![]() ![]() This difference was also significant when water habitats were considered alone. Significantly more passes of Myotis species were recorded on organic farms than on conventional farms. The dominant species on both farm types were Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus.Foraging activity (quantified in two ways: total feedings buzzes and feeding buzzes per pass) was significantly higher on organic farms than on conventional farms. Significantly more bat passes were recorded over water on organic farms than on conventional farms. Total bat activity was significantly higher on organic farms than on conventional farms.Eighty-nine per cent of bat passes were identified to species level using artificial neural networks (ANN). Bat activity was quantified using acoustic surveys within specific habitats on farms in southern England and Wales.Bat activity and species richness were compared on matched pairs of organic and conventional farms. conventional farm types to test the hypothesis that agricultural intensification based on high levels of agrochemical use has been a factor in bat population declines. Because organic farming prohibits the use of agrochemicals, we compared organic vs. Agricultural intensification is perceived to be a major cause of the decline in many European bat populations.
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