Renovated ice cellar in Glambeck (Schorfheide-Chorin biosphere reserve) - an ideal winter roost for bats

Published source details Haensel J., Itterman L. & Tismer R. (2011) Hergerichteter Eiskeller in Glambeck (Biosphärenreservat Schorfheide-Chorin) - ein ideales Winterquartier für Fledermäuse. Nyctalus: Internationale Fledermaus-Fachzeitschrift, 16, 51-57.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Conserve roosting sites for bats in old structures or buildings Action Link

Conserve roosting sites for bats in old structures or buildings

A before-and-after study in 2000–2011 in a cellar in Brandenburg, Germany (Haensel et al 2011) found that after the cellar was emptied of rubbish, an increasing number of bats used it as a winter roost over an 11-year period. Results were not statistically tested. Eleven years after an ice cellar was emptied of rubbish, 127 bats of four species were recorded hibernating, compared to eight bats of three species in the year the cellar was emptied. Natterer’s Myotis nattereri, Daubenton’s Myotis daubentonii, brown long-eared Plecotus auritus and barbastelle Barbastella barbastellus bats hibernated in the cellar in increasing numbers (winter 2000/01: Natterer’s = 4; Daubenton’s = 1, brown long-eared = 3, barbastelle = 0 individuals; winter 2010/11: Natterer’s = 59; Daubenton’s = 30, brown long-eared = 30, barbastelle = 8 individuals). Greater mouse-eared bats Myotis myotis were also recorded in low numbers throughout the study (0–4 individuals/year; see original paper for details). In 2000 and 2001, a disused stone cellar (4.5 m wide x 6 m long x 9 m high; previously used for ice storage) located in a biosphere reserve (1,291 km²) was emptied of rubble and rubbish to create space for roosting bats. Human access was prohibited. Bats were monitored once/year between December and mid-February in 2000/01–2010/11. In winters of 2000/01 and 2001/2, the authors report that the census may have been limited by the height of their ladder.

(Summarised by: Katie Sainsbury)