1. BATS

2. Bats are a symbol of luck in Chinese culture. In the Chinese symbol WU-FU, the five bats representing health, wealth, long life, good luck, and happiness circle the Tree of Life.

5. SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION KINGDOM: Animalia PHYLUM: Chordata CLASS: Mammalia ORDER: Chiroptera (hand wing) –SUBORDER: Megachiroptera & Microchiroptera FAMILY: 18 families GENUS SPECIES: 180 genera, over 900 species

6. Megachiroptera Megabats (old world fruit bats) This suborder includes the flying foxes All megabats eat fruit, nectar or pollen. They do not echolocate. They do not hibernate. They are diurnal. They are found in the Old World Tropics and are important seed dispersers.

7. Indian flying fox

12. Microchiroptera Microbats (new world bats) The majority are insectivorous Eat insects, nectar, fruit, pollen, fish, scorpions, blood, & small mammals Highly specialized echolocation

13. Feeding Strategies

14. Bat Biology Bats are mammals: have hair, give birth to live young and feed young milk from mammary glands. There are over 900 species of bats worldwide. Bats are second to rodents in numbers and make up ¼ of all mammal species. There are 42 species in the US and 18 in the eastern US. They are primarily nocturnal.

15. Bats vary in size ranging from 2 grams (bumble bee bat) to 2 pounds (flying foxes). They are the only mammals capable of true flight. The bones located in their wings are the same as those located in a human hand but have become elongated. Bats have the ability to reduce their metabolism on a day to day basis as well as seasonally – this is called torpor

16. Echolocation Although bats have relatively good eyesight, insectivorous species rely on echolocation to navigate and capture insects. Echolocation is a type of sonar. Bats emit high frequency pulses not audible to human ears. The echoes reflected back allow bats to maneuver and find prey. They can detect objects as fine as human hair.

17. ECHOLOCATION

19. SOUTHEASTERN BATS

20. 1. Little brown bat Myotis lucifugus –Can catch up to 500 insects per hr –Can live close to 30 yrs –Cave dweller

21. 2. Southeastern bat - Myotis austroriparious –This species is adaptable to man-made structures –Cave dweller

23. 3. Gray bat - Myotis grisescens ** Endangered –Because most individuals roost in only a few select caves in a given area – they are listed as federally endangered –Cave dweller

24. 4. Long-eared myotis Myotis septentrionalis –Primarily a cave dweller and less gregarious than the other species of Myotis –Cave dweller

25. 5. Indiana bat – Myotis sodalis ** Endangered –Form extremely large wintering colonies which makes them vulnerable –Listed as federally endangered –Cave dweller

26. 6.Small-footed myotis Myotis lebii -Smallest eastern US bat -Among the hardiest -Cave dweller

27. 7.Eastern pipistrelle Pipistrellus subflavus - Common throughout the US -Give birth to twins -Cave dweller

28. 8.Big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus -Relatively abundant -Summer in man- made structures -Winter in caves so they are classified as cave dwellers

29. 9.Rafinesque’s big-eared bat Plecotus rafinesquii -Least known of all eastern bats -Emerge to feed late -Cave dweller

30. 10.Townsend’s big-eared bat – Plecotus townsendii ** Endangered -Large ears funnel sound into ear canal, and may also provide lift during flight and assist with temperature regulation. -Cave dweller

31. 11.Red bat – Lasiurus borealis -Common and numerous -spend daylight hours hanging in tree foliage usually by one leg to resemble dead leaves -Winter in hollow trees – tree dweller

33. 12.Seminole bat Lasiurus seminolus -Roost in Spanish moss so their distribution nearly coincides with that of Spanish moss -Classified as a tree dweller

34. 13.Hoary bat – Lasiurus cinereus -Most wide-spread US bat -Only land mammal endemic to Hawaii -Tree-dweller

35. 14.N. yellow bat – Lasiurus intermedius -Also roost in Spanish moss so their distribution nearly coincides with that of Spanish moss -Larger than the Seminole bat – considered a tree dweller

36. 15.Silver-haired bat Lasionycteris noctivagans -Relatively scarce throughout their range -Roost under loose tree bark -Hibernate in trees and buildings

37. 16. Evening bat Nyctecius humeralis - Inhabit tree cavities and building in summer. - Winter roosts are unknown - Tree dwellers

38. 17.Brazilian free-tailed bat - Tadarida brasiliensis -Approximately 20 million migrate from Mexico in summer to raise their young in Bracken Cave TX -This colony forms the largest concentration of mammals in the world

39. VAMPIRE BATS

40. Vampire Bats Only 3 species out of over 900 are sanguinivorous. Two of the species prefer avian blood and are less numerous: 1.White-winged vampire bat (Diaemus youngi) 2. Hairy-legged vampire bat (Diphylla ecaudata)

41. The third species is the most abundant and prefers mammalian blood: 3. Common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus)

42. Vampire bats roost in caves, mines, tree hollows and occasionally abandoned buildings. They forage in early evening, usually traveling no further than 5-8 Km (approximately 3-5 miles). Vampire bats are very adept in terrestrial locomotion. They have elongated thumbs that aid in moving around. Vampire bats are capable of jumping straight up and flying. This technique is uncommon in other bats. Vampire bats have the fewest teeth of all bats.

43. The most fascinating adaptation is in the saliva of vampire bats. Their saliva contains 2 active ingredients to keep the blood flowing, allowing them to eat. 1.An anticoagulant is the main ingredient and prevents the blood from congealing. 2.The last ingredient inhibits constriction of veins under the wound. There has been a drug developed from research on the anticoagulant in vampire bat's saliva called Draculin, which is used to treat heart patients.

44. Vampire bats need 2 tablespoons of blood each day. They can eat approximately 1.5 times their body weight in the wild. The common vampire bat can not go 2 nights without food, otherwise it starves to death. They feed on blood from cows, pigs, horses, and birds. Though uncommon, vampire bats even occasionally bite humans for blood.

46. Migration Bats migrate b/c their food (insects) is not available in the winter. Most SE cave bats spend the winter hibernating in caves and move to trees or buildings in the summer. Tree bats seldom enter caves. Several species migrate between summer and winter habitat. Cave bats are extremely loyal to certain caves and even location in the cave.

47. Hibernation True hibernation requires a reduction in temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, and metabolism. Bats reduce temp from 100° F to 40-60°F or the temp of surroundings. Heart rate slows from 1000 beats/min to only 15 beats/min.

48. A bat can survive 5-6 months of hibernation on only a few grams of stored fat. They lose ¼ - ½ of its weight while hibernating. When hibernating bats are disturbed, they burn a large portion of their fat stores and risk starving before insects are available.

49. Reproduction Most Southeastern bats species: –Breed in the fall. Females store the sperm or store the embryo until the spring when fertilization occurs. –Gestate only a few weeks. –Give birth to one pup a year, although some give birth to two, three, or four pups. –Give birth while the mother is hanging upside down. The newborn locates the nipple and suckles until the cord breaks off about two days later.

50. **For some types of bats the fertilization takes place right after mating, but then the fertilized egg stops developing for several months. –Pups are volant after two – five weeks. –Live up to 30 years.

51. Zoonotic Disease One that can be transmitted from animals to humans. In this case rabies and histoplasmosis.

52. Rabies All mammals can carry rabies. Any wild mammal, like a raccoon, skunk, fox, coyote, or bat, can have rabies and transmit it to people. Bat rabies accounts for approximately one human death per year in the United States. A few people die of rabies each year in the United States, usually because they do not recognize the risk of rabies from the bite of a wild animal and do not seek medical advice.

53. A wide variety of mammals can contract the disease, but it is most often noticed in dogs, cats, foxes, raccoons, skunks, coyotes, bats, and livestock. Worldwide, more than 30,000 humans die of rabies each year, 99% of these cases resulting from contact with dogs. In the United States, due to highly successful dog vaccination programs, transmission from dogs is now rare, eliminating the vast majority of human cases. It is best never to handle any bat.

58. Histoplasmosis The only other disease of public health concern in the United States is Histoplasmosis, which is caused by a fungus, Histoplasma capsulatum. This fungus lives in nitrogen rich soil enriched by bird or bat droppings. The vast majority of histoplasmosis cases in humans are asymptomatic or involve no more than flu-like symptoms, though a few individuals may become seriously ill, especially if exposed to large quantities of spore-laden dust.

59. Benefits of Bats Bats are primary predators of vast numbers of insect pests that cost farmers and foresters billions of dollars annually and spread human disease. In the United States, little brown bats often eat mosquitoes and can catch up to 1,200 tiny insects in an hour. Bats play key roles in keeping a wide variety of insect populations in balance. Throughout the tropics, seed dispersal and pollination activities by bats are vital to rain forest survival.

60. Protection Cave gates are installed not only to protect the public from dangers of open mine shafts, but also to maintain the habitat that is so critical to the bats that use these mines.

62. Corrected Myths Bats are shy, gentle, clean creatures. Bats are not blind. They are neither rodents nor birds. They will not suck your blood. Most do not have rabies. They do not get tangled in hair

64. The best way to fight prejudice is to become educated.