Bats of Kansas

In memory of Curtis J. Schmidt (1977-2022) Invariably, our most feared neighbors on planet earth are the animals that we know the least about. Almost as frequently, when people are exposed to these animals, the fear turns quickly to fascination. Unfortunately, many of these animals are accessible only to the professional scientist. Though science has made great strides in understanding the basic biology and behaviors of many of our least-known animals, this information is generally kept locked away from the general public by the dry, technical language of science. In this publication, it is our hope to open your eyes to the world of perhaps the last great, misunderstood group of animals-the bats. Further, it is our hope, by dispensing (as much as possible) with technical language, to bring across the intense fascination that we share for these animals and to infect you with that same fascination. In order to accomplish our task we have prepared the book in five sections. Because our main goal is to open your eyes to the fascinating world of bats, we have designed the first section to answer the most often asked questions about bats. The second provides a key to the bats of Kansas so that you can identify any bat you discover. In the third section we introduce you to the sixteen species that are known to occur in Kansas. As is the case for human neighbors, there may be bats in Kansas that we haven\u27t met yet. The fourth section describes these species of possible occurrence and tells you where to look for them. Unfortunately, we have only a limited amount of space, so the fifth section tells you how to find additional information

Bats of the Loess Hills Ecoregion of Southeast Nebraska

We surveyed bats at 49 sites in the Loess Hills Ecoregion of southeastern Nebraska, along the western edge of the eastern forest biome in eastern Richardson, Nemaha, and Otoe counties. We completed this study shortly before the northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) was listed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act. The expectation of listing, along with potential presence of the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), motivated the study. We captured 183 bats of five species: eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) (n = 103; 56 %), big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) (n = 47; 26 %), evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis) (n = 27; 15 %), hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) (n = 4; 2 %), and northern long-eared bat (n = 2; 1 %). The mean catch per net site was 3.7 bats (SD = 4.8). The Eastern red bat was captured most commonly and at the most sites. We established the first record of this species from Nemaha County, with reproduction documented in all three counties. More reproductive female red bats were captured than adult males. Big brown bat captures consisted of approximately equal proportions adult males, reproductive females, and volant young of year. We established the first records for big brown bat reproduction in Otoe and Nemaha counties. Only reproductive female and juvenile evening bats were captured, with geographic and reproductive records established for all three counties. Captures of the hoary bat, a lactating female at one site and two juveniles at another, represented a Nemaha County geographic and reproductive record. We radio-tagged a non-reproductive female and an adult male northern long-eared bat from Otoe County and tracked them to roosts along the Missouri River, 3.43 and 2.03 km from the net site, respectively. We completed four emergence counts at each roost, with each bat exiting its respective roost on only one evening and neither bat visiting the other roost. We never documented more than three individuals exiting each roost on a given night. Overall, this study documented relatively low abundance, species richness, and species diversity when compared to studies in the eastern United States

Diet of the Myotis Sodalis (Indiana Bat) at an Urban/Rural Interface

We conducted a study of the diet of the federally endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) at an urban/rural interface near Indianapolis International Airport in summer 2004. We used two 1-m2quadrats covered with window screening to collect guano under a known roost tree. We then examined 20 fecal pellets/week until the bats abandoned the roost (i.e., 13 weeks). The most common orders of insects eaten were: Lepidoptera (35.3% volume, 84.6% frequency), Diptera (27.9%, 73.2%), Coleoptera (16.9%, 62.9%), and Hymenoptera (10.9%, 45.9%). Components of the diet at the ordinal level varied significantly over time. Despite the developed nature of the site, the diet consisted of the same components reported in earlier studies

Scavenger removal of bird carcasses at simulated wind turbines: Does carcass type matter?

Wind energy development can negatively impact bird populations due to bird–turbine collisions. To accurately estimate bird mortality at wind farms, the number of dead birds found under turbines is commonly corrected for carcass removal by scavengers, which is quantified by measuring persistence of experimental carcasses through time. These studies often use domestic birds as surrogates because carcasses of wild birds (e.g., raptors) are difficult to obtain. We assessed scavenger removal of carcasses from five bird species at simulated turbines to determine whether domestic surrogates are scavenged at a different rate than raptors, species of interest for wind turbine mortality. The percentage of carcasses scavenged during 14-d rounds ranged from 34.6% for American kestrels (Falco sparverius) to 65.4% for chickens (Gallus gallus), and the percentage of carcasses completely removed ranged from 13.5% for red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) to 67.3% for northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus). Carcass type (i.e., species) was the only predictor included in the best-fit logistic regression model of complete carcass removal, and a survival analysis indicated carcass type influenced elapsed time to scavenging events. Our results suggest the use of surrogate species to quantify carcass removal at wind turbines could lead to inaccurate mortality estimates

Case Study: Upland Ponds Provide On-Site Mitigation for Bat Habitat Along American Electric Power’s 765-kV Powerline ROW in the Appalachian Mountains, USA

Initially, mitigation for protected species in the United States was project-specific, in-kind, and on-site, benefiting local populations of focal species. Recent mitigation policy uses in-lieu fees and mitigation banks, consolidating mitigation at large off-site locations, targeting regional population. This is true for the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), a species that roosts in trees and forages along many types of woodland edges. Drinking water is essential but considered ubiquitous and rarely factored into mitigation. In high-relief areas, runoff is rapid, precipitation is low, and evapotranspiration is high in late summer, limiting drinking pools for lactating females and juveniles. In Virginia’s Ridge and Valley region, our on-site mitigation paired ponds, roost boxes, and edge foraging habitat along a new electric transmission line right-of-way (ROW). During mitigation, white-nose syndrome (a fungal disease) decimated populations of this and four additional species of bats, which we included in analyses. Mitigation metrics were abundance, presence of focal species, species richness, and species diversity. The Indiana bat was known regionally, and an adult male was captured pre-construction along the ROW but not at mitigation sites; the species was recoded acoustically at a mitigation site post-construction. For other focal species, abundance (total and reproductive females), was dramatically greater post-mitigation. Species richness and diversity increased severalfold post-mitigation

Clinical outcomes resulting from telemedicine interventions: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: The use of telemedicine is growing, but its efficacy for achieving comparable or improved clinical outcomes has not been established in many medical specialties. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the efficacy of telemedicine interventions for health outcomes in two classes of application: home-based and office/hospital-based. METHODS: Data sources for the study included deports of studies from the MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and HealthSTAR databases; searching of bibliographies of review and other articles; and consultation of printed resources as well as investigators in the field. We included studies that were relevant to at least one of the two classes of telemedicine and addressed the assessment of efficacy for clinical outcomes with data of reported results. We excluded studies where the service did not historically require face-to-face encounters (e.g., radiology or pathology diagnosis). All included articles were abstracted and graded for quality and direction of the evidence. RESULTS: A total of 25 articles met inclusion criteria and were assessed. The strongest evidence for the efficacy of telemedicine in clinical outcomes comes from home-based telemedicine in the areas of chronic disease management, hypertension, and AIDS. The value of home glucose monitoring in diabetes mellitus is conflicting. There is also reasonable evidence that telemedicine is comparable to face-to-face care in emergency medicine and is beneficial in surgical and neonatal intensive care units as well as patient transfer in neurosurgery. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the widespread use of telemedicine in virtually all major areas of health care, evidence concerning the benefits of its use exists in only a small number of them. Further randomized controlled trials must be done to determine where its use is most effective

The Evolution of Compact Binary Star Systems

We review the formation and evolution of compact binary stars consisting of white dwarfs (WDs), neutron stars (NSs), and black holes (BHs). Binary NSs and BHs are thought to be the primary astrophysical sources of gravitational waves (GWs) within the frequency band of ground-based detectors, while compact binaries of WDs are important sources of GWs at lower frequencies to be covered by space interferometers (LISA). Major uncertainties in the current understanding of properties of NSs and BHs most relevant to the GW studies are discussed, including the treatment of the natal kicks which compact stellar remnants acquire during the core collapse of massive stars and the common envelope phase of binary evolution. We discuss the coalescence rates of binary NSs and BHs and prospects for their detections, the formation and evolution of binary WDs and their observational manifestations. Special attention is given to AM CVn-stars -- compact binaries in which the Roche lobe is filled by another WD or a low-mass partially degenerate helium-star, as these stars are thought to be the best LISA verification binary GW sources.Comment: 105 pages, 18 figure

Political discourse and gendered welfare reform: a case study of the UK coalition government

In the UK, as in many other countries, welfare reform in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis has had a detrimental effect on gender equality. Between 2010 and 2015 the UK Coalition government initiated far-reaching cuts to public spending, as well as an increase in welfare conditionality. These reforms have hit women harder than men as they are more likely to rely on welfare benefits and services due to unpaid care responsibilities. Many have suggested that the way in which issues are represented by policymakers can limit what can be conceived as appropriate policy solutions. In line with this, Bacchi’s What’s the problem represented to be? (WPR) approach is used in this article to interrogate the way in which welfare was problematised by the UK Coalition government. Findings suggest that the Coalition’s represented reform as necessary to make work pay, with ‘work’ promoted as paid work and unpaid care work (predominantly undertaken by women) ignored. It also highlights the ways in which the Coalition’s promotion of paid work silenced the necessity and value of care, allowing for the implementation of welfare reforms which have disproportionately disadvantaged women and exacerbated gender inequality

The "Statinth" wonder of the world: a panacea for all illnesses or a bubble about to burst

After the introduction of statins in the market as effective lipid lowering agents, they were shown to have effects other than lipid lowering. These actions were collectively referred to as 'pleiotropic actions of statins.' Pleiotropism of statins formed the basis for evaluating statins for several indications other than lipid lowering. Evidence both in favour and against is available for several of these indications. The current review attempts to critically summarise the available data for each of these indications

State of the climate in 2018

In 2018, the dominant greenhouse gases released into Earth’s atmosphere—carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—continued their increase. The annual global average carbon dioxide concentration at Earth’s surface was 407.4 ± 0.1 ppm, the highest in the modern instrumental record and in ice core records dating back 800 000 years. Combined, greenhouse gases and several halogenated gases contribute just over 3 W m−2 to radiative forcing and represent a nearly 43% increase since 1990. Carbon dioxide is responsible for about 65% of this radiative forcing. With a weak La Niña in early 2018 transitioning to a weak El Niño by the year’s end, the global surface (land and ocean) temperature was the fourth highest on record, with only 2015 through 2017 being warmer. Several European countries reported record high annual temperatures. There were also more high, and fewer low, temperature extremes than in nearly all of the 68-year extremes record. Madagascar recorded a record daily temperature of 40.5°C in Morondava in March, while South Korea set its record high of 41.0°C in August in Hongcheon. Nawabshah, Pakistan, recorded its highest temperature of 50.2°C, which may be a new daily world record for April. Globally, the annual lower troposphere temperature was third to seventh highest, depending on the dataset analyzed. The lower stratospheric temperature was approximately fifth lowest. The 2018 Arctic land surface temperature was 1.2°C above the 1981–2010 average, tying for third highest in the 118-year record, following 2016 and 2017. June’s Arctic snow cover extent was almost half of what it was 35 years ago. Across Greenland, however, regional summer temperatures were generally below or near average. Additionally, a satellite survey of 47 glaciers in Greenland indicated a net increase in area for the first time since records began in 1999. Increasing permafrost temperatures were reported at most observation sites in the Arctic, with the overall increase of 0.1°–0.2°C between 2017 and 2018 being comparable to the highest rate of warming ever observed in the region. On 17 March, Arctic sea ice extent marked the second smallest annual maximum in the 38-year record, larger than only 2017. The minimum extent in 2018 was reached on 19 September and again on 23 September, tying 2008 and 2010 for the sixth lowest extent on record. The 23 September date tied 1997 as the latest sea ice minimum date on record. First-year ice now dominates the ice cover, comprising 77% of the March 2018 ice pack compared to 55% during the 1980s. Because thinner, younger ice is more vulnerable to melting out in summer, this shift in sea ice age has contributed to the decreasing trend in minimum ice extent. Regionally, Bering Sea ice extent was at record lows for almost the entire 2017/18 ice season. For the Antarctic continent as a whole, 2018 was warmer than average. On the highest points of the Antarctic Plateau, the automatic weather station Relay (74°S) broke or tied six monthly temperature records throughout the year, with August breaking its record by nearly 8°C. However, cool conditions in the western Bellingshausen Sea and Amundsen Sea sector contributed to a low melt season overall for 2017/18. High SSTs contributed to low summer sea ice extent in the Ross and Weddell Seas in 2018, underpinning the second lowest Antarctic summer minimum sea ice extent on record. Despite conducive conditions for its formation, the ozone hole at its maximum extent in September was near the 2000–18 mean, likely due to an ongoing slow decline in stratospheric chlorine monoxide concentration. Across the oceans, globally averaged SST decreased slightly since the record El Niño year of 2016 but was still far above the climatological mean. On average, SST is increasing at a rate of 0.10° ± 0.01°C decade−1 since 1950. The warming appeared largest in the tropical Indian Ocean and smallest in the North Pacific. The deeper ocean continues to warm year after year. For the seventh consecutive year, global annual mean sea level became the highest in the 26-year record, rising to 81 mm above the 1993 average. As anticipated in a warming climate, the hydrological cycle over the ocean is accelerating: dry regions are becoming drier and wet regions rainier. Closer to the equator, 95 named tropical storms were observed during 2018, well above the 1981–2010 average of 82. Eleven tropical cyclones reached Saffir–Simpson scale Category 5 intensity. North Atlantic Major Hurricane Michael’s landfall intensity of 140 kt was the fourth strongest for any continental U.S. hurricane landfall in the 168-year record. Michael caused more than 30 fatalities and $25 billion (U.S. dollars) in damages. In the western North Pacific, Super Typhoon Mangkhut led to 160 fatalities and$6 billion (U.S. dollars) in damages across the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Tropical Storm Son-Tinh was responsible for 170 fatalities in Vietnam and Laos. Nearly all the islands of Micronesia experienced at least moderate impacts from various tropical cyclones. Across land, many areas around the globe received copious precipitation, notable at different time scales. Rodrigues and Réunion Island near southern Africa each reported their third wettest year on record. In Hawaii, 1262 mm precipitation at Waipā Gardens (Kauai) on 14–15 April set a new U.S. record for 24-h precipitation. In Brazil, the city of Belo Horizonte received nearly 75 mm of rain in just 20 minutes, nearly half its monthly average. Globally, fire activity during 2018 was the lowest since the start of the record in 1997, with a combined burned area of about 500 million hectares. This reinforced the long-term downward trend in fire emissions driven by changes in land use in frequently burning savannas. However, wildfires burned 3.5 million hectares across the United States, well above the 2000–10 average of 2.7 million hectares. Combined, U.S. wildfire damages for the 2017 and 2018 wildfire seasons exceeded $40 billion (U.S. dollars)