Tag: bats

by Meaghan Lyon, Wildlife Biologist

During the past two months, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey biologists have spent many late nights surveying for bats in the Pinelands! A typical survey night starts just before sundown with setting up expansive nets across corridors in the woods. In the dark, these fine threaded nets are nearly invisible to bats and the occasional flying squirrel or Whippoorwill. As the sun sets, the bats emerge, rushing through the sky to their foraging grounds. Every ten minutes, from sunset till 2am, the nets are checked and any captured bats are safely extracted from the nets to then be identified, weighed, and measured.

Over the course of 10 survey nights, 49 bats were captured in the nets! The Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus) was the most common bat identified with a total of 28 individuals. The Big Brown Bat is the most common species of insectivorous bat in North America, relatively large with long, silky fur, dark skin, and a wide nose. The second most common bat captured was the Eastern Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis). Like the Big Brown Bat, the Eastern Red Bat is widespread across eastern North America. It’s distinguished by the orange fur and a furred tail membrane. While surveying in the Pinelands, wildlife biologists captured 17 Eastern Red Bats!

Our goal for this surveys was not to capture a lot of bats, but to capture rare bats in the Myotis genus. On the last few survey nights, we finally achieved our goal, capturing two Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifugus) and two Northern Long-Eared Bats (Myotis septentrionalis). The Little Brown Bat is a tiny bat weighing less than 10 grams that has glossy brown fur and long hairs on its toes. Likewise, the Northern long-eared bats are very tiny, with brown fur, and large ears.

The Little Brown Bat is a Species of Concern and the Northern Long-Eared Bat is a Federally Threatened species due to their susceptibility to White Nose Syndrome (WNS). WNS is a fungal disease that has heavily impacted bats of the Myotis family. White nose fungus grows in cold, moist environments like caves and mines – perfect habitat for many bats. This devastating disease has killed more than 6 million bats nationwide since it was first discovered in 2006.

When a Myotis bat, like the Northern Long-Eared or Little Brown, is captured, things get exciting! To learn more about where these bats roost during the day, we attach a temporary radio transmitter, smaller than the size of a fingernail, to the bat’s back and then spend the next several days tracking the radio signal in a process called radio telemetry. The transmitter on the bat’s back sends out a signal that sounds like a consistent “beep” and then the biologist holds an antenna and a receiver that is able to receive the signal. The closer you get to the bat, the louder and clearer the signal or “beeps” are! The bats are tracked through this process of radio telemetry until the roost is found.

The tagged Northern Long-Eared Bat was able to be tracked to a roost tree in a nearby swamp, roughly a mile away from the capture site. There is still lots to learn about this dwindling species and identifying roost trees is an important way to help protect this species habitat and to get a better understanding of the existing population. We also fitted one of the Little Brown Bats with a radio transmitter to track it to the roost. The roost for this bat was located approximately 2 miles away from the capture site in a residential building! Roosting in buildings is common for Little Brown Bats as it mimics the microenvironment of a cave.

Although previous years surveys resulted in higher overall numbers of bats, this was the first year for the Northern Long-Eared Bat and Little Brown Bat to be captured at this site in the Pinelands.  Acoustic surveys from 2017 indicated these species were present but confirming these threatened bats are still active in the area several years later is an exciting feat!

This project was done in partnership with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, New Jersey Field Office.

Wildlife takes center stage this summer in a series of virtual presentations.

Conserve Wildlife Foundation and Mercer County Park Commission will present four one-hour webinars this summer, focusing on wildlife that affects our lives, even in an urbanized environment.

Bats are one of nature’s most misunderstood species. They strike fear in the hearts of many people but in reality they are incredibly beneficial to us. Bats face a multitude of threats and it is up to us to learn to understand and coexist with them if they are to have a future in our state.

The fifth episode of our podcast, State of Change, “The Bat’s Misunderstood Identity” features MacKenzie Hall, biologist at the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife and Ethan Gilardi, assistant biologist with Conserve Wildlife Foundation (CWF).

Story by: Alison Levine, Communications Coordinator

Bats. They can be kind of creepy. Full disclosure, when I was a kid a bat got into our house and was so disoriented at being in an alien environment that it actually flew into my shoulder. So, I’m not exactly unbiased. I’ve learned to appreciate the important roles bats play – many help keep insect populations under control, some are crucial pollinators for fruits – but I’ve never really warmed up to them before.

While there are plenty of people who share my slightly-creeped out feelings for bats, fortunately there are lot of people who love the furry little flying mammals.

CWF Biologist, and bat ambassador extraordinaire, Meghan Kolk goes out and handles bats on purpose. As part of a joint project with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Meghan and CWF Biologist Ethan Gilardi teamed up with USFWS staff to conduct bat surveys in the summer of 2018 and again this year.

The surveys are conducted at Joint Military Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in the northern part of Pine Barrens. The goal is to capture northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis), a federally threatened species, and track them back to their roost tree (ideally tracking females back to maternity roost trees) using radio transmitters.

Photo of big brown bat by John King

PSE&G, Conserve Wildlife Foundation, Mercer County Park Commission, Mercer County Wildlife Center and Wildlife Center Friends team up with free public programs on Bald Eagles, pollinators, and bats.

Join us on August 8th at the Mercer County Wildlife Center to learn about pollinators like bees, butterflies and moths and how they help keep flowers in bloom and food on your plate.

by Stephanie Feigin, CWF Wildlife Ecologist

Across the country bat populations continue to decline due to the threat of White Nose Syndrome. Last year, to collect important population data to monitor population trends of New Jersey’s bat species, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF), in partnership with Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP), re-launched their Statewide Mobile Acoustic Surveys with new equipment and protocol. With all the kinks of a revamped project worked out, CWF entered their second year of this project. Continue reading “Acoustic Monitoring Drives Efforts to Save Bats”

Reporter James O’Neill covers the impacts on plants and wildlife from the unseasonably warm weather for New Jersey this winter in this story for The Record.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY

• Mid-February could be extra hard on plants, animals – The Record

Students partner with nonprofit Conserve Wildlife Foundation to design better bat houses

By Stephanie Feigin

Although bats have a reputation of being dangerous and scary, these flying mammals are something to be coveted, and the students at Princeton Day School know why. Seventh grade students Albert Ming, Arjun Sen, Martin Sen, Dodge Martinson, Kai Shah, and Samuel Tang teamed up with Conserve Wildlife Foundation to design a better construction plan for bat houses. The students hope to promote better conditions for bats living in Central Jersey.

Bats are in the midst of tragic declines as a consequence of habitat loss and a devastating fungal disease known as White-nose Syndrome. CWF works to preserve bats, which basically provide a free pest removal service. A single bat can consume up to 3,000 mosquito-sized insects in one night! Their value to agriculture is estimated at $53 billion annually in the United States alone. Not to mention they provide mosquito and biting insect control, which are not only a nuisance but also have disease spreading potential.

Many bats in New Jersey have come to depend on manmade bat houses, structures specifically designed and placed for the needs of the bats, and the Princeton Day School students stepped up to help.

First, the students researched the best, most economical type of wood to use for construction. Next, they used an infrared thermometer to see how well heat is absorbed and retained by the different wood types after they were painted and stained using three different colors.

Keeping the inside of a bat house within the right temperature range is vital to the survival of bats, especially the vulnerable young pups. If a bat house becomes too hot (above 95 degrees) or too cold (below 65 degrees), the health of the bats is threatened. Bats move their pups from house to house in search of the right temperatures.

The students used the results of their temperature experiment and high and low temperature readings for Central Jersey over the past three years to design a plan for a bat condo unit that would satisfy bats temperature requirements during their entire six month roosting period.

The x – axis is the number of hours passed during the day and the y- axis represents degrees Fahrenheit.

This graph displays the research for the best type of wood (cedar, pine or plywood) to use for constructing bat houses, along with different kinds of paint (adobe, slate or russet) to determine which combination could retain the most heat for the bat colonies. Heat retention was measured over a long period of time while exposed to the sun.

The research revealed that the bat houses are most successful if they are painted or stained and weather resistant wood like cedar would last much longer than softer wood like pine or plywood. When cedar wood was used the temperature changed the most as the air temperature changed and the least when sunset came. When plywood was used the temperature changed the least as the air temperature changed and the most when sunset came. When pine wood was used the temperature changed moderately as the air temperature and moderately when sunset came.

The conclusion made was that there are differences among wood and paint combinations. Adobe paint on plywood has the smallest average temperature change even though the difference is not statistically significant and adobe paint on cedar had the smallest temperature change between 4 and 6 degrees. They chose adobe paint on cedar or plywood as they are also the most cost effective.

With the results of their research and experiments, the students made informed decisions to design the bat boxes. The final product was three bat houses built using plywood. They painted one of the houses in a black slate color to provide maximum heat during the colder months, and painted a second house in an adobe beige color to provide air conditioning during the hot summer months. Lastly, they chose a russet color to for the moderate months.

CWF Wildlife ecologist Stephanie Feign who worked with the students on the project was happy to see how passionate these kids were to learn and be hands-on. “Their passion and enthusiasm were inspiring. Projects like these not only benefit wildlife, but also benefit surrounding communities and provide experiential learning for students.”

New Jersey is home to nine different species of bats, two of which are listed as endangered or threatened. Six species that do not migrate south for the winter remain in New Jersey to hibernate in a cave or another safe place. When they awake from hibernation in April, the females search for roosting spots to bear and raise their young pups. With so few intact forests in New Jersey, bats are struggling to find places to safely roost.

That is why projects like this one with Princeton Day School are essential for preserving bats. Not only did the projects help bats, but it also helped the students by requiring them to use problem solving and critical thinking skills to protect a creature that they came to value. Wildlife, which kids become excited and passionate about, is a valuable educational tool.

The team is currently working with Princeton Day School facilities to erect the bat condo unit on campus. Hopefully, by next spring, the school will be home to many new, very comfortable bats.

LEARN MORE:

• Conserve Wildlife Foundation Bat Project
• Stories about the bats in New Jersey

Stephanie Feigin is a Wildlife Ecologist for Conserve Wildlife Foundation.

By Stephanie Feigin, Wildlife Ecologist

This Halloween, while you are with friends and family celebrating a spooky evening of fun, I ask you to take a moment and think about one more thing – Halloween without bats. I want you to think about bats today not as the spooky creatures of the night that some people normally think of them as, but as incredible mammals that are invaluable to our ecosystem. In New Jersey, all of our 9 bat species are insectivores. They can eat thousands of insects in one night, protecting our crops and forests from insect destruction, and they pollinate many important foods that we love. A study published in Science magazine estimates that bats’ insect-eating services may be worth as much as $53 billion to US agriculture alone.

Despite the many environmental and economic benefits bats provide, bat populations around the world are still declining. Bats face many threats, including habitat loss and destruction, human persecution, wind energy development, and White-Nose Syndrome.

Devastatingly, we have lost over 6 million bats nationwide due to the spread of White Nose Syndrome (WNS) – a disease caused by a cold-loving fungus called Pseudogymnoascus destructans or Pd. It attacks hibernating bats, disturbing them during hibernation when the bats’ immune response is low, and prevents them from conserving enough stored energy to survive until spring. WNS also causes dehydration and unrest as well as severe wing damage that can prevent bats from flying. Much is still unknown about White-nose syndrome, its spread, and its consequences. The federal government, states, several universities, and organizations like ours are working hard to track and understand this disease.

In New Jersey, about 50,000 bats were killed by WNS in the first year (2009) – and we now estimate over 60 tons of mosquitoes and other night-flying insects go undevoured each year from loss of bats. Though bats are one of the most beneficial animals to humans they are still poorly understood and underappreciated, which is why today I ask you to think of them in a new light. Today, think about bats for all of the wonderful benefits they provide, think of them as amazing animals that work hard at night to protect our ecosystems, because we need to make a change.

To protect the bats we still have, it is important that people understand the stress these bats are under. It is important that we re-think how we view bats, remove the spooky stigmas that surround them and appreciate their importance to us. So today, think about bats think about how important they are, how badly we need to protect them and how scary a world without bats would be.

Stephanie Feigin is a wildlife ecologist for Conserve Wildlife Foundation.

LEARN MORE

• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Bat Project
• Bat Blogs
• White-nose Syndrome

BIG BROWN BATS ARE THE STAR OF THE SHOW FOR OVER 200,000 ONLINE FOLLOWERS

By Stephanie Feigin, Wildlife Ecologist

Earlier this week marked the second year that Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey wildlife ecologist Stephanie Feigin, along with project partner MacKenzie Hall from New Jersey’s Division of Fish and Wildlife and project interns from Rutgers University, banded the BatCam bats. This banding survey was part of a long standing maternity survey project conducted by CWF in partnership with NJDEP. These surveys allow us to gain important information about reproductive success, record weight, sex and age status of the bats, assess bats for signs of white-nose syndrome, and band bats for future observation.

Photos by Stephanie Feigin

This year, the team decided to stream the banding of big brown bats LIVE on Facebook. Allowing viewers to gain a once in a lifetime opportunity to see wildlife in a way they have never seen before and giving us the ability to directly interact with thousands of followers as we conducted an important wildlife survey. The banding has reached over 200,000 online followers as of Thursday morning.

The team caught and banded 36 bats total, 14 adult females (10 were recaputres from last year, 4 were banded as juveniles last year) and 23 juveniles (12 males and 11 female). All of the bats were weighed, measured, and banded according to the same coding as last year (red for juveniles and silver for adults).

The main goal of our Bat Project is to protect the bats we have in New Jersey, protect their habitats, learn more about their life cycles, and educate the public on the benefits of bats and how amazing and beneficial they truly are. By streaming live, we were able to shed new light on bats and allow the public to gain a better understanding for these special mammals.

Learn More:

• Watch Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s BatCam Live!
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Bat Project
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s online field guide: big brown bat
• White-nose Syndrome