A microbat anabat survey has identified 12 species across Orange and Molong, with three listed as threatened species due to habitat loss.
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Central Tablelands Landcare Group participated in the survey in April as part of the revegetation project Planned Woodland Pathways, funded by the NSW Environmental Trust.
Landcare support officer Sally Kirby said it was exciting to see such diversity of microbat anabat species in the region.
"We conducted the survey with three local landholders in Molong and Orange over the course of nine nights using an anabat swift passive detector and anabat scout active bat detector that was borrowed from Titley Scientific," she said,
"Initially, there was going to be an event with presenters from Applied Ecology on how to use the equipment and discuss the importance of native vegetation as habitat but that was cancelled due to COVID-19."
The results were recorded on an SD card which was sent to Ecologist Marg Turton for analysis and it detected more than 5,000 calls.
The mircobat species include Gould's Wattled Bat (Chalinolobus gouldii), Chocolate Wattled Bat (Chalinolobus morio), Forest Bat (Vespadelus sp.), Large Forest Bat (Vespadelus sp. pos. darlingtoni), Little Broad-nosed Bat (Scotorepens greyii), Long-eared Bat (Nyctophilus sp.), Southern Forest Bat (Vespadelus sp. prob. regulus), Southern Free-tailed Bat (Ozimops planiceps) and White-striped Free-tailed Bat (Austronomus australis) and the three threatened species of Southern Myotis (Myotis macropus), Large-eared Pied Bat (Chalinolobus dwyeri) and Large Bent-winged Bat (Miniopterus orianae oceanensis).
The data will be uploaded on the NSW BioNet Atlas for future record.
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