The project
“Identifying Irish Bats and their Prey” (or batsandbugs.ie) is a joint project between Bat Conservation Ireland and University College Dublin. It started in July 2021.
- to start with, we have created this website where you can find out more and register to participate!
- also, with the help of the National Biodiversity Data Centre, Bat Conservation Ireland is in the process of producing an ‘Identification Guide to Irish Bats’. This is a new field guide that makes getting to know your local bats more accessible for everyone. More about that soon…
Our aim
The aim of this project is to find out about Irish bat ecosystem services.
In other words, what types of prey do bats eat and are those prey responsible for crop or other damage? Do bats help control insect pests by eating them?
We also want to find out more about Irish invertebrate biodiversity and bat ecology along the way.
We are asking people who host bat roosts in Ireland to help us by collecting bat droppings! Once the droppings are sent to UCD they will be analysed using state of the art DNA techniques. We will be able to find out which bat species the droppings are from and what exactly those bats have been eating. We will then be able to map out a clearer picture of the ecosystem services provided by Irish bats.
Project funding
“Identifying Irish Bats and their Prey” (or batsandbugs.ie!) is a collaborative project between Bat Conservation Ireland & University College Dublin. It has been grant funded by The Community Foundation for Ireland, with additional funding from the National Parks and Wildlife Service for certain aspects of the project.
