Comparative analysis of bat activity at paved and unpaved roads in forested habitat (dataset)

Increasing urban development is moving into natural spaces leading to habitat loss and fragmentation. Understanding and mitigating these anthropogenic pressures is a critical conservation priority. Road networks cause large scale disturbance by fragmenting habitats to connect urban areas. Previous research has indicated that bat activity along forest roads differs depending on road surface type, reporting higher bat activity over paved roads compared to unpaved ones. This suggests an increased collision risk for bats, as paved roads likely experience higher traffic volumes. Our study explores the effect of forest road surface type (paved vs. unpaved) on bats in the Białowieża Forest, Poland. We acoustically sampled bat activity using static detectors at 16 sites, between June and July 2024. We found no significant differences between paved and unpaved forest roads in total bat activity (based on combined call sequences), species richness or at any foraging guild level. We conclude that road surface type is not a determining factor influencing bat activity in ecologically high-value forest habitats. Although the influence of surrounding habitat characteristics was not significant, their effects were variable; therefore, we recommend that future research incorporate a broader range of habitat variables at different spatial scales.