ChiroRivers

Participation is open to anyone, with or without previous experience, who is interested into being part of a long-term monitoring project.

The protocol encompasses 2 modalities to monitor aquatic bats (Myotis daubentonii/Myotis capaccinii) through countings in rivers, lakes and reservoirs in stretches with quiet waters: a PERMANENT modality, which allows to obtain data on population trends and a SPORADIC modality, which allows to collect presence and relative abundance data along the range of the species.

With a simple training you can learn to perform the protocol. The Museum organizes traning courses to explain the protocol methodology. You can fins more information at the Resources section. 

And, if you prefer it, you can recover an inactive transect!






PERMANENT ChiroRivers

EIn the PERMANENT ChiroRivers, you must choose a specific transect and conduct a census between the months of June, July and August each year continuously over the years, in order to evaluate population trends. This modality is the one that provides with more valuable information, as it allows to monitor population changes in a specific transect. In order for the data to be comparable you should conduct your censuses in similar dates over the years.

SPORADIC ChiroRivers

EIn the SPORADIC ChiroRivers you must only conduct a punctual census between the months of June, July and August in any river, lake or reservoir with calm and quiet waters. This modality is useful if, for example, you go on vacation or visit some place where you don't go often and you want to check if there are aquàtic bats in a nearby river.


Do you want to participate?

If you want to participate, don't wait any longer and register! Once you've registered you will be able to contribute the data from your transects. If you have any doubt of you wish to participate in some training course, you may contact us through info@ratpenats.org


Register! »


Necessary material

A potent portable lamp and a field notebook.

Field notebook

Instructions

1. Creation of your transect

Click HERE to register and design your transect.

2. Methodology of the census

Each transect has 4 observation points seperated about ~300m from each other. The census starts 1 hour after sunset. At each observation point:

1) We must position ourselves at the riverbank and point our lamp crossing the water body and close to the water surface, and for 10 minuts we must count all the aquatic bats (Myotis daubentonii/Myotis capaccinii) that coss the light beam.

2) We raise the light beam about 45º and for 5 minutes we count the pipistrelle bats (Pipistrellus sp.).

We repeat the protocol for the 4 observation points (In order to learn to distinguish aquatic bats consult the Resources section).

3. Sending the results

Once you've conducted the census you can send your results HERE and consult the results of other people's transects.

Resources

Training courses

Periodically we organize training courses to provide with the necessary formation to conduct this protocol.

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Online resources

  • Visual identification of a flying bat: is almost impossible, even for experts, to distinguish most bat species just by the kind of flight. Luckily, aquatic bats are the exception, as when they fly above water bodies they adopt a flying strategy completely different from the rest of species.

  • Typical aquatic bat flight
    They allways fly close to the water surface, few centimeters above the water, with ample circles and in a persistent and repetitive manner.

    Ruta de vol de Myotis daubentonii

  • Typical pipistrelle flight
    Very erratic flight, usually bordering the vegetation at different heights.

    Ruta de vol de Pipistrellus

  • Daubenton's bats flying above an English river, recorded with a termal camera and heterodyne detector.