Montana’s Bat and White-Nose Syndrome Surveillance Efforts

Montana’s bat populations face a wide array of conservation issues, including loss of roosting sites, collision and drowning hazards at sites where they forage and drink, barotrauma and collision hazards at wind farms, and the potential arrival of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the cold-adapted soil fungus that causes White-Nose Syndrome and has decimated bat populations in eastern North America. These conservation issues, and the low reproductive output of bats, highlight the need to gather baseline information that can be used to mitigate impacts to populations. Beginning in the fall of 2011, a collaborative effort was initiated to document roost habitat characteristics and yearround spatial and temporal activity patterns of Montana’s bats. To-date, collaborators have deployed over 30 temperature and relative humidity data loggers near known winter bat roosts; most known bat hibernacula in Montana are now being monitored. Collaborators have also established a statewide array of 50 passive ultrasonic detector/recorder stations that are deployed year-round and powered by solar panels and deep cycle batteries. Through January 2014, these recording stations have resulted in more than 2.35 million sound files containing more than 7.5 terabytes of information. Highlights to-date include numerous first records of species in regions with previously limited bat survey effort, numerous first records of bat activity during the fall, winter, and spring months, documentation of temperatures at which bats are active year-round, documentation of winter bat roost temperatures, documentation of nightly activity patterns throughout the year, and the potential year-round presence of species previously considered migratory

Montana’s Bat And White-Nose Syndrome Surveillance Efforts

Montana’s bat populations face a wide array of conservation issues, including loss of roosting sites, collision and drowning hazards at sites where they forage and drink, barotrauma and collision hazards at wind farms, and the potential arrival of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the cold-adapted soil fungus that causes White-Nose Syndrome and has decimated bat populations in eastern North America. These conservation issues, and the low reproductive output of bats, highlight the need to gather baseline information that can be used to mitigate impacts to populations. Beginning in the fall of 2011, a collaborative effort was initiated to document roost habitat characteristics and year-round spatial and temporal activity patterns of Montana’s bats.  To-date, collaborators have deployed over 30 temperature and relative humidity data loggers near known winter bat roosts; most known bat hibernacula in Montana are now being monitored. Collaborators have also established a statewide array of 50 passive ultrasonic detector/recorder stations that are deployed year-round and powered by solar panels and deep cycle batteries. Through January 2014, these recording stations have resulted in more than 2.35 million sound files containing more than 7.5 terabytes of information. Highlights to-date include numerous first records of species in regions with previously limited bat survey effort, numerous first records of bat activity during the fall, winter, and spring months, documentation of temperatures at which bats are active year-round, documentation of winter bat roost temperatures, documentation of nightly activity patterns throughout the year, and the potential year-round presence of species previously considered migratory

Montana’s Bat Acoustic Surveillance Efforts: Pre-White-Nose Syndrome (Oral Presentation and Poster)

Montana’s bat species face a wide array of conservation issues that threaten the long-term viability of these populations. The potential arrival of White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) may be the single greatest threat as mortality has exceeded 95% for some bat populations in eastern North America. A collaborative effort was initiated in 2011 to document year-round spatial and temporal activity patterns of Montana’s bats prior to WNS arrival. In the last 4 years, we have deployed a network of over 60 Song Meter ultrasonic acoustic detector/recorder stations programmed to record bat passes from sunset to sunrise year-round. Through late December of 2014, these recording stations have resulted in more than 3.9 million full spectrum sound files containing more than 12.5 terabytes of information. Processing and automated analyses have been completed for all sound files and over 30,000 bat passes have been reviewed by hand using an updated Montana bat call characteristics key to definitively confirm the presence of species during each month of the year, identify the lowest temperatures at which individual bat species are active, and track overall bat activity, regardless of species, at each station. Highlights to-date include: 1421 new records of monthly species presence throughout the state, numerous first records of species’ activity during the fall, winter, and spring months, numerous first records of species in regions with previously limited bat survey effort, documentation of nightly activity patterns throughout the year and regular winter activity for a few resident species, and the year-round presence of species previously considered migratory

Montana’s Bat Acoustic Surveillance Efforts: an Update (Poster)

Montana’s bat species face a wide array of conservation issues that threaten their long-term viability.  A collaborative effort was initiated in 2011 to document year-round activity patterns of Montana’s bats prior to the arrival of White-nose Syndrome as mortality has exceeded 95% for some bat populations effected by this disease in eastern North America.  In the last 5 years, we have deployed a network of over 76 Song Meter ultrasonic acoustic detector/recorder stations programmed to record bat passes from sunset to sunrise year-round. Through late December 2015, these recording stations have resulted in more than 7.2 million full spectrum sound files containing nearly 13 terabytes of information. Processing and automated analyses have been completed for all sound files and over 43,000 bat passes have been reviewed by hand using an updated Montana bat call characteristics key to definitively confirm the presence of species during each month of the year, identify the lowest temperatures at which individual bat species are active, and track overall bat activity, regardless of species, at each station. Highlights to-date include: 2,104 new records of monthly species presence in various landscapes across the region, numerous first records of species’ activity during the fall, winter, and spring months, numerous first records of species in regions with previously limited survey effort, documentation of nightly activity patterns throughout the year, regular winter activity for a few resident species, the year-round presence of species previously considered migratory, and exciting patterns of activity relative to temperature, wind speed, barometric pressure, and moonlight

Montana’s Bat Acoustic Surveillance Efforts: Pre-White-Nose Syndrome (Oral Presentation and Poster)

Montana’s bat species face a wide array of conservation issues that threaten the long-term viability of these populations. The potential arrival of White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) may be the single greatest threat as mortality has exceeded 95% for some bat populations in eastern North America. A collaborative effort was initiated in 2011 to document year-round spatial and temporal activity patterns of Montana’s bats prior to WNS arrival. In the last 4 years, we have deployed a network of over 60 Song Meter ultrasonic acoustic detector/recorder stations programmed to record bat passes from sunset to sunrise year-round. Through late December of 2014, these recording stations have resulted in more than 3.9 million full spectrum sound files containing more than 12.5 terabytes of information. Processing and automated analyses have been completed for all sound files and over 30,000 bat passes have been reviewed by hand using an updated Montana bat call characteristics key to definitively confirm the presence of species during each month of the year, identify the lowest temperatures at which individual bat species are active, and track overall bat activity, regardless of species, at each station. Highlights to-date include: 1421 new records of monthly species presence throughout the state, numerous first records of species’ activity during the fall, winter, and spring months, numerous first records of species in regions with previously limited bat survey effort, documentation of nightly activity patterns throughout the year and regular winter activity for a few resident species, and the year-round presence of species previously considered migratory

Montana’s Winter Bat Roost and White-Nose Syndrome Surveillance Efforts (Oral Presentation and Poster)

White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), caused by the cold-adapted soil fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, has killed an estimated 5.7 to 6.7 million bats in eastern North America since 2006 and has spread westward to states along the Mississippi River corridor as well as the province of Ontario.  With at least 9 of Montana’s 15 known bat species facing potentially devastating increases in mortality from WNS, a collaborative effort was initiated in the fall of 2011 to document the species composition, number, degree of clustering, and roost temperatures and humidities of bats winter roosting in caves and mines.  To-date, collaborators have surveyed over 50 caves and mines, deploying over 30 temperature and relative humidity data loggers near winter roosting bats; most known bat hibernacula In Montana are now being monitored.  Most caves and mines surveyed to date support only small numbers of winter roosting bats; typically less than ten roosting in isolation or clusters of two to three.  A handful of caves have 50-1750 winter roosting bats with clusters of up to 40 individuals.  Many of the caves that have been surveyed have temperatures and humidities that appear to be capable of supporting P. destructans, but PCR-based testing of bat and substrate swabs have tested negative for its presence so far.  The majority of Montana bats apparently winter roost away from mines or caves that are accessible to, or known by, humans and these roosts need to be located and assessed for their ability to support P. destructans

Montana’s Winter Bat Roost and White-Nose Syndrome Surveillance Efforts (Oral Presentation and Poster)

White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), caused by the cold-adapted soil fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, has killed an estimated 5.7 to 6.7 million bats in eastern North America since 2006 and has spread westward to states along the Mississippi River corridor as well as the province of Ontario.  With at least 9 of Montana’s 15 known bat species facing potentially devastating increases in mortality from WNS, a collaborative effort was initiated in the fall of 2011 to document the species composition, number, degree of clustering, and roost temperatures and humidities of bats winter roosting in caves and mines.  To-date, collaborators have surveyed over 50 caves and mines, deploying over 30 temperature and relative humidity data loggers near winter roosting bats; most known bat hibernacula in Montana are now being monitored.  Most caves and mines surveyed to date support only small numbers of winter roosting bats; typically less than ten roosting in isolation or clusters of two to three.  A handful of caves have 50-1750 winter roosting bats with clusters of up to 40 individuals.  Many of the caves that have been surveyed have temperatures and humidities that appear to be capable of supporting P. destructans, but PCR-based testing of bat and substrate swabs have tested negative for its presence so far.  The majority of Montana bats apparently winter roost away from mines or caves that are accessible to, or known by, humans and these roosts need to be located and assessed for their ability to support P. destructans

Statwide Efforts to Monitor Year-Round Bat Activity Patterns and Characterize Cave and Mine Roost Habitats

Montana’s bat populations face a wide array of conservation issues, including loss of roosting sites, pesticide impacts to prey species, collision and drowning hazards at sites where they forage and drink, barotrauma and collisions with wind turbines, and the potential arrival of Geomyces destructans, the cold-adapted soil fungus that causes White-Nose Syndrome and has decimated bat populations in eastern North America. These conservation issues, and the low reproductive output of bats, highlight the need to gather baseline information that can be used to mitigate impacts to populations. Beginning in the fall of 2011, a collaborative effort was initiated to document roost habitat characteristics and year-round spatial and temporal activity patterns of Montana’s bats. To-date, collaborators have deployed over 30 temperature and relative humidity data loggers near known winter bat roosts; most known bat hibernacula in Montana are now being monitored. Collaborators have also established a nearly statewide array of 42 passive ultrasonic detector/recorder stations that are deployed year-round and powered by solar panels and deep cycle batteries. Through December 2012, these recording stations have resulted in more than 750,000 sound files containing nearly 3 terabytes of information. Highlights to-date include numerous first records of species in regions with previously limited bat survey effort, numerous first records of bat activity during the fall, winter, and spring months, documentation of temperatures at which bats are active year-round, documentation of winter bat roost temperatures, documentation of nightly activity patterns throughout the year, and the potential year-round presence of species previously considered migratory