Online Resources

Factors driving population recovery of the greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) in the UK: implications for conservation

Jérémy S. P. Froidevaux1,*, Katherine L. Boughey2, Kate E. Barlow2,† & Gareth Jones1

1University of Bristol, School of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TQ Bristol, United Kingdom.

2Bat Conservation Trust, Quadrant House, 250 Kennington Lane, SE11 5RD London, United Kingdom.

†Deceased.

*Corresponding author:

Jérémy S. P. Froidevaux

University of Bristol, School of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TQ Bristol, United Kingdom.

Tel: +44(0)11.73.94.13.86

E-mail:

Orcid ID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6850-4879

Online Resource 1. Description of the nine aggregate land classes used to characterize the different habitats surrounding the maternity colony roosts of R. ferrumequinum based on the Land Cover Map 2007 classes (Morton et al. 2011).

Aggregate land class / Land Cover Map 2007 class
1. Broadleaf woodland / ‘Broadleaved woodland’
2. Coniferous woodland / ‘Coniferous woodland’
3. Arable land / ‘Arable and horticulture’
4. Grassland / ‘Improved grassland’, ‘Rough grassland’, ‘Neutral grassland’, ‘Calcareous grassland’, ‘Acid grassland’, ‘Fen, marsh and swamp’
5. Saltwater / ‘Saltwater’
6. Freshwater / ‘Freshwater’
7. Coastal land / ‘Supra-littoral rock’, ‘Supra-littoral sediment’, ‘Littoral rock’, ‘Littoral sediment’, ‘Saltmarsh’
8. Urban area / ‘Urban’, ‘Suburban’
9. Other / ‘Heather’, ‘Heather grassland’, ‘Bog’, ‘Montane habitats’, ‘Inland rock’

Reference:

Morton D et al. (2011) Final Report for LCM2007-the new UK land cover map. Countryside Survey Technical Report No 11/07.

Online Resource 2.Land-cover changes around Rhinolophus ferrumequinum maternity roosts between 2000-2012.

Using ArcGIS Desktop v10 (ESRI, Redlands, CA), we extracted the Corine Land Cover changes (100 m resolution) from the period 2000-2006 and 2006-2012 (European Environment Agency; Cole et al. 2015) around the maternity roosts of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (3 km radius buffer).

Overall, we found that over the 12 years period studied, only 0.40% of the land cover has changed around the maternity roosts. The conversion from agricultural to urban area represents 34% of the change (Table A).

Table A. Corine Land Cover (CLC) changes around maternity roosts between 2000-2006 and 2006-2012.

CLC 2000 / CLC 2006 / Changes / ha
133 / 112 / Construction sites to Discontinuous urban fabric / 13.20
211 / 112 / Non-irrigated arable land to Discontinuous urban fabric / 25.31
231 / 112 / Pastures to Discontinuous urban fabric / 15.85
231 / 131 / Pastures to Mineral extraction sites / 0.65
231 / 142 / Pastures to Sport and leisure facilities / 114.87
243 / 311 / Land principally occupied by agriculture to Broad-leaved forest / 4.98
312 / 324 / Coniferous forest to Transitional woodland-shrub / 82.83
324 / 311 / Transitional woodland-shrub to Broad-leaved forest / 21.64
CLC 2006 / CLC 2012 / Changes / ha
133 / 112 / Construction sites to Discontinuous urban fabric / 30.24
211 / 112 / Non-irrigated arable land to Discontinuous urban fabric / 14.89
211 / 131 / Non-irrigated arable land to Mineral extraction sites / 13.98
312 / 324 / Coniferous forest to Transitional woodland-shrub / 143.04
324 / 312 / Transitional woodland-shrub to Coniferous forest / 38.81
313 / 324 / Mixed forest to Transitional woodland-shrub / 29.30

Reference:

Cole B, King S, Ogutu B, Palmer D, Smith G, Balzter H (2015) Corine land cover changes between 2006 and 2012 for the UK, Jersey and Guernsey. NERC Environmental Information Data Centre.doi: 10.5285/35fecd0f-b466-448b-94d1-0bba90be450e

Online Resource 3. Description of the Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) options implemented in England potentially favourable to R. ferrumequinum (Natural England 2013).

Habitats / Codes / HLS options / Financial compensation
Hedgerow / HB11 / Management of hedgerows of very high environmental value (both sides) / £54 / 100 m
Hedgerow / HB12 / Management of hedgerows of very high environmental value (one side) / £27 / 100 m
Woodland / HC7 / Maintenance of woodland / £100 / ha
Woodland / HC8 / Restoration of woodland / £100 / ha
Woodland / HC9 / Creation of woodland in Severely Disadvantaged Areas / £200 / ha
Woodland / HC10 / Creation of woodland outside Severely Disadvantaged Areas / £315 / ha
Wood pasture / HC12 / Maintenance of wood pasture and parkland / £180 / ha
Wood pasture / HC13 / Restoration of wood pasture and parkland / £180 / ha
Wood pasture / HC14 / Creation of wood pasture / £180 / ha
Grassland / HK15 / Maintenance of grassland for target features / £130 / ha
Grassland / HK16 / Restoration of grassland for target features / £130 / ha
Grassland / HK17 / Creation of grassland for target features / £210 / ha

Reference:

Natural England (2013) Higher level stewardship. Environmental stewardship handbook, 4th edn.

Online Resource 4. Results of the Spearman’s correlation test of variables arising from three datasets: (a) time-series climate data, (b) landscape features and agri-environment schemes (AESs). We report for the second dataset three tables (b1, b2 and b3) corresponding to the three spatial scales studied (0.5, 1.5 and 3.0 km). Spearman correlation coefficients (|r|) ≥ 0.7 are indicated in bold.

a) Time-series climate data spanning 1997-2014

Winter temperature / Spring temperature / Annual temperature / Winter precipitation / Spring precipitation / Annual precipitation / Winter NAO index / Spring NAO index / Annual NAO index
Winter temperature
Spring temperature / 0.56
Annual temperature / 0.58 / 0.81
Winter precipitation / 0.37 / 0.20 / 0.23
Spring precipitation / 0.75 / 0.21 / 0.25 / 0.11
Annual precipitation / 0.53 / -0.01 / 0.15 / 0.29 / 0.83
Winter NAO index / 0.67 / 0.06 / 0.12 / 0.23 / 0.88 / 0.81
Spring NAO index / -0.15 / 0.14 / 0.26 / 0.16 / -0.36 / -0.11 / -0.33
Annual NAO index / 0.01 / 0.29 / 0.50 / 0.07 / -0.14 / 0.05 / 0.03 / 0.66

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b) Landscape features and AESs data

b1) Variables taken within a buffer of 0.5 km radius around the maternity roosts of R. ferrumequinum

Broadleaf woodland / Coniferous woodland / Arable land / Grassland / Saltwater / Freshwater / Coastal land / Urban area / Other† / Amount of artificial light at night / Density of linear features / Agri-environment schemes / High level Stewardship / Entry level Stewardship / High level Stewardship - R. ferrumequinum
Broadleaf woodland
Coniferous woodland / 0.09
Arable land / -0.36 / 0.11
Grassland / -0.40 / -0.45 / -0.22
Saltwater / -0.13 / -0.21 / -0.39 / 0.09
Freshwater / -0.07 / 0.34 / -0.07 / -0.11 / 0.33
Coastal land / 0.00 / -0.38 / -0.35 / 0.04 / 0.61 / 0.06
Urban area / 0.00 / -0.28 / 0.17 / -0.44 / 0.17 / -0.13 / 0.37
Other† / 0.08 / -0.18 / -0.13 / -0.21 / 0.30 / 0.06 / 0.00 / 0.20
Amount of artificial light at night / -0.15 / -0.17 / 0.37 / -0.17 / -0.26 / -0.51 / -0.19 / 0.43 / -0.02
Density of linear features / -0.65 / -0.20 / 0.26 / 0.62 / -0.26 / -0.07 / -0.25 / -0.12 / -0.39 / 0.10
Agri-environment schemes (all options included) / -0.39 / 0.09 / 0.15 / 0.13 / 0.00 / 0.55 / 0.17 / -0.33 / -0.07 / -0.41 / 0.18
High level Stewardship / -0.35 / 0.00 / 0.06 / 0.24 / 0.00 / 0.51 / 0.24 / -0.35 / -0.12 / -0.43 / 0.17 / 0.96
Entry level Stewardship / -0.28 / 0.08 / 0.32 / -0.19 / 0.00 / 0.07 / -0.26 / -0.01 / 0.15 / 0.19 / 0.19 / 0.05 / -0.21
High level Stewardship targeting R. ferrumequinum / -0.35 / 0.00 / 0.06 / 0.24 / 0.00 / 0.51 / 0.24 / -0.35 / -0.12 / -0.43 / 0.17 / 0.96 / 1.00 / -0.21

†See Online Resource 1 for more details.

b2) Variables taken within a buffer of 1.5 km radius around the maternity roosts of R. ferrumequinum

Broadleaf woodland / Coniferous woodland / Arable land / Grassland / Saltwater / Freshwater / Coastal land / Urban area / Other† / Amount of artificial light at night / Density of linear features / Agri-environment schemes / High level Stewardship / Entry level Stewardship / High level Stewardship - R. ferrumequinum
Broadleaf woodland
Coniferous woodland / 0.13
Arable land / -0.13 / 0.09
Grassland / -0.13 / -0.19 / -0.46
Saltwater / -0.05 / -0.43 / -0.48 / 0.20
Freshwater / 0.14 / 0.07 / 0.11 / -0.26 / 0.00
Coastal land / 0.07 / -0.43 / -0.32 / 0.02 / 0.85 / 0.16
Urban area / -0.16 / -0.59 / -0.30 / 0.05 / 0.13 / -0.12 / 0.24
Other† / 0.02 / -0.24 / 0.30 / 0.04 / 0.05 / -0.13 / 0.17 / 0.06
Amount of artificial light at night / -0.22 / -0.28 / -0.20 / -0.13 / -0.09 / -0.13 / -0.06 / 0.78 / -0.24
Density of linear features / -0.15 / -0.33 / 0.19 / 0.47 / -0.08 / -0.53 / -0.13 / 0.15 / 0.37 / -0.08
Agri-environment schemes (all options included) / -0.70 / -0.16 / 0.45 / 0.08 / -0.13 / 0.09 / -0.05 / -0.16 / 0.18 / -0.15 / 0.00
High level Stewardship / -0.41 / 0.03 / 0.25 / -0.19 / 0.06 / 0.47 / 0.30 / -0.19 / -0.11 / -0.24 / -0.01 / 0.48
Entry level Stewardship / -0.12 / 0.15 / 0.14 / 0.39 / -0.23 / -0.41 / -0.46 / -0.15 / 0.32 / -0.13 / 0.25 / 0.21 / -0.62
High level Stewardship targeting R. ferrumequinum / -0.47 / 0.00 / 0.18 / -0.20 / 0.06 / 0.44 / 0.30 / -0.10 / -0.12 / -0.13 / -0.01 / 0.51 / 0.96 / -0.55

†See Online Resource 1 for more details.

b3) Variables taken within a buffer of 3.0 km radius around the maternity roosts of R. ferrumequinum

Broadleaf woodland / Coniferous woodland / Arable land / Grassland / Saltwater / Freshwater / Coastal land / Urban area / Other† / Amount of artificial light at night / Density of linear features / Landscape fragmentation index / Landscape heterogeneity index / Landscape diversity index / Agri-environment schemes (all options included) / High level Stewardship / Entry level Stewardship / High level Stewardship -R. ferrumequinum / High level Stewardship - R. ferrumequinum - Hedgerows / High level Stewardship - R. ferrumequinum - Grassland / High level Stewardship - R. ferrumequinum - Woodland / High level Stewardship - R. ferrumequinum - Pasture
Broadleaf woodland
Coniferous woodland / 0.38
Arable land / -0.28 / -0.03
Grassland / -0.34 / -0.29 / -0.35
Saltwater / 0.03 / -0.14 / -0.67 / 0.23
Freshwater / 0.05 / 0.19 / 0.02 / -0.14 / -0.19
Coastal land / -0.12 / -0.28 / -0.70 / 0.35 / 0.92 / -0.23
Urban area / 0.27 / -0.07 / -0.32 / -0.36 / 0.04 / 0.03 / 0.07
Other† / 0.41 / 0.15 / -0.15 / 0.19 / 0.00 / -0.16 / -0.08 / -0.11
Amount of artificial light at night / 0.21 / 0.06 / -0.24 / -0.38 / -0.01 / 0.24 / -0.01 / 0.88 / -0.07
Density of linear features / -0.28 / -0.40 / 0.14 / 0.57 / -0.17 / -0.51 / -0.04 / -0.33 / 0.12 / -0.49
Landscape fragmentation index / -0.69 / -0.30 / 0.49 / 0.27 / -0.14 / -0.20 / -0.02 / -0.40 / -0.42 / -0.47 / 0.30
Landscape heterogeneity index / -0.08 / -0.28 / -0.62 / 0.27 / 0.78 / -0.05 / 0.82 / 0.26 / -0.10 / 0.22 / -0.06 / -0.03
Landscape diversity index / 0.65 / 0.58 / -0.63 / 0.02 / 0.28 / 0.29 / 0.19 / 0.31 / 0.46 / 0.35 / -0.44 / -0.65 / 0.25
Agri-environment schemes (all options included) / -0.56 / -0.05 / 0.56 / 0.28 / -0.35 / -0.36 / -0.20 / -0.61 / -0.22 / -0.55 / 0.33 / 0.87 / -0.16 / -0.69
High level Stewardship / -0.38 / -0.09 / 0.34 / 0.19 / -0.10 / -0.09 / -0.03 / -0.47 / -0.11 / -0.38 / 0.28 / 0.42 / 0.02 / -0.32 / 0.64
Entry level Stewardship / -0.35 / 0.05 / 0.43 / 0.26 / -0.41 / -0.35 / -0.30 / -0.30 / -0.02 / -0.32 / 0.14 / 0.70 / -0.27 / -0.46 / 0.65 / -0.11
High level Stewardship targeting R. ferrumequinum - All / -0.35 / -0.42 / 0.20 / -0.04 / 0.00 / 0.14 / 0.15 / -0.37 / -0.28 / -0.24 / 0.17 / 0.24 / 0.17 / -0.41 / 0.48 / 0.74 / -0.22
High level Stewardship targeting R. ferrumequinum - Hedgerows / 0.17 / -0.18 / -0.24 / -0.08 / -0.11 / 0.34 / 0.13 / 0.19 / 0.04 / 0.31 / 0.14 / -0.53 / 0.07 / 0.27 / -0.47 / -0.21 / -0.47 / 0.17
High level Stewardship targeting R. ferrumequinum - Grassland / -0.22 / -0.39 / 0.19 / -0.09 / 0.05 / 0.00 / 0.19 / -0.35 / -0.38 / -0.36 / 0.22 / 0.31 / 0.11 / -0.50 / 0.47 / 0.60 / -0.12 / 0.89 / 0.06
High level Stewardship targeting R. ferrumequinum - Woodland / 0.17 / -0.13 / 0.23 / -0.59 / -0.09 / 0.18 / 0.08 / 0.07 / -0.01 / 0.07 / -0.41 / -0.04 / 0.02 / 0.05 / 0.04 / 0.11 / -0.11 / 0.47 / 0.27 / 0.57
High level Stewardship targeting R. ferrumequinum - Pasture / 0.11 / -0.09 / 0.30 / -0.45 / -0.11 / 0.51 / -0.18 / -0.06 / 0.40 / 0.09 / -0.35 / -0.30 / -0.02 / 0.17 / -0.17 / -0.17 / 0.01 / 0.18 / 0.36 / 0.11 / 0.54

†See Online Resource 1 for more details.

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Online Resource 5. Model-averaged parameter estimates with associated standards errors (SE) and lower and upper 85% confidence intervals (CI) of the best GLMs (ΔAICc <2) explaining colony sizes of R. ferrumequinum at two spatial scales in which the proportion of urban area was highly correlated with the amount of artificial light at night (1.5 and 3.0 km scales; see Online Resource 4). The correlated variables were assessed separately.

a) Results of the investigation at 1.5 km scale

a1) Models integrating the amount of the artificial light at night

Variables / Estimate / SE / Lower 85% CI / Upper 85% CI
Amount of artificial light at night / -0.28 / 0.15 / -0.48 / -0.07
Proportion of broadleaf woodland / 0.20 / 0.13 / 0.02 / 0.38
Proportion of grassland / 0.38 / 0.14 / 0.17 / 0.58

a2) Models integrating the proportion of urban area

Variables / Estimate / SE / Lower 85% CI / Upper 85% CI
Proportion of broadleaf woodland / 0.20 / 0.13 / 0.02 / 0.38
Proportion of grassland / 0.40 / 0.14 / 0.21 / 0.59
Proportion of urban area / -0.17 / 0.14 / -0.37 / 0.03

b) Results of the investigation at 3.0 km scale