Beneficial Impacts of Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber) Reintroduction on Bat Communities and Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Prey: A Case Study from Lowland Britain

Riparian ecosystems are valuable habitats for bats, due to high densities of emergent aquatic invertebrates that provide high-quality feeding areas. Throughout Europe, decline and extirpation of European beaver (Castor fiber) has been a key driver in the decline of the extent and quality of riparian habitat, and thus recolonisation has considerable potential to restore degraded areas. Previous research has shown that beaver-modified ecosystems can support more bats, but the assumed causal link (an increase in invertebrate prey) has not been tested. Here, we study bat activity and richness/abundance of aquatic macroinvertebrates at a site where free-roaming beavers have colonised naturally from a nearby (unofficial) release location versus a nearby control site with very similar hydrology and habitat matrix. Bat activity was recorded using walked activity transects and fixed-point acoustic detectors. Although bat species richness was similar, bat activity was substantially and significantly higher at the beaver site versus the control site overall (42.7%) and for four specific taxa: soprano pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus; 8.4%), Daubenton's (Myotis daubentonii; 46.5%), common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus; 110.4%) and common noctule (Nyctalus noctula; 170.9%). Richness of the larvae/nymphs of emergent aquatic macroinvertebrate species known to form an important part of bat diet was 205.5% higher at the beaver site compared to the control site, while abundance was 817.4% higher. Overall bat activity was also linked to habitat (lotic > lentic), survey method (transect > fixed-point), and season (May–July peak). This is the first evidence of a likely causal link between beaver recolonisation and bat activity via an increase in abundance of key aquatic invertebrate prey and we recommended that benefits of beaver reintroduction on bats be considered in future feasibility studies.