New Belgian antenna station in the MOTUS Wildlife Tracking System
Did you know that bats live along our coast? Moreover, some bat populations travel long distances (sometimes up to 1500 km) and can even fly across the North Sea to the British Isles and vice versa.
In order to follow bats over great distances and to better protect them on their migration route, researchers from the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), in collaboration with the municipality of De Haan and Bionet Natuuronderzoek installed a new antenna station on the water tower of Wenduine.
The antenna station picks up radio signals from small transmitters mounted on the bats. Each time a tagged bat passes the station, the antennas receive a signal, allowing the researchers to monitor the bats' whereabouts. The transmitters are very light and can also be used to track songbirds and larger insects.
The station's antennas are located high on the water tower to increase the reception range to several kilometers. The antenna station in Wenduine is one of three stations along the Belgian coast, and is part of a wider European and international infrastructure network (MOTUS Wildlife Tracking network). The research into migrating bats along the North Sea coast is part of the Belgian LifeWatch Marine Observatory, developed by VLIZ.
Image: new antenna station in Wenduine - image credit: VLIZ (Benito Dewaegemaeker)
The antenna station picks up radio signals from small transmitters mounted on the bats. Each time a tagged bat passes the station, the antennas receive a signal, allowing the researchers to monitor the bats' whereabouts. The transmitters are very light and can also be used to track songbirds and larger insects.
The station's antennas are located high on the water tower to increase the reception range to several kilometers. The antenna station in Wenduine is one of three stations along the Belgian coast, and is part of a wider European and international infrastructure network (MOTUS Wildlife Tracking network). The research into migrating bats along the North Sea coast is part of the Belgian LifeWatch Marine Observatory, developed by VLIZ.
Image: new antenna station in Wenduine - image credit: VLIZ (Benito Dewaegemaeker)
