Leading renewable energy consultancy and service provider, Natural Power, is to partner with the Mammal Society to develop the industry-prescribed Ecobat tool - a free online resource that helps ecological consultants interpret and present ecological data for environmental impact assessments (EIA) in the UK.

Anneli Englund, Senior Bat Acoustics Analyst at Natural Power, said: "The initial release of the Ecobat tool has been found to contain some bugs and other issues so we're delighted to be supporting the Mammal Society with the development of the software which will ultimately lead to a better system for assessing potential impacts on bats and helping to drive the industry forward with robust and thorough analysis tools to help ensure the least, negative, environmental impact possible."

Natural Power and the Mammal Society, along with other industry partners, will come together to upgrade the development of the software ensuring it is fit for purpose in its next-generation release.

What is Ecobat?

Ecobat is the first of the Ecostat tools to be developed by the Mammal Society, providing a user-friendly online platform for interpreting bat activity data.

Ecobat compares surveys submitted by the user with a national reference dataset and objectively quantifies bat activity levels. It offers a web-based interface for depositing data rapidly and securely, automatically generating a numerical indicator of the relative importance of a night's worth of activity, based on bat acoustic data, by contrasting with a comparable reference range. The output can be used by ecologists to quantify bat activity on the site relative to local and national datasets for use during ecological impact assessments.

During the development phase, when Ecobat is not publicly available, the Mammal Society will endeavour to provide a continuation of Ecobat services to Natural Power to support ongoing EIA projects.

Ross Clifton, Data & Research Officer at the Mammal Society, said: "The Mammal Society hopes that the redevelopment of Ecobat will significantly contribute to the conservation of some of Britain's most endangered species. By offering standardised interpretations of bat activity data, Ecobat provides ecological consultants with a crucial tool for evidence-based decision-making. This enables consultants to understand how their conservation sites compare with national data, ensuring that efforts are aligned with broader conservation goals."