Biodiversity at Rawlplug, or how to hang a bat house

Experiment first: nesting boxes with or without the sound? 

This year saw us begin the next stage of collaboration with the Wrocław-based biologists with a scientific experiment conducted under a larger project implemented by the Students’ Research Club of Theriologists of the Faculty of Biological Sciences, co-financed under a grant from the Ministry of Education and Science.

“Its main goal is to test whether playing recorded sounds of bats will speed up the settling process in a given area,” explains Joanna Furmankiewicz, PhD, of the Department of Behavioural Ecology at the Faculty of Biological Sciences of the University of Wrocław, supervisor of the Club and bat specialist.

In order to obtain adequate data, we had to first prepare the bat houses and install them in pairs: one with speakers emitting social and echolocation sounds produced by bats, and the other without them.

“We play the sounds in the evenings, every day, for an hour,” Joanna Furmankiewicz adds. “They are generally quiet, but the social voices can also be heard by the human ear, since this type of bat vocalisation is not based solely on ultrasounds, inaudible to humans, as in the case of echolocation.”

Sawdust concrete houses and a rocket full of bats

Two types of bat houses have been hung on Rawlplug’s premises (see photos). The three-chambered surface-mounted house made of sawdust concrete can accommodate up to 100 individuals, while the model commonly known as the rocket box – at least 500, which is really hard to believe.

“The houses of the latter type – innovative, and actually resembling rockets in appearance – are still a rarity across Europe,” says Joanna Furmankiewicz. “In Poland, this is one of the first installations of this kind, which is why it was so demanding in terms of design, workmanship, and installation. We have just started building our experience in this field.”

Some of the scientists’ doubts were dispelled with the help from Rawlplug’s Technical Support experts (see photo). Whenever there was a problem with the stability of the structure, they would immediately suggest some potential solutions which came in handy as the rocket box was ultimately fixed at the right height.

The biologists will monitor the bats’ reactions to the potential new habitats, as well as their memory and a few other factors using camera traps and detectors.

“We mainly expect to encounter bats of the soprano pipistrelle species, but it is also possible that slightly larger noctules move to the new homes, since diverse bat species can form mixed colonies. If they are fond of the boxes, it is highly probable that they settle in,” says Joanna Furmankiewicz.

We will find out about that in autumn, because it is then that we will receive the data collected and processed by the biologists from the University of Wrocław under the ongoing experiment.

Rawlplug's Sustainability Goals 

The three key areas of Rawlplug’s Sustainability strategy are ESG-based, which means that they rest upon non-financial factors according to which businesses around the world are assessed:

• E (for Environment) includes the measures we implement to consistently increase our positive impact on the environment;
• S (for Social Responsibility) stands for a number of activities, including the process of strengthening partnership with our employees, collaborators, and business partners;
• G (for Corporate Governance) comprises, among other aspects, the changes and innovations we introduce to reduce the consumption of natural resources, attain higher efficiency, eliminate errors, and make sure that our working environment is as safe as possible.

We present the outcomes achieved through the implementation of our strategy on a yearly basis in the Rawlplug Sustainability Report.

• Learn more about Rawlplug’s collaboration with the Faculty of Biological Sciences of the University of Wrocław from the podcast featuring Joanna Furmankiewicz and Marcin Kadej. [LINK]
• You can also read more about Rawlplug’s environmentally friendly efforts: (savings in energy, water, and gas; insect hotels, etc.).

You can also read more about Rawlplug’s environmentally friendly efforts here:

Renewable energy. Charging station next to Rawlplug Wroclaw

Sustainable Rawlplug. Welcome to our bug hotels!