Wisconsin Bat Conservation & Management Plan Citizen-based Monitoring David Redell Bat Ecologist Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Bureau of Endangered Resources Ecological Inventory & Monitoring Section

Outline Bats Introduction UK National Bat Monitoring Program Wisconsin Bat Plan –Incorporating Citizen-based Monitoring Ultrasound detection surveys Hibernacula monitoring

Introducing - Bats Class-Mammalia. Order-Chiroptera ~1000 known bats - about 1/4 of all mammals. Among mammalian orders, bats are probably unsurpassed in terms of ecological and morphological diversity. Bats are an important natural predator of night- flying insects in WI

Bats are vulnerable to extinction –slowest reproducing mammals for their size –most producing only one young annually. More than 50% of American bat species are in decline or already listed as endangered Loss of bats increases demand for chemical pesticides can jeopardize whole ecosystems of other plant and animal spp can harm human economies

The little brown bat –world's longest lived mammal for its size, –life-spans sometimes exceeding 32 years. All mammals can contract rabies; however –< 0.5% of bats get rabies –normally bite in self-defense –pose little threat to people A colony of 150 big brown bats can protect local farmers from up to 33 million or more rootworms each summer.

7, 8, or 9 WI BAT Species Family: Vespertilionidae Myotis lucifugus Little brown bat Myotis septentrionalisNorthern long-eared Pipistrellus subflavusEastern pipistrelle Eptesicus fuscusBig brown bat Lasiurus borealisRed bat Lasiurus cinereusHoary bat Lasionycteris noctivagansSilver-haired bat ??? Myotis sodalis Indiana bat ??? Nycticeius humeralis???Evening bat

UK “Despite the best efforts of many committed naturalists and biologists providing data on localised populations of bats, there has been no structured framework for monitoring bat populations at a national level. The National Bat Monitoring Programme was intended to fill this gap and provide the information on population so urgently needed for conservation and management.”

Workshop & Volunteer Distributions

Volunteer Recruitment Methods Talks Workshops Word of Mouth Roost owner leaflets Bat detector leaflets Internet Magazine Articles

Volunteer Options Transect surveys Hibernacula surveys Waterway routes Summer roost site monitoring Etc. Depending on a volunteer’s location, training, experience and time availability

Transect route example

Bat detector surveys Roost site surveys Pipistrelle roosts / occasional records Serotines present absent

Winter & Summer Roost distribution of the Natterer’s bat

Winter & Summer Roost distribution of the Serotine bat

Winter & Summer Roost distribution of the Pipistrelle bat

Wisconsin Bat Conservation & Management Plan (WBCMP)

WBCMP 2005 The Goals of the WI Bat Conservation & Management Plan A functional plan that sets future directions and adapts to new information. Identify where on the landscape Wisconsin’s eight known species of bats exist throughout their entire natural history cycle, including habitat relationships. Identify the geography, behavior and variability associated with their nightly and seasonal movements. Locate areas in Wisconsin having high and low relative abundance of each bat species. Monitor and identify statewide population trends. Outline conservation needs, priority management actions, and ways to measure plan effectiveness. Utilize the information gathered in a management of natural resources context—specifically, having the best available information, collected, analyzed, interpreted and readily accessible to all appropriate decision makers.

WBCMP Phase I Plan, Infrastructure design, and Methods development Develop Wisconsin Bat Conservation & Management Plan Utilize a statewide GIS-based data mapping system.... Identify issues related to bat impacts... Develop a P.I.T. tag detection & monitoring system. Identify & survey known and possible bat hibernacula. 1.Develop reference library of bat echolocation calls for species ID model. 2.Develop system for monitoring major hibernacula. 3.Develop statewide citizen-based monitoring network for monitoring bat activity on the landscape.

Using meaningful classifications for analyses

Western Coulee & Ridges Ecological Landscape Ownership Land cover

North Central Forest Ecological Landscape Land cover Ownership

Detecting, Recording, and Analyzing Bat Vocalizations

Capture Methods Capture Methods Harp Traps

Reference Call Library Chemoluminescent tags on released bats

Big brown bat Little brown bat - Species Reference - Ultrasound detector recordings

Eastern Red bat Hoary bat - Species Reference - Ultrasound detector recordings

Eastern Pipistrelle Silver-haired bat Reference Ultrasound detector recordings

Example of variation in a single pass of one species

Long-term monitoring station bat detector & weather data

Hibernacula Monitoring Monitor changes in populations Identify natural population dynamics Identify significant trends Outline conservation actions

Infrared beam-break counters

Infrared photo-beam calibration INcountsOUT counts IN – OUT = Net movement (Census)

Comparing counts for 2 years

Thus, an estimate for the over-wintering bat population at the Neda Mine is between 140,223 and 146,083 bats How many bats at other WI hibernacula ? Summer roosts ??

Acknowledgements Ecological Inventory & Monitoring Section WI DNR Ecological Inventory & Monitoring Section UW Madison Dept of Wildlife Ecology, Bat Conservation International, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Milwaukee County Zoological Society Scott Craven, Stan Gehrt, Gerald Bartelt, Maureen Rowe, Dan Shurilla, Herb Guenther, Matt Conger, Travis Holte Wisconsin Bat Crew: Wisconsin Bat Crew: Angela ‘by night’ Engelman, Annemarie Kalson, & Michael Watt