Supplementary material from "Effects of dimming light-emitting diode street lights on light-opportunistic and light-averse bats in suburban habitats"

• Main Authors: Rowse, Elizabeth G., Harris, Stephen, Jones, Gareth
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Figshare 2018
• Subjects: Ecology; FOS Biological sciences; 60801 Animal Behaviour; Pipistrellus pipistrellus
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4106981.v2; https://figshare.com/collections/Supplementary_material_from_Effects_of_dimming_light-emitting_diode_street_lights_on_light-opportunistic_and_light-averse_bats_in_suburban_habitats_/4106981/2

Emerging lighting technologies provide opportunities for reducing carbon footprints, and for biodiversity conservation. In addition to installing light-emitting diode street lights, many local authorities are also dimming street lights. This might benefit light-averse bat species by creating dark refuges for these bats to forage and commute in human-dominated habitats. We conducted a field experiment to determine how light intensity affects the activity of the light-opportunistic Pipistrellus pipistrellus and light-averse bats in the genus Myotis. We used four lighting levels controlled under a central management system at existing street lights in a suburban environment (0, 25, 50 and 100% of the original output). Higher light intensities (50 and 100% of original output) increased the activity of light-opportunistic species but reduced the activity of light-averse bats. Compared to the unlit treatment, the 25% lighting level did not significantly affect either P. pipistrellus or Myotis spp. Our results suggest that it is possible to achieve a light intensity that provides both economic and ecological benefits by providing sufficient light for human requirements while not deterring light-averse bats.