Green roofs provide habitat for urban bats

Published source details Parkins K.L & Clark J.A (2015) Green roofs provide habitat for urban bats. Global Ecology and Conservation, 4, 349-357.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Create or restore bat foraging habitat in urban areas Action Link

Create or restore bat foraging habitat in urban areas

A replicated, controlled, paired sites study in 2013 of four paired roofs in New York City, USA (Parkins & Clark 2015) found higher activity over green roofs than conventional roofs for three of five bat species, but no difference in species richness. Five bat species were recorded over both green and conventional roofs. The average number of bat passes/night was higher over green roofs than conventional roofs for the eastern red bat Lasiurus borealis (green: 253; conventional: 128), big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus (green: 11; conventional: 0.6), and tricoloured bat Perimyotis subflavus (green: 12; conventional: 2). The average number of bat passes/night was similar over green and conventional roofs for the hoary bat Lasiurus cinereus (green: 56; conventional: 57) and silver-haired bat Lasionycteris noctivagans (green: 33; conventional: 24). Paired roofs were six or eight stories high and were located within one block of each other. One of each pair was a green roof with a waterproof membrane with growing substrate covered in vegetation. The other of each pair was a conventional roof with a ‘blacktop’ or concrete roofing material with no vegetation. Bat activity was recorded between May and September in 2013 with a bat detector deployed in the centre of each roof.

(Summarised by: Anna Berthinussen)