MICRO-URBAN PHENOMENA: AN ARCHITECTURAL MISCELLANY THE ECOLOGICAL IMPACT OF POLITICS ARCHITECTURE ON BATS
ARCHITECTUREAL HISTORY & THEORY: URBANISM & THE CITY.
MICRO-URBAN PHENOMENA: AN ARCHITECTURAL MISCELLANY - THE ECOLOGICAL IMPACT OF POLITICS ARCHITECTURE ON BATS
Aaron Saggu Bridget Staal Gabriella Taylor Helme Yizhan Oliver Xia
CONTENTS.
Unforseen Dietary Design and Its Repercussiond on Bats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05 Architecture Design Standards for Bats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Bats in the City: How Light and sound shaped their urban narrative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 The Impact of Threat Measures on The Biology and Ecology of Flying Foxes Within Sydney. . . . . . 65
UNFORSEEN DIETARY DESIGN AND ITS REPERCUSSIONS ON BATS Gabriella Taylor Helme
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THE
POLITICS
OF
THE
NATURAL
Understanding the natural as something that is designed initiates a compelling dialogue surrounding the politics of what is deemed natural and what impact these ‘natural’ spatial designs can have on our environment and its inhabitants. The growth of urbanisation in the immediate city sphere, but also in the rural surrounds has seen a destruction of the natural. The environmental effects resulting from the massacre of this ‘wild’ natural has prompted significant pressures of conservation. The creation of new natural spaces aims to counter and, in some senses, compliment the constant growth of city and industrial spaces. These exist both within the urban space and in its neighbouring outskirts such as the Botanic Gardens or even smaller spaces like Redfern Park and promote the sense that we are amongst the natural and ‘wild’ nature. The creation of urban nature such as trees and shrubbery on sidewalks further shapes our experience of the city as one that either is or is not in touch with nature. The pressures not only lie in the conservation of nature, but also of its inhabitants. The destruction and relocation of this nature and the creation of new nature arise to cater for a variety of animals and species that are affected by these developments. As the city and urban space is constantly evolving, we continue to confront and fight the battle of retaining this wild that accommodates and provides spaces for all; inhabitants and humans alike. The constructed nature of the spaces is often orchestrated to exert control over the user and its inhabitants and inevitably shapes their experience of it. Not only is the supposed ‘wild’ designed, but our experiences in the spaces are also curated. Understanding what the impact of these curated areas are on the inhabitants that once were, now are and will become is constantly changing and should be considered. Similarly, at what intensity and expanse these
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Image 1: A gardener precisely shaping a hedge. It speaks to the idea of the natural as something that is designed.
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THE IMPACT CHITECTURAL
OF CITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT ON
ARBATS
City planning and architectural development has a significant impact on the environment, nature and its inhabitants (animals). At a small urban scale within the urban environment of Sydney, this development and urbanisation can specifically impact bats. Not only the buildings and development alone can impact the bats, but also the planning and thought processes behind the development and that which leads to it, fundamentally affect the bat and its environment. The impact of social configurations on political and economic processes such as climate change can successively alter the outcome of development, and in turn the bats. How society views the bat can further be a determining factor of the animal’s treatment. The fiction or mythology of bats as being symbols of the underworld or shadows of darkness has often led to them being portrayed in a peculiar and feared light. Their supposed close connection with the world of darkness and death and their treacherous and double-faced nature in folklore has fed this anxiety and aversion to the animal. Similarly, society’s likes and dislikes of bats and their behaviour in an urban environment can also impact on their future environment and surrounds. On a deeper ecological level, environmental changes such as potential relocation via tree
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Image 2: Bats attacking in the darkness of the night.
Image 3: A dark depiction of bats circling.
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RESPONSES OF BATS TO OUR CREATIONS OF ARCHITECTURE
When encountering manmade structures (such as powerlines) or our creations of architecture, bats have often been forced to migrate to the last neighboring natural spaces left or preserved in the immediate urban environment. These curated ‘natural’ spaces such as Sydney’s Botanic Gardens and Centennial Park provide a base for the bats amongst their migration patterns. The Department of the Environment and Energy details the history of city planning and its impact on the species of flying foxes. They are known to move up to hundreds of kilometres to follow the flowering and fruiting of food sources. The camps that multiple bats congregate in are often large and “can occur in trees that are close to houses, where residents frequently voice concerns regarding the noise and damage to vegetation and hygiene” Australian Government (2019). The Australian Government resource defines the legislature that has been proposed and passed to determine certain aspects of city planning and built infrastructure to protect the threatened species of flying foxes. Technical systems such as set planning restrictions and requirements based on prior successes and failings are listed. It also specifies activities to manage problematic flying fox camps, such as minor modifications to habitat through the creation of buffers by trimming or removing vegetation using appropriate timing and methods. Other responses to the newfound habitat of bats has seen a creation of hostile and defensive architecture and design to further deter and move the bats onwards to new spaces. In Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens volunteers took to banging pots and pans in a military-type operation, creating a racket to disburse the 30,000 flying foxes out of the gardens. The Department of Sustainability and Environment led the project to spook them from the garden and then spent the following eight months tracking and chasing them across the city until they arrived at Yarra Bend Park, a large green space out of the city center. Landscape design is also used to control and manage bat populations. A PDF brochure compiled by the Australian Government highlights how we have architecturally designed our gardens and methods of planting trees to deny bats their desired source and type of food. The infographic resource shows readers through pictures and
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Image 4: An exert from a brochure on safe netting practices.
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Image 5: Travers Carrol, with a bin, about to scare bats out of Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens.
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EVOLUTIONARY
CHANGES
These designs that prompt the relocation of bats, on both large and small scales, has led to the modification of the bat’s physiological and behavioural patterns. The correlation between the changes to a bat’s environment, their diet and thus their evolution as a result of the changing dynamics and spaces of the city habitat are evidenced in a series of UK and US scientific papers. In ‘Dietary Hardness, Loading Behaviour, and The Evolution of Skull Form in Bats’ (Santana, S. Et Al.) data was studied spanning from a period of 0-30 million years in the past to provide insight into the behavioural and ecological factors shaping the physical changes in the skulls of bats. The changes to the ‘morphology and biomechanics of the vertebrate skull as a reflection of the physical properties of diet (specifically the dietary hardness such as liquid, soft, medium, hard and very hard) and behaviours used in food acquisition and food processing’ are evidenced in a series of diagrams. Another study narrowed in on the shift from insectivory to nectivory and frugivory. It highlights clear evidence of a trend toward the evolution of a higher capacity to translate muscle force into bite force ‘as diets become more physically challenging’ (Schondube, Herrera-M and Martínez del Rio, 2001). This research underscores the key argument that the physiological changes of bats are a result of diet.
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Image 6: Physical/ morphological changes of the phyllostomid bat’s skull over a period of 0-30 million years ago due to changes in dietary hardness (e.g. liquid, soft, medium, hard, very hard).
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Image 7: A figure from the testing for adaptive evolution of skull biomechanics in relation to dietary hardness. A detailed look at the biting behaviour, torsion and bending of the facial skeleton of bats. There was strong evidence found of bending deformation during deep bilateral biting from compressive strain in the palate.
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OUR
RESPONSES
TO
THE
NEWFOUND
HABITATS
OF
BATS
Our response to the relocation of bats as a result of the at times destructive nature of our architectural planning and interventions is not only defensive and negligent, but when taking into account the social ideals and scientific research surrounding extinction and duty of care for the animals, some examples have shown that our responses have been measured and nurturing. Where the natural habitat of the bats has been disrupted or denied, such as in Sydney’s North Shore, a rehab shelter at Lane Cove National Park has been established to care for the orphaned fruit bats. An ABC news article details the plight of the bats that have become tangled in the netting of fruit trees and injured their wings as a result of their search for food. At the facilities they are provided with food during their rehabilitation and care. The construction of an atmosphere or establishment of a new ‘natural’ for the bats in the form of a ‘bat hospital’ emphasises the inherent responsibility that society feels to take care of and rebuild what we have stripped of the animals in previous design concepts. An obvious departure from the Modernist way of thinking where form followed function and there was minimal consideration for the environment or its inhabitants. Here, the architecture of a hospital and its function has the potential to not only be designed just for humans. Tolga Bat Hospital in Atherton Tablelands, Queensland is a prime example of hospital-esque architecture that has been adapted specifically for the care of bats. There are different size treatment cages, established design standards to ensure the cages are rat-proof, and like the fastidious and clean nature of a regular hospital, there are set cleaning procedures that ensure the upkeep of a sanitary healing space. The attention to detail of design standards and level of care that the bats receive in the Tolga Bat Hospital and the rehab shelter at Lane Cove speaks to a more prominent point about how we as designers feel we should design in this decade and beyond. According to Beatrix Colomina ‘our obsession with illness shaped modern architecture’ and can be identified in the clean lines, white surfaces and indoor-outdoor living spaces of the 20th-century modern architecture. Similarly, our obsession with an environmentally conscious approach to lifestyle has inevitably filtered into our design concepts and standards. Both the creation of the spaces to enclose and care for the bats in a hospital set-
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Image 8: A photograph of Flying fox bats injured by electrocution waiting for milk. A change of diet for these orphaned bats at a Sydney rehab shelter at Lane Cove National Park. This change of diet is a result of man-made architec-
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Image 9: An image of a feeding station for vulnerable species of bats at a ‘creche’ in Lane Cove National Park. This image is from a ‘Go-Fund-Me’type page, where Landcare Australia have shared a story of a bat named ‘Frankie’ and a link to a donations page in the hopes of raising money to feed ‘vulnerable Aussie icon species’. An interesting insight into creation
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Image 10: A treatment cage comprised of 3 sections. This middle section is known as the Inside and Outside Treatment with an opening in between that can be opened or closed.
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EVOLUTIONARY CHANGES AS A RESULT OF INCLUSIVE DESIGN
Evolutionary changes have been studied and documented as a result of defensive and destructive architecture, however there are yet to be results or speculation about the evolutionary changes of inclusive design. In a system that is constantly growing and becoming more complex, the question arises; can we design to include everyone and cater for all needs? As our approach to social responsibility transforms, the city’s relationship to wildlife adjusts with this approach. With little drive, ambition or the means to return to the once untouched and ‘wild’ natural state of our greenspaces, is a curated co-existence the new normal? Following this question, other concerns arise, such as can we create aspects of design that manufacture, influence and mould our relationship with bats in a way that positively impacts this co-existence. It also brings in to question the prior evolutionary changes that some species of bats have already undergone as to whether they are neither classified as good nor bad and are just simply changes. Should we really expect through our designs that we can and should maintain some micro-urban environments as they once were, whilst others
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SPECULATIONS
Our designs have significant impact, and the implications of certain projects can be far reaching. Studying and understanding these implications highlight the intricacies of the diverse and complicated system that is the urban environment. Whether the designs be the curation of the ‘wild’ or natural to move a species from one greenspace to another, city planning and architectural development that further propels urbanism, defensive architecture to eradicate or discourage certain bat activities or the design of hospital-esque spaces to ‘heal’ the damages of such designs, they provide a lens through which we can understand the natural world as something that is designed and not separated from culture. What was once considered to be untouched or wild nature is in fact not free from human influence, neither are its inhabitants. The necessity of rethinking our understanding of nature and ecology is essential in order to make informed decisions about the design concepts, standards and practices that we implement into our city planning and architectural development. We need to seek new answers to the question of what wild nature truly is and what our level of human interference in this environment is in order to make informed and genuine change in these spaces that promote a potentially positive or less unfavourable co-existence. As these views are a product of the social construct
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Australian Government (2019). Department of the Environment and Energy. [online] Department of the Environment and Energy. Available at: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/flying-fox-law [Accessed 11 Apr. 2019]. Liam, M. (2018). The Untold Story of How Melbourne’s Great Bat War was Won. The Age. [online] Available at: https://www.theage.com. au/national/victoria/the-untold-story-of-how-the-great-melbournebat-wars-were-won-20181116-p50gfk.html [Accessed 22 May 2019]. Santana, S., Grosse, I. and Dumont, E. (2012). DIETARY HARDNESS, LOADING BEHAVIOR, AND THE EVOLUTION OF SKULL FORM IN BATS. Evolution, [online] 66(8), pp.2587-2598. Available at: https:// onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2012.01615.x [Accessed 11 Apr. 2019]. Schondube, J., Herrera-M, L. and MartĂnez del Rio, C. (2001). Diet and the evolution of digestion and renal function in phyllostomid bats. Zoology, [online] 104(1), pp.59-73. Available at: http://www.uwyo. edu/cmdelrio/site/publications_files/bats,%20isotopes,%20and%20 kidneys.pdf [Accessed 11 Apr. 2019]. Spicer, D. (2015). Flying fox orphans benefit from newly expanded Sydney rehab shelter at Lane Cove National Park. ABC NEWS. [online] Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-06/flying-fox-rehabilitation-centre-opens-in-sydney/6527178 [Accessed 10 Apr. 2019]. Testado, J. (2019). How an obsession with illness shaped modern architecture, according to Beatriz Colomina. [online] Archinect. Available at: https://archinect.com/news/article/150135209/ how-an-obsession-with-illness-shaped-modern-architecture-according-to-beatriz-colomina [Accessed 28 May 2019]. Wildlife Friendly Fencing (2015). Wildlife Friendly Netting brochure. [ebook] Australian Government, Tolga Bat Hospital. Available at: http://www.wildlifefriendlyfencing.com/WFF/Netting_files/Download.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2019].
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IMAGE CREDITS
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Image 1: England, H. (2003). Domestic Service in Victorian and Edwardian England. [image] Available at: http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/story/slide. aspx?storyUid=63&slideNo=11 [Accessed 27 May 2019]. Image 2: Services, P. (2016). Common Bat Myths. [image] Available at: https://www. jppestservices.com/blog/its-national-bat-week-heres-7-common-but-oldtimey-bat-myths [Accessed 25 May 2019]. Image 3: Deszczu, G. (2014). Bat in the Cultures of the World. [image] Available at: http://www.gothamwdeszczu.com.pl/en/2014/12/12/the-symbolism-of-abat-bat-in-the-cultures-of-the-world/ [Accessed 27 May 2019]. Image 4: Wildlife Friendly Fencing (2015). Wildlife Friendly Netting brochure. [ebook] Australian Government, Tolga Bat Hospital. Available at: http://www.wildlifefriendlyfencing.com/WFF/Netting_files/Download.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2019]. Image 5: The Age (2018). Travers Carrol, with a bin, about to scare some bats. [image] Available at: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-untold-story-of-how-the-great-melbourne-bat-wars-were-won-20181116-p50gfk.html [Accessed 28 May 2019]. Image 6: Santana, S., Grosse, I. and Dumont, E. (2012). DIETARY HARDNESS, LOADING BEHAVIOR, AND THE EVOLUTION OF SKULL FORM IN BATS. Evolution, [online] 66(8), pp.2587-2598. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ doi/full/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2012.01615.x [Accessed 11 Apr. 2019]. Image 7: Santana, S., Grosse, I. and Dumont, E. (2012). DIETARY HARDNESS, LOADING BEHAVIOR, AND THE EVOLUTION OF SKULL FORM IN BATS. Evolution, [online] 66(8), pp.2587-2598. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ doi/full/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2012.01615.x [Accessed 11 Apr. 2019]. Image 8: Spicer, D. (2015). Flying fox orphans benefit from newly expanded Sydney rehab shelter at Lane Cove National Park. ABC NEWS. [online] Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-06/flying-fox-rehabilitation-centre-opens-in-sydney/6527178 [Accessed 10 Apr. 2019]. (Supplied: Landcare Australia) Image 9: Landcare Australia (2015). Frankie’s story: Life on the battlefield. [online] Chuffed. Available at: https://www.chuffed.org/project/saveourbats [Accessed 12 Apr. 2019]. Image 10:
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Architecture Design standars for bats Yizhan Xia
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The word urban was transformed from the Latin “urbanu” in the early seventeenth century. Search for “what does urban area mean?” on Google. The first appearing entry would show “an urban area is an area where many people live and work close together”. It is not difficult to see that in this definition, “urban” connects people and cities closely. But where did city come from? Before the city appeared, nature ran its own ecosystem where living creatures depended on hunting prey and successfully giving birth to next generations to sustain the ecosystem. However, the rapid increase in population led to the continuous expansion of cities to form. The foundation of the expansion is to capture the natural environment and invade the habitat of other animals. The loss of habitat leaves animals with two choices, one is to leave the environment for survival; to migrate to foreign neighbouring natural environments and adapt to its native geolocational environment. The other is to choose to stay and find a way to survive the everchanging environmental impacts from urban cities. Bats is an important part of the urban ecosystem; however, they are not considered as a vital part during urban planning. At the same time, various science and technology within the human civilisation have also brought great harm to the survival of bats. As an important part of urban ecology, the existence of bats has advantages and disadvantages for humans. For example, when it comes to pest management, bats play an important role as they prey on pest such as mosquitoes. On the contrary, bats are creatures that carry many dangerous germs that are invasive to humans. How can we continue to expand our urban environments without invading the living environments of bats? It is very important to find a better balance between the two. In the following article, we will explore the different ways in which Bats are considered in architectural designs.
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Image 1: Bats and building
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Image 2: The drwaing of ‘The daughters of Minya’s reject Bacchus’
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Explore the design standards of urban architecture, in which the kinds of elements and aspects that needs to be concerned, such as environmental conditions, the façade designs of buildings or the relationship between different buildings have a positive or negative impact on bats, and how to integrate and encourage diversity of bats into the design. To sum up all the considerations, in conjunction with the existing animal protection regulations, should we have standards for a certain type of architectural design to measure? Bats have always been included in ancient literature in which we have always analysed their behaviors and characteristics. In an ancient Roman narrative novel by the poet Ovid, Metamorphosis. In “The daughters of Minya’s reject Bacchus”, the poet Ovid wrote a story about bats. In the festival of congratulations for the god of wine, all the servant girls must to put down the work, lay their down hair and wear a wreath, took to the streets in town and thank the god of wine give everything. But the king Minya’s three daughters refused to go to the ceremony of the wine of wild celebrations and banned servant girl put down their work. They locked the servants in the darkroom, forcing them to do textile. Telling the strange story to warn them and comfort the story novel can revoke the fatigue of work. The profane to god brought karma; god Bacchus transform all the textile made by three girls into wine. Then transform three girls into bats, force them to live in the dark room for the rest of their lives. And eventually transform their storytelling voices into shrill, strident voices. Of course this is just a ancient myth, but in this story, it’s not hard to see some bat characteristics, , such as the importance of dark and wet living conditions for bats, , the fact that some plants complement each other as natural pollinators,
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Image 3: Merlin Tuttle with bats
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or the importance of a bat’s voice in guiding directions. It is not hard to see how important these conditions are for bats, so it becomes extremely important to consider them when looking for a balance between bats and humans. When a bat enters a city where humans live, how can the balance between the two be mastered. How can the bat enter the urban ecosystem without incurring more burdens? In the film “bats city USA” There was such a situation. In the 1980s, under a bridge in Austin, Texas, a group of bats was inadvertently broken in. Their arrival caused local residents to panic, local residents were full of defences against these strange bats. They were worried that the arrival of these bats will hurt their lives and health. Just as people are organizing to destroy these bats, a bat researcher named Merlin Tuttle has changed the chaotic situation. First, the bat international protection agency was established, and the establishment of Austin as a global bat propaganda centre changed the people’s inherent impression of bats. More importantly, he helped local residents to change the inherent impression of bats. The impression of danger and threat turned into a positive helper to help eliminate harmful insects. Now in Austin not only the locals appreciate these lovely mammals. Every year, a large number of tourists gather to see these ideal creatures. When bats enter the city, they become harmful animals that threaten humanity or become a member of the city or an economic creator, depending on how everyone treats him. The way local people perceive bates will largely impact on how we treat them as a member of the city.
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Image 4: The congress avenue bridge bats in Austin
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Image 5: The poster of “Bats and Congress Avenue Bridge”
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Image 6: Municipal Bat Roost
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In the past, architecture have already incorporated and included bat into their design. there have been 14 bat towers built around the world dedicated to bats. These famous bat towers have not really been preserved so far. Unlike now, the establishment of these bat towers at the beginning Unlike this article, it is designed to create a city where humans and bats coexist. The establishment of these bat towers is due to a war between doctors and diseases. At the junction of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, malaria as an annual the incurable and serious disease that has lost millions of lives has deeply plagued people of that era. Even some doctors have classified the disease as an incurable terminal disease. However, as a city bacteria school in De Casas Dr. Charles Campbell, who began experimenting with and curing the disease. He found that the underlying source of malaria was a mosquito-borne parasitic infection. He decided to reduce the malaria-carrying mosquitoes from the roots. So, he started funding Dr. Charles Campbell. Beginning to build these bat towers upstream of the wetlands of the states of the United States, the purpose of establishing them upstream is to allow bats to Solve the mosquitoes that hatch in the downstream and gather in groups. The bats will fly all the way to the downstream and then eat a mosquito and fly back into the bat tower. This bat tower fundamentally solves many mosquitoes with malaria infection. This shows the importance of introducing bats into urban ecosystems. Of course, whether to build a bat tower at a specific location in the city still requires more investigation and research, such as the selection of locations, the introduction of specific bats or bats. The number of groups is controlled. However, it is certain that this method is undoubtedly effective.
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Image 7: University of Florida’s bat house and barn
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Image 8: Canpbell Bat Tower
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In contrast to the bat tower that supports the bat community, Bat Conservation & Management begins to encourage people to build small bat houses themselves. However, most people are unfamiliar with the house building bats, and most people just build a box. The bat house must have failed. In the early 1980s, SINCEBCI took the opportunity to introduce the bat housing. The popular demand for the Bat housing allowed other suppliers to join it. How to properly install the bat house these suppliers care more about how to maximize the benefits. So many bat houses that are not actually built or of poor quality appear in more people’s homes. So, by Merlin.T, Mark.T and Selena Kiser the co-authored “the bat house builder’s handbook” was introduced. It describes the habits from the bat, as well as the size of the entrance to the bat and the size of the smallest bat landing area. At the end of the book, the author wrote a section about the future of bat house, which describes not to let the existing bat house imprison your imagination, for the bat the design of the house is not important. What is important is the environment, temperature and safety protection that the designed bat house can give. So perhaps for design, it is more important to extract specific environmental factors for different bats. To build a better bat house. In general, I feel very uncomfortable about forcing bats to enter the city of human life because of the development of the city, but it is an inevitable choice. For the bats that have been destroyed by us, we can’t fix it or restore it. In the ruined habitat, the bat is here, or as in the “Metamorphosis” written by the Roman poet Ovid, the bat is transformed from humans.
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Image 9: The bat house builder’s handbook
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Image 10: Failed bat house
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People and nature should be living together, but cities can provide a better way of life for humans, and bats are an ideal creature that can help the urban ecosystem. We not only want to put them into the city, when they become among them. One member, not as an add-on that can make human life better. Moreover, we need to figure out how to find a balance between the two, and even need to start to consciously protect their habitat for the present. More importantly, we can first understand and study the habits of different bats, and then make reasonable arrangements for them to stay. Our city, whether it’s a bat tower built with Dr. Charles Campbell to provide a bat colony, or everyone like Bat Conservation and Management can build a small bat house near their home. Incorporating bats into our designs should become a norm and a kind of standard for modern architecture and accepted bats as a member of the city.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Books Ovid and Martin, C. 2010, Metamorphoses, Vol. 4, W.W. Norton, New York. Williams, C. 2010, Biodiversity for Low and Zero Carbon Buildings: A Technical Guide for New Build, RIBA Publishing, London. Tuttle, M., Kiser, M. and Kiser, S. 2013, The bat house builder’s handbook. electronic book, Jim Kennedy, Robert Locke and Dianne Odegard of Bat Conservation Internationaland Laura Seckbach Finn of Fly By Night, Inc, viewed 7 May 2019, <http://www.batcon.org/pdfs/Bat%20 House%20Builders%20Handbook. pdf>. Film Bat City USA 2012, The Video Project, Kanopy Firm. Journal article Frank, J. n.d., ‘Dr. Charles Campbell and San Antonio’s Bats’, The Life And Culture Of San Antonio. Poster Lantern Press Artwork 2013, Bats & Congress Avenue Bridge, Lantern Press Artwork, Austin TX. Web page Bryan, B. 2019, ‘Pesticide Addition: How Bats Can Help’, forum post, Bat Conservation and Management Inc, Viewed 7 May 2019, <https://batmanagement.com/blogs/bat-roosts/ pesticide-addition-how-bats-canhelp>.
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IMAGE CREDITS
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Image 1:
Cohabitable Architecture. (2019). Design Brief & Exercises. [online] Available at: https://cohabitablearchitecture. wordpress.com/design-brief-exercises/ [Accessed 15 Apr. 2019].
Image 2:
Discovery, C. (2019). Figure 1. [online] Nature.com. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/cddiscovery201648/fi gures/1 [Accessed 15 Apr. 2019].
Image 3:
Bat City USA. (2012). [video] Directed by L. Brooks, Available at: https://www.kanopy.com/product/bat-city-usa [Accessed 15 Apr. 2019].
Image 4:
Batcon.org. (2019). Congress Avenue Bridge. [online] Available at: http://www.batcon.org/index.php/our-work/regions/usa-canada/protect-mega-populations/cab-intro [Accessed 15 Apr. 2019].
Image 5:
Retail.lanternpress.com. (2019). (Austin, Texas - Bats & Congress Avenue Bridge - Lantern Press Artwork). [online] Available at: https://retail.lanternpress.com/products/ 45771-print [Accessed 15 Apr. 2019].
Image 6:
Amusingplanetcom. 2019. Amusing Planet. [Online]. Available from: https://www.amusingplanet.com/2018/09/dr-charles-campbell-and-his-malaria.html [Accessed 15 Apr. 2019].
Image 7:
Tuttle, M., Kiser, M. and Kiser, S. (2013). The bat house builderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s handbook. [ebook] Available at: http://www.batcon.org/pdfs/Bat%20House%20Builders%20Handbook.pdf [Accessed 15 Apr. 2019].
Image 8:
Amusingplanetcom. 2019. Amusing Planet. [Online]. Available from: https://www.amusingplanet.com/2018/09/dr-charles-campbell-and-his-malaria.html [Accessed 15 Apr. 2019].
Image 9:
Tuttle, M., Kiser, M. and Kiser, S. (2013). The bat house builderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s handbook. [ebook] Available at: http://www.batcon.org/pdfs/Bat%20House%20Builders%20Handbook. pdf [Accessed 15 Apr. 2019].
Image 10:
Bat Conservation and Management, Inc. (2019). Why Do Some Bat Houses Fail?. [online] Available at: https://batmanagement.com/blogs/bat-roosts/why-do-some-bat-houses-fail [Accessed 15 Apr. 2019].
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Bats in the City: How light and sound shaped their urban narrative Bridget Staal
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An urbanised city will always, in one way or another, be evolved from a place of the organic and intact natural setting. This setting will always be home to wildlife, evolved to thrive in that ecology over millennia. The comparatively rapid progression of human inhabitation has introduced new obstacles for local biota. Specifically, the influence of noise and light pollution generated by urban areas in Sydney directly impact the behaviours and lifestyle of the native bat, otherwise known as the flying fox. The nocturnal nature of bats and their specific relationship to sound facilitates the need to study its correlation to the noise output of Sydney city. As the bat has been described to ‘see with sound’, it can be understood that this interaction with the urban fabric will significantly influence the way they nest, mate and find food as they cope with the change in habitat. A city grows over pre-existing nature that is already present and thus, native wildlife must adapt, relocate, or ultimately perish. The human-populated metropolis creates a different output than the cyclical/seasonal motions of the natural environment. Wildlife not only reacts to the physicality of the buildings and parklands, but also the light and sound emitted by traffic, construction, sound systems, festivals and other public gatherings. The bat is the prime example of a native species that has adapted to the city’s environment by changing their nesting habits. Dozens of mammals have been rendered extinct since European colonisation and on a global scale is ‘especially significant given our terrestrial mammal faunae is extremely unique” (RMIT ABC, 2016). Areas which have the highest rate of habitat loss and transformation have direct connections with areas prone to rapid population growth [see image 2]. Compared to global cities on other continents, Australia ‘should have relatively few conservation concerns: its population density is extremely low by global standards, most of the continent remains very sparsely settled and little modified’ (Woinarski J, 2015). Yet still we have one of the biggest habitation losses of all the countries in the world, triggered by introduced predatory spe
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Image
1:
Timelapse
of
bat
flight
paths
over
the
bridge.
Image 2: Comparison between the threatened species of small mammals in Australia
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cies, the removal of parkland, and light/noise omission (ABC). The fauna that survive and even flourish adopt adaptive strategies such as changing diet, mating patterns and nesting locations to take advantage of skills that help them prosper in their natural habitat. The cockatoo is an example of a species that has adapted and developed alongside the city- along with the ibis, they moved closer to densely populated areas to reach what they needed to survive. (Philipps, N, 2013). While the bat is not a bird, it is the only species of flying mammal and therefore their habits are comparable to the avian class due to their airborne nature. Echolocation is a unique ability possessed by bats that changes the way they react to the city stimuli as opposed to other wildlife. In the past, noise pollution has played a large role in disturbing the bat species and research has shown that ‘gleaning bats exposed to traffic noise… exhibit reduced foraging efficiency’, as they are avoiding hunting in noise due to the masking nature of anthropogenic sound (Bunkley, J, 2014). In Sydney, however, the introduction of noise curfews and construction restrictions has dramatically reduced the detrimental effects of high-decibel ambient noise, at least on humans [see image 3]. Sound devices have been used by the local Sydney Council in a malevolent manner to take advantage of the bats aural sensitivities to ‘encourage’ them to move away from urban spaces. This has been especially true in recent decades when this method has been used to disperse them from the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens. As bats have drastically increased in numbers within the parks bounds, ‘up from just 200 around two decades ago’, to now over 20 000 (Winning, D, 2011), the issue has become a priority. The population increase has been said to result in the loss of 60 trees due to damages made by the large colonies roosting in the branches. (Kerin, L, 2012). It is unknown to researchers why the bats have returned to the area in 1989, after 70 years of leaving it abandoned. Success in the Melbourne Botanic gardens has had huge influence over Sydney council’s approach, as they try to mirror the effects of Melbourne’s sound-based strategies undertaken starting in 2003. The City of Melbourne made use of ‘industrial and percussion noises beamed out of huge speakers set up on mobile buggies’, patrolling the gardens in the mornings and evenings, paired with teams of people with boom boxes and drums [see image 4]. This was the only attempt with any success, as previous endeavours of chilli powder mixes, strobe lights and even python excrement did
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Image 3: Cumulative noise exposure of dwellings in Australian capital cities
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not trigger relocation so much as ‘[intense] grooming and wing licking’. (Winning, D, 2011). The reason noise machines worked in Melbourne and not Sydney may well be a question of design and an understanding of the colonies flight patterns. It could be plainly that an alternate roosting location was closer to reach from the Melbourne gardens than the harbourside Sydney area. Similarly, the nature of the council versus conservationist politics involved in the Melbourne ‘Bat War’ of the early 2000’s could be the factor that set it apart [see image 5]. The scale of the effort to remove unwanted animals from areas around Melbourne spanned many months after the initial artificial ‘soundscape’ measures of 2003. To change the habits of a whole population of mammals, the disruptive noises were deployed in the gardens in the mornings and evenings, as a temporary measure that aimed for a permanent solution. As local council and conservationists discovered, there is a continual process of upkeep in checking that the resettled colony of bats are safe and will remain stable in their new home of Yarra Bend (an area of national parkland) in Victoria. This is a process that initially took ‘thousands of [man] hours of effort, [and] approximately $3 million spent on the process.’ (Singleton Council, 2012). This political decision by the government reflects a modern aspiration to preserve and protect native species, but a belief that is impeded the public desire to keep bats away from civic areas. The noise that the large bat assemblies make seems to undermine the mythology of the city lifestyle, as a place where organic noises are obsolete and the artificial soundscape is the known. There is a maintained assertion that fauna only reside outside of urbanised areas, animals that thrive and live exclusively in the urban setting, such as pigeons and rats, are regarded as vermin by civilians. Bats were placed in this category due to this preconception of ‘feral’ city animals in Australian history. From the government and media perspective, the reputation of bats from decades far prior had lingered, their ‘pest’ qualities dramatized and consistently reported on. They were and still are ‘frequently shot, persecuted and even legally culled as agricultural pests’. An article from The Age in 1999 [see image 6] discusses the implications of their living in urban areas, with the assumption that bats are generally disliked and they needed something of an ‘image adjustment’.
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Image pitched
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Lawrence Pope stands outside a The Age (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) ·tent 7 Jan 1999,he Thu · Page 13 the Gardens during the Bat Wars, Downloaded 2002 on Apr 8, 2019
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Age,
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The distaste for their crop-destroying habits in rural New South Wales seeped into the opinions of highly populated city areas, resulting in heated deliberation about how to cope with them. On one side, there is local government with budget constraints, city-planning strategies, and a need to please the wider public. On the other is a passionate community of veterinarians, biologists, ecologists and animal enthusiasts, lobbying for a balanced and shared ecosystem to maintain population numbers and a tolerance for their roosting habits in some inner-city areas. This is a debate that is ongoing in nearly every major city in the world, as bat species live nearly everywhere and they are always considered problematic. Because of this renewed perspective, more and more wildlife clinics are opening to combat the effects of urbanity on the native wildlife with a primary goal of encouraging growth in the species. Especially as ‘rural areas are increasingly converted into farmland and housing developments’; human intervention is necessary to combat the negative effects of this overdevelopment. Monitoring their patterns has become a major field of veterinary study as ‘around 1,800 bats have been banded to track their movements and 85 have been tagged with radio or satellite devices that can follow them hundreds of miles away.’ (Winning, D, 2011). The other major output of the urban environment is the light pollution. While regarded as a necessity for modern human settlement [see image 8], the effects on ecological processes are very significant, as the environmental system functions habitually as a day-night circadian cycle. Thus, the large output of artificial city light ‘can disrupt foraging or hunting behaviours’ and ‘even impede reproduction’ (Goldman, J, 2015) in bats. While the artificial light problems in Sydney deter bats from the city buildings themselves, it intensifies their habitation in the small nature ‘pockets’, which leaves urban ‘green spaces’ susceptible to a rapid influx of nocturnal species. This concentration only intensifies the publics aversion to large clusters of wildlife living within the city. The nature of urbanism facilitates the need for near constant public events to satisfy the human desire for group interaction. The public event schedule of Sydney city encourages more people to engage with specific sites in the Central Business District, the Royal Botanic Gardens, and the suburbs surrounding. Events such as Vivid Sydney, Taronga Zoo’s ‘Sleep Outs’ and annual New Years celebrations continue to generate increasingly concentrated light and sound, creating a new landscape within which the bats will react adversely.
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Image 8: Graph of light output generated by cities in NSW and Victoria
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There is a need to inspect the wider ramifications to the broader ecosystem that city-generated light and noise pollution has and how environmental concerns have become the inferior focus in urban planning. The case study of their roosting in the Botanic Gardens of both Sydney and Melbourne is proof that even within an urban setting, any attempt at greenspace will result in unexpected high populations of native fauna. As bats and flying foxes are a species with family the world over, there are comparisons to be drawn between the Australian cities and other global hubs and how they find solutions for the ultimate benefit of both the city and native wildlife.
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Image 10: Wildlife bat rescuers, Paul and Bev, treat a grey-headed flying-fox in their kitchen
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Aziz S.A., Olival K.J., Bumrungsri S., Richards G.C., Racey P.A, 2016, The Conflict Between Pteropodid Bats and Fruit Growers: Species, Legislation and Mitigation. In: Voigt C., Kingston T. (eds) Bats in the Anthropocene: Conservation of Bats in a Changing World. Springer, Cham Bunkly, J, 2014. ‘Anthropogenic noise alters bat activity levels and echolocation calls’, Science Direct, November 8th, viewed 4th April 2019 <https://www. sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235198941400064X> Hale, J. D., Fairbrass, A. J., Matthews, T. J., Davies, G., & Sadler, J. P. (2015). The ecological impact of city lighting scenarios: Exploring gap crossing thresholds for urban bats. Global Change Biology. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12884. Kerin, L, 2012, Flying foxes evicted from Botanic Gardens, ABC Radio, viewed 15th May 2019 <https://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2012/s3518170.htm> Nemo, L, 2018, Meet Australia’s Urban Flying Foxes—And the People Trying To Help Them, National Geographic, viewed 4th April 2019<https://www. nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/meet-australias-urban-flying-foxesandthe-people-trying-to-help-them.aspx> Marshall AG, 1983, Bats, flowers and fruit: evolutionary relationships in the Old World. Biol J Linn Soc 20:115–135 Philipps, N, 2013, Survival in the City, Sydney Morning Herald, viewed 15th May <https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/survival-in-thecity-20130426-2ijsn.html> Pierre-Louis, K, 2017, Bats, too, love the City life, Popular Science, October 28, viewed on 4th April 2019, <https://www.popsci.com/big-city-bats> RMIT, ABC, 2016, Fact check: Does Australia have one of the ‘highest loss of species anywhere in the world’? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-19/ fact-check-does-australia-have-one-of-the-highest-extinction/6691026 Singleton Council, 2015, Flying Fox Management Strategy, viewed 15th May 2019 Winning, D., 2011, Jul 23. In Sydney, Unwanted Guests Urged to Find New Belfry, Bats in Royal Garden Are Unfazed by Chili Powder, Strobe Lights. Wall Street Journal. ISSN 00999660. Woinarski J, Burbidgec, A, Harrison, P, 2015, Ongoing unraveling of a continental fauna: Decline and extinction of Australian mammals since European settlement, PNAS, viewed 15th May <https://www.pnas.org/content/ pnas/112/15/4531.full.pdf>
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IMAGE CREDITS
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Image 1: Reddit user Samyall, 2018, Timelapse of bat flight paths over the bridge. 22nd Jan, viewed 4th April <https://www.reddit.com/r/sydney/comments/7s55l7/there_was_a_bunch_of_bats_flying_above_the_bridge/> Image 2: Fitzsimons, J., Legge, S., Traill, B. & Woinarski, J. (2010) Comparison between the threatened species of small mammals in Australia, Into oblivion? The disappearing native mammals of northern Australia. The Nature Conservancy, Melbourne. Image 3: Cumulative noise exposure of dwellings in Australian capital cities, The health effects of environmental noise, 12214, Department of Health, Australian Government, pg 10. viewed 4th April <http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/A12B57E41EC9F326CA257BF0001F9E7D/$File/health-effects-Environmental-Noise-2018.pdf> Image 4: Siliitoe, C, 2002, Travers Carrol with a bin, about to scare some bats. The Age, Viewed 15th May 2019 <https://www.theage.com.au/national/ victoria/the-untold-story-of-how-the-great-melbourne-bat-wars-were-won20181116-p50gfk.html> Image 5: Borg, M, 2002, , Lawrence Pope stands outside a tent he pitched in the Gardens during the Bat Wars. The Age, Viewed 15th May 2019 <https:// www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-untold-story-of-how-the-great-melbourne-bat-wars-were-won-20181116-p50gfk.html> Image 6: Millar, R, 1999. A Bat Reputation, The Age (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 7th Jan, viewed 4th April < https://www.newspapers.com/ clip/30416486/the_age/> Image 7: Fauna - Animals - Bats - Gouldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fruit-bat or Flying-fox, Natioanl Archives of Australia, 1961, viewed 4th April 2019 Image 8: World Wide maps 2019, Graph of light output generated by cities in NSW and Victoria, viewed 4th april 2019 < https://tldesigner.net/australia-light-pollution-map/> Image 9: Gimsey, D, 2018, Hot summers can cause lethal heat stress among bats. National Geographic, viewed 4th April < https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/11/flying-foxes-bats-animal-rescue-australia/> Image 10: Gimsey, D, 2018, Wildlife bat rescuers, Paul and Bev, treat a grey-headed flying-fox in their kitchen, National Geographic, viewed 4th April < https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/11/flying-foxes-bats-animal-rescue-australia/>
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THE IMPACT OF THREAT MEASURES ON THE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF FLYING FOXES WITHIN SYDNEY AARON SAGGU
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THESIS The situational complexity of Flying foxes within Sydney regarding primary biological processes intertwines directly with the sphere of surrounding ecological procedures. The immediate ecological threats upon Flying foxes are growth and significant development of abnormal spatial urbanism, which further intervenes upon naturally occurring biological processes. Natural biological aspects of Grey-Headed Flying foxes roosting ecology particularly, adheres to specific characteristics of roosting and breeding potential to foraging localities within Sydney, which has been significantly damaged by the main detriment of ecological intervention through spreading urbanism, resulting in foraging habitat depletion of native vegetation through the severe degree of land clearance. Dramatic habitation loss results in necessity for Flying foxes to forage commercial horticulture, resulting in significant population decline from methods of human crop protection against Flying foxes. Instances of continual threats of habitat and foraging site loss with culling measures and low biological reproductive rate result in the continual population loss of Flying foxes, with the vulnerable TSCA (Schedule 2 of the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995) enactment showing exceedingly low potential for current population size to increase, whilst empirically detailing population decline due to urban threats. Resolution to relieve the vulnerable status demands radical change of existing infrastructure through effective programming and recovery planning to eliminate conventional urban threats upon Flying foxes, particularly Grey Headed Flying foxes within Sydney. The instance of human â&#x20AC;&#x201C; animal contention illustrates a critical lack of understanding within current infrastructure as well being philosophically devoid of the true ecological and natural significance within modern spatial contexts, ultimately resulting in rising Flying fox deaths. Necessity for viable population increase therefore requires an acute response to severely ineffective current conven-
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UNDERSTANDING - Preceding ecological knowledge upon Flying Foxes details the historical necessity to understand the unique processes and biology of the mammals. Victor Albert Prout’s early photographic apprehension of this specific ‘moment’ became monumentalised through Helena Forde’s 1869 illustration which recognises two states of sighted function, being a hanging roost and in flight wing spread. The early illustration clearly details within the mid-way background, an existing castle. The architectural relevance of this sighting, exercised by Forde, exemplifies the infantile impact of early human imposition upon the Flying Foxes natural domain, displaying an un-intended inform into foreshadowed urbanised complications in the future. This implied future predication began within this period, as the persecution of Flying Fox numbers were impacted during the 1800’s significantly, as identified by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in 2011, where “Since the early days of European settlement P. poliocephalus has been persecuted because of its impacts on both orchards and human amenity (Anonymous 1890; Ratcliffe 1931; Tidemann et al. 1997). Historically, the greatest conflict has been generated by the impact of flying-foxes, not just P. poliocephalus, on commercial fruit crops, with growers employing a variety of often lethal control measures to protect their livelihoods or to destroy camps (Anonymous 1890; Ratcliffe 1931; Tidemann et al. 1997; Eby 2002a). (David A. Westcott, Adam McKeown, Helen T. Murphy and Cameron S. Fletcher. 2011, Pp. 5). Forde’s illustration, being a defining depiction of the natural and habitual beauty of Flying Foxes, whilst alluring the viewer to affection towards these scarcely understood mammals further portrays underlying adverse threats that
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CONSERVANCY AND ANATOMY
- The structural, anatomical biology of the Flying Fox from birth presents immediate adaptation to the native specialised environment. The notion of further conservatory action through architectural design application can only fully realised through this biological insight, in order to grasp the ecological necessities to effectively replicate the natural environment. Figure 1 intrinsically displays the powerful and ‘well-developed’ limbs and claws from the newborn, whilst Figure 2 and Figure 3 illustrate these natural biological occurrences through closer analysis. Len Martin’s application of these images is too emphasise the arduous capability to internalise these wild biological behaviors. “In emphasising the importance of the hind-limbs, I have described only a minute fraction of a sophisticated, specialised, highly evolved repertoire of anatomical and physiological adaptations and innate (instinctive) behaviours essential for a flying-fox to survive in the wild…Consider therefore, the possible frustration (?), anxiety (?), anguish (?) of an individual animal with strong innate drives…it could cause comparable physiological and psychological pain, and is likely to compromise behavioural and physiological development of the bats and their survival in the wild.” (Martin, L. 1998. Pp. 445 – 446). The images further detail a underlying attenuated threat, being the difficulty to effectively replicate natural environments through ecological necessity, as well as biological adaptations to effectively identify sites for sufficient roosting, which are tremendously complex in determined specificity and choice through reproductive cycles, food availability as well as open and enclosed spaces, all considerations which are biologically driven. “P. poliocephalus fluctuates in colonial roosts, suggesting that aggregation of P. poliocephalus is also related to their reproductive cycle, which is adjusted according to uncertainty in food availability produced by native plants (Parry-Jones and Augee 2001). Welbergen (2005) suggested that part of the reason for coloniality in P. poliocephalus is mate selection by individuals, and it does not necessarily benefit the aggregating individuals.” (Sugita, N, Inaba, M, Ueda, K. 2009. Pp. 195). Therefore the biological intricacies of Flying Foxes results in the continuity of arising issues that needs to be resolved in
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DANGER Flying Foxes have been invariably subject to ostracise throughout Australian suburban, agricultural and urban city spatial borders. The existent infrastructure throughout previous years failed to consider the unequivocal significance to the ecosystem Flying Foxes apply, whilst previous notions of vilification have resulted in further push against these mammals, including the distorted perspective of disease dissemination and crop harvests, due almost exclusively to habitual loss. “These animals are participants in most of the major catastrophic events, as well as contestations about rescue, of contemporary life on Earth: warfare, man-made mass death, famine, urbanisation, emerging diseases, climate change, biosecurity, conservation and local/international NGO aid.” (Rose B, D. 2011. Pp. 119). These threats ultimately push Flying Foxes into contemporary urbanised area’s, as illustrated by Carmen Drake, showing the replication of roosting upon man-made objects like wire clothes lines. This ultimately reflects the biological, innate necessity to apply behavioural instinct within an urban environment. This forceful push into urbanised area’s presents further complex issues through lack of capable spatial co-existence, resulting in more human intervention and additional risk towards Flying Foxes. This extensive continuation of threats begins with notion of habitat loss, where “both species (Grey-headed and Spectacled Flying Fox) have dietary requirements that can be met only by extensive dispersal to track spatially variable flowering and fruiting events (Parsons et al. 2006; Richards 1990; Eby 1991, 1998)… Analyses presented by Evans (2016) indicate that across 51 local government areas in north coast NSW and south-eastern QLD, 243,000 ha of primary forest was lost due to human intervention in the period spanning 1989-2014”. (Lentini, P. 2016. Pp. 4). The issue with the strived solution be-
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ENDEMIC PILGRIMAGE The eventual research identification of Flying Fox flight pattern behaviour illustrates the complex link between roosting, mating potential as well as foraging capabilities. The aspect of danger, conservancy and understanding of Flying Foxes lead towards recognition of certain specific spaces that demonstrate all three links to habitual choice. H.C. Richter and John Gould’s mid 1800’s native illustrations from Mammals of Australia 1845 – 1860 convey the intricate natural bond Flying Foxes share with the environment. This observation, un-fluctuated from the 1800’s to the present, demonstrates the necessity for environmental retention in order to sustain Flying Fox population numbers. The current research relays the endemic species, once roaming freely, becoming nomadic in occupation within minimal natural and urban environments. “Individuals or small groups of grey-headed flying-foxes are frequently seen to roost for on to several days at various sites throughout metropolitan Sydney, during summer, especially in large fig tree’s… Movement of individuals between the Gordon colony and the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney have been demonstrated in this study. The number of flying foxes in the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney has increased from several hundred in 1991 to more then 4,000 in 1999.” (Augee, M.L, Ford, D. Pp. 67). Richter and Gould’s illustration present with subtle fortitude, the necessity, for natural continuance in order to maintain the beauty of endemic species, whilst foreshadowing a modern necessity to visualise this beauty rather then constant vilification through interaction’s occurring within the urban environment. “Urban encroachment into areas historically used by flying-foxes is thought to be a factor influencing a colony’s choice of roost sites in urban areas. Fidelity to historic roosting sites and the availability of urban foraging opportunities has resulted in increased conflict between flying-foxes and the general community” (Sunshine Coast Council, 2016. Pp. 11). To combat the issue of constant unnatural migration patterns and urban-human conflict, various camps, sanctuaries and rehabilitation centers have repli-
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RESOLUTION The approach to innovative architectural methods of Flying Fox conservation afflicts notions against urbanised, structural implementation and focuses closely on deep analysis into the biological inclinations of Flying Foxes and analysing the sphere of ecology from pre-existing successful parks, such as the specific habitual appeal of the Ipswich Nature Centre at Queens Park. “We are looking at a technique used by the Sunshine Coast for canopy sprinklers… The canopy sprinklers have shown a level of success in creating a buffer between houses and the flying foxes… Based on research and previous management actions used at various roosts across the country, council acknowledges the complexities and unpredictable nature of flying foxes along with often unsuccessful and expensive outcomes of dispersal.” (Silver, K from Richter, J. 2017). The aspects of dispersal within parks further extend the unnatural movement pattern, however key analysis into the success of the area can extend into produced sanctuary reserves. The image captured by the Ipswich City Council details a foreground gazebo, whilst the upper background exhibits a large gathering of Flying Foxes; where there are “about 850 black and grey-headed flying foxes and a high number of pregnant females” (Richter, J. 2017). Existing implementation of purposefully protected reserves include the Ku-ring-gai habitat restoration project, which within Figure 1 and 2, illustrates progressive colonial movement and specific habitual restoration phases, which defines clear barriers between urban human architectural influence and human protected natural space. Nancy Pallin, being an accredited bush regenerator, states with affirm “Flying-foxes not only need colony sites in which to roost, but also food resources across the landscape… If residents were shown that low maintenance indigenous gardens could save them from the drudgery of mowing and the costs of watering — and give them the delights of wrens, fantails and water dragons outside their windows — habitat restoration could take place across whole valleys, even in an urban setting.”. (Pallin, N. 2000. Pp. 19). Therefore throughout continuing efforts for solutions, ecological aspects, human interaction through both negative and positive applied form as well
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The complexity of biological and ecological processes of the Flying Fox clarify the necessity to understand the mammal within the spatial context of uninterrupted nature, specifically instances within the pre-urbanised world of the 1800â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Once understood, it has become clear that existing infrastructure has failed to recognise the fundamental importance of Flying foxes, whilst the exposed architectural implications of constant urbanism demands land and further habitual loss. This increase in pressured living opens the profusion of dangers that catastrophically convolute the potential for a singular solution to be achieved. It is only through acceptance of biological instinct, when regarding specific unmanageable movement patterns and anatomical relevance that the beginning of specifically designed nature reserves can exist. These reserves diverge a barrier between the urban architecture and planned, manipulated natural architectonic influence. The stages for less sporadic, nomadic movement allow for roosts and mating cycles to last the ensued natural period, conveying a undoubtedly positive drive towards increasing Flying Fox population and diminish the vulnerable
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Augee M.L, Ford, D. 1999. Radio-tracking Studies of Grey-headed Flying-foxes, Pteropus Poliocephalus, from the Gordon Colony, Sydney. No. 4. Issue 121. University of NSW. Sydney. Australia. Viewed on 23 May 2019. <http://sydneybats.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Radiotracking_Study_Augee__Ford-1.pdf> Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Energy 2019, Flying-foxes, Canberra, Viewed on 26 March 2019, <http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/flying-fox-law> Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Energy 2019, Pteropus poliocephalus — Grey-headed Flying-fox, Canberra, Viewed on 25 March 2019, <http://www. environment.gov.au/cgibin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=186> Drake B, C. “Hanging around in Suburbia”. Rockhampton, Australia. Viewed on 20 May 2019. <http://www.bats.org.au/uploads/about-bats/foxes/resources/livingwithflyingfoxes.pdf> Eby, P. 2009. ‘Draft Recovery Plan for the Grey-headed Flying-fox’ Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW. Pp. 1-42. Ipswich City Council. 2017. The Ipswich City Council is currently monitoring the flying fox colony that has congregated within the Ipswich Nature Centre at Queens Park. Ipswich, Australia. Viewed on 26 May 2019. <https://www.ipswichfirst. com.au/flying-fox-management/> Lentini, P. 2016. Flying-fox management in the eastern states. National Environmental Science Programme (NESP) Threatened Species Recovery; Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hubs. Melbourne. Australia. Viewed on 21 May 2019. <http://
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Martin, L. 1998. Posture and anatomical adaptations in neonatal flying-foxes (Genus Pteropus, suborder Megachiroptera): cautionary tales for carers. Queensland. Australia. Viewed on 16 May 2019. <https://publications.rzsnsw.org.au/doi/ pdf/10.7882/AZ.1998.011> National Library of Australia. Prout, Victor Albert (1835-). Trove. Australia. Viewed on 14 May 2019. <https://trove.nla. gov.au/people/1487068?c=people> Nature Conservation Council of N.S.W. 2010, FLYING-FOXES POLICY, Nature Conservation Council, cat. no. 1400, NSW, Viewed on 1 April 2019, < https://www.nature.org.au/media/1400/flying-fox-policy-2010.pdf> Pallin, N. 2000. Ku-ring-gai Flying-fox Reserve. Habitat restoration project, 15 years on. Vol 1. No. 1. Australian Association of Bush Regenerators (AABR). Sydney, Australia. Viewed on 26 May 2019. <http://www.aabr.org.au/_upload/MemberPublications/FlyingFoxReserve.pdf> Reardon, T. Armstrong, K. Lumsden, L. Eby, P. Whybird, O. Clague, C. 2010, Survey guidelines for Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s threatened bats, Australian Government, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Queensland, Viewed on 3 April 2019, <http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/2f420bf1-d9e4-44ec-a69c-07316cb81086/files/survey-guidelines-bats.pdf> Richter, H.C, Gould, J. 1845. Petropus poliocephalus â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Grey-headed Vampire. Sydney, Australia. Viewed on 23 May 2019. <https://trowbridgegallery.com.au/product/grey-headed-flying-fox/>
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Scott, H, Forde, H. 1869. The Flying Fox (Pteropus Poliocephalus) 1869. Sydney. Australia. Viewed on 14 May 2019. <https:// dictionaryofsydney.org/media/58125> Sugita, N, Inaba, M, Ueda, K. 2009. Roosting Pattern and Reproductive Cycle of Bonin Flying Foxes (Pteropus pselaphon). Vol. 90, Issue 1. Journal of Mammalogy. Sydney. Australia. Viewed on 16 May 2019. <https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/90/1/195/850341>
Sunshine Coast Council. 2016. Regional Flying-Fox Management Plan. Environmental Operations. Queensland. Australia. Viewed on 24 May 2019. <951aff442414/files/schedule-2-grey-headed-flying-fox-management-plan.pdf>
Westcott A, D, McKeown, A, Murphy T, H, Fletcher S, C. 2011. A monitoring method for the greyheaded flying-fox, Pteropus poliocephalus. CSIRO. Queensland. Australia. Viewed on 14 May 2019.
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IMAGE CREDITS
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Drake B, C. “Hanging around in Suburbia”. Rockhampton, Australia. Viewed on 20 May 2019. <http://www.bats.org.au/uploads/about-bats/foxes/resources/livingwithflyingfoxes.pdf> Ipswich City Council. 2017. The Ipswich City Council is currently monitoring the flying fox colony that has congregated within the Ipswich Nature Centre at Queens Park. Ipswich, Australia. Viewed on 26 May 2019. <https://www.ipswichfirst. com.au/flying-fox-management/> Martin, L. 1998. Posture and anatomical adaptations in neonatal flying-foxes (Genus Pteropus, suborder Megachiroptera): cautionary tales for carers. Queensland. Australia. Viewed on 16 May 2019. <https://publications.rzsnsw.org.au/doi/ pdf/10.7882/AZ.1998.011> Pallin, N. 2000. Ku-ring-gai Flying-fox Reserve. Habitat restoration project, 15 years on. Vol 1. No. 1. Australian Association of Bush Regenerators (AABR). Sydney, Australia. Viewed on 26 May 2019. <http://www.aabr.org.au/_upload/MemberPublications/FlyingFoxReserve.pdf> Richter, H.C, Gould, J. 1845. Petropus poliocephalus – Grey-headed Vampire. Sydney, Australia. Viewed on 23 May 2019. <https://trowbridgegallery.com.au/product/grey-headed-flying-fox/>
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