Effectiveness of an acoustic lure for surveying bats in British woodlands

ABSTRACT

1. A field experiment was used to test the effectiveness of a synthesized bat call as an acoustic lure to attract bats into mist nets in woodlands in southeast England. The stimulus was modelled on a social call of the rare Bechstein's bat Myotis bechsteinii.

2. In the Test condition, when the synthesized call was played, 23 bats of four species were captured, including six Bechstein's bats. In the Control condition, when no calls were played, only one bat was caught.

3. The bat call synthesizer is an effective tool for increasing capture rates for bats. Used as part of a systematic survey programme, it has the potential to provide the first baseline data on the distribution of bats in British woodlands.