Northern Long-eared Bat, An Endangered Species

by Meaghan Lyon, Wildlife Biologist

It’s official. The Northern long-eared bat is listed as an endangered species under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Endangered Species Act. Earlier this year, the USFWS announced the proposed uplisting due to severe population declines. This uplisting would help to protect and recover this imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend on.

Through the Endangered Species Act, species may be listed as either endangered or threatened. The term “Threatened” means a species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. The term “Endangered” means a species is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

The Northern long-eared bat was first listed as threatened in 2015 but even with newly implemented conservation efforts biologists were still seeing drastic population declines. The Northern long-eared bat population has since declined by 97-100% across the species range. Many of the Myotis bat populations have seen similar trends in recent years, primarily due to the spread of white-nose syndrome. White-nose syndrome is a fungal disease that has spread rapidly among bats since its first observed case in New York in 2006.

Other threats that have been observed to Northern long-eared bats include wind energy related mortality, summer habitat loss, winter habitat loss or disturbance, and climate change. As many of these threats alone will not lead to the extinction of a species, when combined they have a greater impact especially now that population numbers are so low.

For more information on the Northern long-eared bat, visit the USFWS site page: https://www.fws.gov/species/northern-long-eared-bat-myotis-septentrionalis