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The Dam Removal Europe movement has expanded to Romania through a partnership between Fauna & Flora and the World Fish Migration Foundation. An international conference called "Our Waters–Restoring the Longitudinal Connectivity of Romanian Rivers" was held in Bucharest, bringing together specialists and representatives from various institutions and countries. The conference focused on the removal of dams and obsolete weirs to improve river connectivity and fish migration. The event fostered collaboration between Fauna & Flora and the National Administration of Romanian Waters, and there is hope that it will lead to the removal of more barriers and the restoration of river connectivity in Romania. [Extracted from the article]

The Hkakabo Razi Landscape, in northern Kachin, Myanmar, is one of the largest remaining tracts of intact forest in South-east Asia. In 2016, we undertook a survey in its southern margins to assess bat diversity, distribution and ecology and evaluate the importance of the area for global bat conservation. Two collecting trips had taken place in the area in 1931 and 1933, with four bat species reported. We recorded 35 species, 18 of which are new for Kachin. One species, Murina hkakaboraziensis, was new to science and three, Megaerops niphanae, Phoniscus jagorii, Murina pluvialis, were new records for Myanmar. Our findings indicate high bat diversity in Hkakabo Razi; although it comprises only 1.7% of Myanmar's land area, it is home to 33.6% of its known bat species. This emphasizes Hkakabo Razi's importance for conserving increasingly threatened, forest-interior bats, especially in the families Kerivoulinae and Murininae. There is also a high diversity of other mammals and birds within the Hkakabo Razi Landscape, which supports its nomination as a World Heritage Site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the ecology of species is key to the development of effective conservation measures. For many fruit bat species, however, even baseline knowledge of ecology and behaviour is lacking. To identify feeding sites of the Critically Endangered Livingstone's flying fox Pteropus livingstonii on the island of Anjouan, Comoros, we piloted the use of GPS loggers. Two bats (one female, one male) were tagged in early 2019, and data collected for 217 and 35 days, respectively. Acceleration data facilitated the classification of location points into behavioural categories. Potential feeding sites were located by cluster analysis of all location points that were attributed to a behavioural category in which feeding could occur. One important feeding site was located in an agricultural area. This is the first time quantitative behavioural data have been collected for Livingstone's flying foxes, providing insight into the ecological needs of this threatened species. These findings have the potential to inform applied conservation management decisions for protecting the resources required for the survival of this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In September 2023, an IUCN Red List Training and Assessment Workshop for Africa's bats took place in Swakopmund, Namibia. The workshop aimed to establish a network of trained experts to keep Red List assessments of Africa's bats up to date, launch regional collaborations for bat conservation and research programs, and integrate bats into the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) initiative. The workshop resulted in the training of all participants as Red List assessors and the initiation of 26 Red List assessments for species that had not been previously assessed. Additionally, efforts are being made to ensure bats are considered in existing KBAs and to propose new KBAs where bats are present. The workshop successfully engaged the next generation of bat conservationists and researchers. [Extracted from the article]

Caves and other subterranean habitats are crucial for the survival of many bat species, but often deteriorate as a result of visits by tourists. The aim of the study was to understand the conservation challenges associated with the cave dwelling bats at Gupteswar cave tourism and pilgrimage site in eastern India and to develop conservation recommendations. I counted bat populations and monitored tourist visits once per month for 12 months during September 2016–August 2017. Roosting and breeding activities of eight species of bats, including two nationally threatened species, were recorded from five caves. The number of bats counted during the 12 survey days was 785–940 individuals. Tourism activity occurred throughout the year but was higher during local festive seasons; the maximum number of tourist entries recorded in a single day was 2,769. Installation of gated entrances, scheduling of visits to control overcrowding, restriction of access to caves with maternity colonies during breeding seasons, and minimal use of electric bulbs for illumination would minimize disturbance to the bats. Installation of educational display boards would help to create awareness of the conservation importance of bats amongst the cave visitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species with specific roosting, foraging or breeding requirements are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss and degradation. For bats, the availability and environmental condition of caves can be a limiting factor. The cave specialist Natalus macrourus (formerly Natalus espiritosantensis) is categorized as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List but as Vulnerable in Brazil, based on a projected population reduction and a decline in its area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat. There is a lack of knowledge about the species’ distribution, natural history and ecology, information that is required for conservation. Using new occurrence data and potential distribution modelling we evaluated the distribution of N. macrourus in Brazil, analysed pressures on and threats to the species, and assessed the species’ conservation needs. Natalus macrourus is positively associated with areas with higher probability of cave occurrence and negatively associated with areas of high variation in mean daily temperature and mean annual rainfall. Areas with high environmental suitability for N. macrourus correspond to only 3% of the potential distribution modelled. We estimate that the species has already lost 54% of its natural habitat and that there is < 35% of habitat remaining in areas with high environmental suitability. We calculated that approximately half of the caves in areas with high environmental suitability are < 5 km from mining operations and only 4% of the species’ potential distribution lies within protected areas. Given the strong association of N. macrourus with caves, it is important to protect these habitats, and we recommend that caves where the species is present should receive immediate protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]