Community-based clean-up schemes in urban parks can improve water sources for bats
Davis, Kate
Davis, Kate
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2024-12-18
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Abstract
Bats are essential to ecosystems, providing services like pollination, seed dispersal, and pest control, yet their populations are declining globally due to human-driven habitat loss. To counter these effects, conservationists promote strategies like enhancing habitats, even in urban areas. Yet to support healthy bat communities, they need to offer suitable resources such as water. Water access for bats depends on both availability and accessibility. Accessibility is often limited by "clutter"--physical obstructions such as vegetation, rocks, or debris that restrict bats ability to drink in flight. Urban litter, primarily non-biodegradable items, degrades aquatic habitats, potentially restricting access for wildlife. Targeted litter removal, therefore, has the potential to reduce habitat degradation and improve access for species like bats. To investigate this, we implemented a community-based cleanup at select water sources in Fort Worth, Texas, from 2021 to 2024, recording bat activity with thermal and acoustic tools before and after cleanup to assess the impact of litter removal on bat drinking activity.
Post-clean up, overall bat presence increased significantly at both sites, with drinking activity increasing for hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus), silver-haired bats (Lasionycteris noctivagans), and Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis), These findings reveal that litter does act as clutter, thereby limiting access to water for certain bat species with open-space flight patterns. Overall, our results highlight the value of litter-free water sources in urban environments for promoting bat species diversity and resource use. By demonstrating the positive impact of community clean-ups on bat activity, this project underscores the role of citizen-led conservation initiatives in fostering urban biodiversity, improving ecosystem health, and supporting local conservation strategies.