The main focus of the project is to determine the impact of light pollution from street lighting on bats. We work on a range of bat species and assess the impacts on bat foraging and commuting behaviour. We use both an experimental and observational approach working in close collaboration with the Institution for Lighting Professionals (ILP) and local county councils. Have a look at our key projects below.

We have secured funding for a PhD student to build on the the findings from the Cornwall Invest to Save project. Michelle Nesbitt will commence her PhD in October 2012 and will be working in collaboration with a number of county councils to assess the impacts of new lighting technologies and regimes on bats in areas with established street lights. This study is funded by NERC and further details will be posted in due course.

This project was conducted during 2009. Useing the same experimental approach as for the HPS experiments we tested the impact of LED lights on bat commuting behaviour along hedgerows within the vicinity of lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) roosts. Hedges were illuminated using two portable Monaro LED street lights to test for changes in species diversity and activity before and after illumination.Our street lights were obtained from DW Windsor under guidance from ILP. The results of this study have just been accepted for publication in Global Change Biology (March 2012) and a link to the paper will be posted on our publications page when it is released.

This project was conducted during 2008. We used an experimental approach to test the impact of HPS lights on bat commuting behaviour along hedgerows within the vicinity of lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) roosts. Lesser horseshoe bats use hedgerows and other linear landscape features as commuting routes to travel through the landscape to reach foraging areas. Connectivity of such features within the landscape is therefore important for this species. Flight paths awere identified using AnaBat II and SD1 ultrasonic detectors (Titley Electronics, Ballina, New South Wales, Australia) which record relative bat activity and species diversity. Hedges were then illuminated using two portable street lights to test for changes in species diversity and activity before and after illumination.Our street lights have been obtained under guidance from the Institution for Lighting Professionals (ILP) to ensure that they closely match those used on the streets. We found that HPS lights caused a significant reduction in the commuting activity of lesser horseshoe bats, causing avoidance behaviour. The results of this study were published in Current Biology (2009). You can find a link to the paper on our publications page.

We are working in collaboration with Cornwall County Council to test the effect of new lighting technologies on bats in areas with established street lights. Cornwall County Council have conducted a pioneering "Invest to Save Project" which aims to replace all Cornwall street lights with new white spectrum reduced wattage Philips "CosmoPolis" lamps. Bats & Lighting Project Intern Andy Wakefield conducted an experimental study in 2010 to test the impact of these new Cosmoposlis lamps on bat activity and species diversity.This study is funded by the Peoples Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and is due to be complete by June 2012. You can find out more about the Cornwall County Switch Over here.