridges were used by bats from 16 species. Most species seem to use bridge crevices, but cave dwellers were also observed in box girders. At least 3145 individuals were found roosting in crevices, most of which were identified as Tadarida teniotis. A total of 728 individuals were captured in 8 different bridges. T. teniotis was the most common species since it was the target species of these captures. The observed sex bias toward females suggests that bridges are often used as breeding colonies. Signs of swarming and mating were also observed in September and October. Our results confirm that modern bridges can play an important role in bat conservation even contributing to range expansions.

%> internal-pdf://0831751948/Amorim_et_al_2013.pdf