In November 2025, a scientific collaboration agreement was signed between CNR-IRET and the Castelli Romani Regional Park to launch the research project “Monitoring of chiropterofauna in the Castelli Romani Regional Park”.
‘Ultrasound recorders capable of detecting the presence and activity of bat species will be installed in various areas of the Park, including all Sites of Community Importance (SCI). These devices record the ultrasounds emitted by bats during orientation and hunting,” explain Paolo Colangelo and Giorgia Castiello, researchers at CNR-IRET and project managers, who add: ‘This research will contribute to improving knowledge of the Park’s biodiversity and will provide important information on any conservation measures necessary to preserve these species, which play a fundamental role in providing significant ecosystem services to the Park community.’
The protection and conservation of species and habitats of Community interest, particularly the most vulnerable ones, are fundamental tasks for a protected natural area, with the aim of maintaining ecosystem balance. Bats, in particular, are recognised as ecological indicators and “umbrella species”, as their protection contributes to the conservation of many other species linked to the same environments. Monitoring therefore plays an essential role in acquiring up-to-date data on the health of bat populations and in implementing actions aimed at maintaining environmental conditions suitable for their presence and reproduction.
Monitoring the conservation status of species, animals and plants, and habitats of Community interest is also one of the most important obligations arising from Directive 92/43/EEC (Habitat Directive). Among the most significant sites for bat hibernation in the Castelli Romani Regional Park is the Emissario del Lago di Nemi, which is home to 8 species, accounting for approximately 35% of those recorded in the Province of Rome, some of which are included in Annexes II and IV of the directive.
‘The memorandum of understanding signed between the Castelli Romani Park Authority and CNR-IRET extends and strengthens the surveying activities already carried out by the Authority’s technical staff,’ comments Ivan Boccali, president of the Park Authority – with the aim of carrying out, through the use of specific equipment, additional passive and active acoustic monitoring during the period of greatest bat activity (spring-summer) and censuses of hibernating species during the winter, and to update knowledge on the bat fauna present in the Castelli Romani Regional Park and in the protected areas entrusted to the Park Authority for management.
