Bat Research

Found this on the North American Society for Bat Research Webpage:

Toronto's world famous Royal Ontario Museum (the ROM) was the location of the 2011 NASBR Teacher's Workshop in association with the annual meeting. Never before have we had such a visually stimulating site for this important event. Burton Lim and Judith Eger, NASBR members and scientific researchers, are both employed at the ROM and made all arrangements to accommodate 35 teachers for the 6-hour workshop.
 

Presentations were given on the ROM bat exhibits, Ontario bats and their biology, live bat demonstrations, an identification key exercise using museum study skins, and classroom activities using "Year of the Bat" education resources. This year's faculty included: Burton Lim, Judith Eger and Dave Ireland from the ROM; Erin Fraser, University of Western Ontario; Paul Faure, McMaster University; Andreas Streit, UNEP/Eurobats; James Eggers, Bat Conservation International; and Jacqueline Miller, University of Toronto. While faculty and teacher participants enjoyed a lovely private lunch at the ROM, they were treated to a book reading and signing, Burton & Isabelle Pipistrelle: Out of the Bat Cave, presented by the author and artist.

Images from NASBR website

Crucial Part of Our Ecosystem

Media Release from Orkin Pest Control Company in Regina:

"As Canadians we cherish the summer months that bring sunshine, warm weather and the urge to spend time outdoors. Inevitably, the summer season also brings pesky critters into the mix, including house flies and the dreaded mosquito.  Although these uninvited guests could put a damper on your summer plans, they all play an essential role in nature. At Orkin Canada, we believe that every pest has a place, and while not in our homes, hospitals and public buildings – they are indeed a crucial part of our ecosystem. The following lists the roles they play in the natural environment.

House Fly In Nature: Although they may bug us, flies are an essential part of the food chain. House flies have an important role in nature pollinating plants and recycling all things dead and decaying. It may not seem glamorous but flies play a vital role in assisting the decomposition of dung and decaying matter, plants or animals.

Mosquito In Nature: Mosquitoes are delicious to eat and easy to catch! Mosquitoes are the main course for multiple species including spiders, salamanders, lizards, frogs, bats, birds and multiple species of fish. Without mosquitoes of off the menu, many of these animals would lose a primary food source."

See more at: http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2013/08/20/common-critters-friends-or-foe/#sthash.32vkVtnd.dpuf

Ragnhild Brosvik Mosquito Image from Flickr under Creative Commons

P.S. Check out my latest "urban wild" nature blog: Wild. Here. (2016 update)

Abandoned Mines and Bats (Ontario)

Found this on the Science North website:

WHY have an Abandoned Mines and Bat Workshop?           

• Provide information on the mitigation measures available to mining companies that have abandoned mines on their properties
• Demonstrate the importance of abandoned mines as hibernating sites for several species of bats
• Explore what remote sensing instruments are required to survey bats, and how these instruments are used
• Demonstrate how to ‘Bat Gate’ an abandoned mine
• Address the safety concerns surrounding abandoned mine sites
• Inform participants about White-nose Syndrome (alien fungus), a recent threat to hibernating bats
• Provide each participant with a video documentary on “Abandoned Mines and Bats” post conference

Why Mining Companies Should Become Involved?

• Mining companies will increase their knowledge on ‘mitigating measures’ for abandoned mine.
• ‘Bat gates’ are an effective way to protect bats in abandoned mines and keep people out.
• The technology used to monitor bats and the information collected is easy to access, even by non-scientists.
• Mining companies can be proactive at protecting bat species by identifying abandoned mines used by bats.

Urban Bats (Ottawa)

We'd love to know more about this event held at the end of May at Macoun Marsh.  We had heard that they were going to use sonar to record the bats and determine what species could be found but if it was bat tagging - that would be a whole other level!

From St. Laurent Academy Blog: Bat research scientist Brian Hickey (St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Sciences) will join us on Thursday, May 30 from 7:30 pm to 9:15 pm to search for Hoary and Little Brown Bats!  COME JOIN US AT MACOUN MARSH!  Mr. L.

From Biodiversity Matters Blog: We had a bat and night critters evening at the Macoun Marsh. Bat research scientist Brian Hickey (St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Sciences) came out to search for Hoary and Little Brown Bats. Both were recorded.

From Pub Patio Playdate: The man accompanied little one’s preschool class on a field trip to the Macoun Marsh last week and had an awesome time. A few days later he attended a bat-tagging excursion at the marsh and he can’t wait to spend more time exploring the area’s rich biodiversity. I had to miss the field trip but am looking forward to checking this place out soon.


Update August 2013: Bat research continues at Macoun Marsh.

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(Friends of Gatineau Park had a Bat Night in June, where Rachel Hamilton, a graduate alumni from the University of Western Ontario, provided insight into bats, from the most unusual to those that can be found in backyards. She also discussed how researchers are able to study these flying friends and shared how bats impact on people's daily lives.)

The MNR has an educational Bat Fact Sheet which is part of their "Living With" series.

inspiring

Image Source: Fast Coexist

(Congress Avenue Bridge, Austin, Texas)

Urban Bat Visitors

Interesting information on the urban population of bats:

- Bats can slip through openings the size of a dime, so identifying their entry points is tricky. They usually find their way in through chimney tops, vents, open doors or windows, broken screens, eaves and loose roof shingles.

- Warm weather drives bats from colonies within upper walls and attics to lower areas in houses.  During the daytime, bats sleepwalk down the spaces behind interior walls, later finding openings leading into houses’ living spaces where they fly about in confusion.

- Urban bat colonies tend to be quite small while buildings in rural areas can have populations that number in the hundreds. Rural populations are higher because of access to insects.

- A single bat can eat three times its weight in insects every night.

- This summer animal wilflife control companies in the area say calls for help soared in the recent heat wave  (more than 100 calls a day).

- The explosion of calls is also likely related to worries over a recent warning from the city’s health department that a dead bat in the Ottawa area was found to have rabies.

- Most of the bats are non-migratory big brown bats whose urban populations seem not to have been decimated by white-nose syndrome (WNS), a deadly fungal disease that has killed millions of mostly smaller bats in Canada and the U.S.

Information from Ottawa Citizen Article:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Long+summer+brings+bats+home+roost+Ottawa/7073879/story.html

Image from: EKU Working Group


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For more information there is also a great post on a Big Brown Bat visitor on Seabrooke Leckie's Blog - The Marvelous in Nature.

The Royal Ontario Museum has a "Listen to the Night: Bats of Ontario" exhibition that can be rented which covers the following topics:   Diversity, Health, Hibernation,  Summer Roosts, Cave Roosts,  Attic Roosts, Tree Roosting, Flight, Senses,  Echolocation,  Conservation and Current Research.

bats + golf = hole in one

Saw this on the Weather Network earlier this year - thought it was such a great idea:

"Golf Courses Look to Bat Houses to Help Control Mosquito Population"

May 12, 2012 — Staff Writers — The last distraction any golfer needs on the course is those pesty mosquitoes. Now, several golf courses across Vancouver are hoping bats can help control those little blood-suckers.

 

More info here: The Weather Network

Image from The Weather Network