Launch of ‘Landscape Conservation for Irish Bats’

Dr Liam Lysaght, Director of the National Biodiversity Data Centre, will launch the results of a new study ‘Landscape Conservation forIrish Bats’ on Monday 23^rd January 2012 at 3pm in the Royal Irish Academy, Dawson Street, Dublin 2.

‘Landscape Conservation for Irish Bats’ is a joint project between Bat Conservation Ireland www.batconservationireland.org and The Centre for Irish Bat Research (CIBR) www.cibr.ie. This project was funded by Bat Conservation Ireland, The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) and 20 of the Republic’s local authorities: Clare, Donegal, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, South Dublin, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow.

Dr Niamh Roche (BCIreland) and Dr Mathieu Lundy (CIBR) will make a presentation at the launch on the significant results of the project. And, as part of the launch, the maps from the study will go live on the National Biodiversity Database Centre (NBDC) website www.biodiversityireland.ie.

Dr Lundy combined information on land cover, altitude, climate and other information, with bat records held in BCIreland’s database to determine facts about Irish bats that will greatly assist future conservation measures. He discovered:

·   The geographical areas that are suitable for the nine different bat species 

·   The core favourable area for each species

·   The role that habitat plays in roost selection

·    The building features that play a role in roost selection

Overall the report shows that Ireland has the potential to be a bat-friendly place, with suitable habitat and roosting sites found throughout the country.

For further details contact Dr Mathieu Lundy, Centre for Irish Bat Research, telephone 048 /028 9097-2281 or +44 7712-839669 or Dr Niamh Roche, Bat Conservation Ireland, +353 41 982-0864 or +353 87 817-3073.