Wellington
Researchers in New Zealand have placed 80 artificial “bat boxes” in trees around southern Hamilton to help protect the long-tailed bat, a species at risk of extinction, According to a report on Thursday.
To see which bats are using these boxes, scientists took samples from the entrances and found DNA from long-tailed bats in 34% of the boxes.
Fiona Davies, a technical director at AECOM NZ, explained that this method of using environmental DNA (eDNA) is a simple way to check if bats are roosting in the boxes. The study shows that these bat boxes can effectively support bat conservation within just two years of installation.
Davies emphasized the importance of research like this in confirming that the bat boxes are helping protect the bats.
