Council helps protect Landsborough bats

Technology trialled to protect bat colony

Landsborough will be the site for a Queenslandfirst trial technology to stop flying foxes from dying during heat wave conditions.

During conditions where the temperature reaches over 40 degrees and the humidity is low, roosting flying foxes suffer extreme dehydration and heat stress, which can lead to mass deaths. On the Sunshine Coast the peak heat wave risk period coincides with female flying foxes congregating in maternity roosts and this heat stress affects both mothers and their babies.

This happened at the Landsborough Vidler Park flying fox roosting site in 2014 resulting in a mass mortality where many females and their defenceless babies suffered and died.

Experts have found that heat stress can be alleviated by wetting the bats. To date, the only way this can be done is by people with backpack sprayers walking through the forest and misting water onto the bats.

This activity not only requires a large workforce, it is problematic as the presence of people can agitate and further stress the flying foxes.

Sunshine Coast Council thought there had to be a better way.

Council staff, irrigation contractors, technology experts and wildlife researchers have combined to devise a solar-powered, automated heat stress response system using cutting edge wi-fi technology to control misting sprinklers installed in the forest where the maternity roost is located.

The technology monitors the conditions in the forest, alerting officers when the conditions are heading towards a heat wave scenario.

Council officers can then autonomously start up the system, triggering the misting sprinklers to operate within the roosting trees, cooling the flying foxes without having to mobilise a large labour force and reducing the risk of further stressing the animals.

With the system now installed, council plans to partner with researchers and the state government to test and trial the approach leading into the heat wave season this summer.

Following the trial, council will investigate the opportunity to install additional heat stress units at other known roosting sites in anticipation of another warm summer.

Council is asking locals to be aware of the trial that will be happening in the bushland reserve between Myla Road and Buckley Street over the next 12 months or so.

According to council staff, the equipment is noiseless and unobtrusive, so local residents will not even be aware when it is in operation.

The only indication that the trial is operating will be a trailer located in the park and some council signage.

Council has installed security and CCTV to monitor any untoward activity around the equipment.