Green Infrastructure and development: Bat (Chiroptera) populations along an historic green lane and around a SUDS on an adjacent new housing development at Upton, Northampton, UK

摘要

Bats were surveyed at known roost locations along an historic lane and an adjacent new housing development at Upton, to the west of Northampton. The principles of sustainable development are being applied to this new urban expansion. The development includes a continuous (roof to river) Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS). Bats were surveyed for 10 days in the late summer of 2005. The main objective of this study was to identify bat species present, their distribution at a landscape scale, and identify potential feeding areas. A total of ten sites were surveyed along Upton Lane and on the Upton construction site. A total of 5 species of bats were recorded on and off the construction site: the most abundant being the Common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus). Bats were active on the development site (90 calls), but calls were more abundant along Upton Lane (388 calls). Some parts of the SUDS retention ponds may have been used by bats for feeding. It is proposed that Upton Lane is being used as a bat corridor: linking older extant habitats to the River Nene and possibly to new feeding areas.