USFWS & USGS Formal Agreement on the NABat Program
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey have signed a memorandum of understanding formalizing their joint leadership of the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat), a collaborative partnership focused on advancing bat conservation across North America. As co-leads of the NABat program, the two federal agencies will work to ensure the program remains sustainable and meets the needs of partners by providing coordination, technical assistance, data products and analyses that make it easier to apply bat monitoring data more effectively in support of conservation.
COSEWIC assessment and status report on Bats in Canada
The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) recently released their 2023 assessment and status report on the Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus), Eastern Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis) and Silver-haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans). COSEWIC status reports are working documents used in assigning the status of wildlife species suspected of being at risk. These species were designated as endangered in Canada in May 2023. Â
Turning bat caves into sanctuaries: Interview with Rodrigo MedellÃn
A hundred experts from Mexico, the United States and Canada worked together for the past two years to release the first report on the state of the 154 bat species that live in North America. Mexico is home to 142 species of bats, whose protection researchers say hinges on protecting their habitat, including at least 15 caves that they propose designating as bat sanctuaries. Rodrigo MedellÃn, a Mexican researcher who helped coordinate the report, spoke with Mongabay Latam last July about why bats are so important for both nature and humans.
DOE Requests Input on Offshore Wind Research and Development Needs
WETO seeks input from a broad range of offshore wind stakeholders and this information may be used to inform future funding opportunities.Â
This RFI seeks information across six categories related to U.S. offshore wind energy:Â
1) Floating Offshore Wind Platform Research and Development2) Alternative Fixed-Bottom Foundation Types and Installation Techniques3) Technology Advancement for Bird and Bat Research Offshore4) Understanding Supply Chain Needs for Offshore Wind Deployment in the Great Lakes Region5) Development of a Manufacturing and Supply Chain Consortium Based in the Great Lakes region6) Offshore Wind Workforce Readiness
BOEM Seeking Public Comments
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is seeking public comment on its:
• intent to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for theoffshore wind leases areas in central and northern California (due 20 February 2024);• draft PEIS for offshore wind leases areas in the New York Bight (due 26 February);• draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Beacon Wind project (due 4 March 2024);• intent to prepare an EA for the Oregon wind energy lease areas (due 15 March 2024).
Conferences
Mar 11 - 13: ACP Siting and Permitting Conference, Colorado Springs, CO, USAMar 25 - 29: North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, Grand Rapids, MI, USAMar 25 - 29: National Military Fish & Wildlife Association Annual Meeting, Grand Rapids, MI, USAApr 2 - 4: Midwest Bat Working Group Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, OH, USAJul 16 - 19: State of the Science 2024, Long Island, NY, USA
Check out the NABat Events page for a complete list of training webinars, meeting links, and all other upcoming events!
Seasonal Biological TechnicianÂ
Georgia's Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Conservation Section is offering 3 seasonal positions for summer-fall 2024. The employees will primarily be conducting acoustic and mist-net surveys for bats throughout Georgia. Applicants must be willing to work for long days (> 10 hours) under physically challenging conditions (e.g., hot days/nights walking through mixed habitats). Activities will include collecting bat acoustic calls using the NABat protocol, downloading and organizing call data, and conducting call analysis using bat call ID programs as well as mist-netting for bats. Other activities may include bridge and culvert surveys, other small mammal surveys and other work as needed. Travel to study sites will be by state vehicle, and travel expenses will be reimbursed. Lodging will be provided during surveys.
Email a cover letter, resume, and contact information for 3 references in a single PDF document to: Emily Ferrall, Wildlife Biologist GA DNR, Wildlife Conservation Section emily.ferrall@dnr.ga.gov. Applications are due March 1, 2024.
Data Manager
OSU Cascades is seeking to fill one full-time Research Analyst 3: Data Manager position for the Human and Ecosystem Resilience and Sustainability Lab, at Oregon State University-Cascades. Applications will be reviewed based on the information submitted on the employment profile with education and work history along with any other requested documentation i.e. posting specific question responses, transcripts, etc. Your profile MUST clearly show how you meet the minimum/required qualifications for the position. Resumes are NOT accepted at the application stage for this position.
To learn more about this position, click here.Â
Bats & Right of Ways Field Crew Lead
Bat Conservation International (BCI) seeks a Field Crew Lead to join BCI’s Science Team from April – October 2024. The Crew Lead will join a dynamic organization and a highly progressive team, reporting to the Director of Conservation Evidence. The Crew Lead will be responsible for project management and coordination, conducting and supervising fieldwork for bats in southern Illinois. Fieldwork will take place on power transmission right of ways between St. Louis, MO and Carbondale, IL. The Crew Lead will be responsible for supervising a field technician and collecting field data that include bat acoustic data, insect trapping, and vegetation monitoring. The Crew Lead will also ensure that data are transmitted to partners promptly. The Crew Lead will be expected to work 10 – 40 hours per week, with 40 hours per week more likely during the summer months (May – August).
To learn more about this position, click here.Â
Research Scientist
Bat Conservation International (BCI) seeks a Research Scientist to join BCI’s Science Team. The Research Scientist will join a dynamic organization and a highly progressive team of conservation scientists, reporting to the Director of White-nose Syndrome Research but located in State College, Pennsylvania, where they will work alongside biologists at Pennsylvania Game Commission. BCI is a distributed organization with staff across the United States and the Research Scientist must be located in and/or near State College, Pennsylvania.
To learn more about this position, click here.Â
February's Featured Resource: NABat R Package (nabatr)
The North American Bat Monitoring Program: R Data Connection Package can be used to extract and upload data to the NABat Monitoring Program through the GQL API. This software is written as a wrapper around the NABat GQL API. Documentation for the database and API can be found at https://sciencebase.usgs.gov/. This code includes the ability to reformat NABat data, upload NABat data, create reports, find GRTS cells, and more (see vignettes in package). This code does not support modeling and analysis of data.
Vignettes and Examples can be used to better understand/utilize the functionality of the code. Users may access data or connect to projects that they have permissions to in the NABat Partner Portal (NABat Website). Because permissions are defined NABat Partner Portal user accounts, users must have a partner portal account to interact with the NABat API. Accounts can be created via the Partner Portal.
If you are new to R, check out this guide to getting started with the NABat R package and this video tutorial that will walk you through the guidance.
NABat ML: Utilizing deep learning to enable crowdsourced development of automated, scalable solutions for documenting North American bat populations
USGS-FORT staff with the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) have released NABat ML—a machine learning model that classifies bat species from acoustic recordings. The development of this model was originally led by Ben Gotthold (USGS-FORT) and has been recently updated by Joe Chabarek (USGS-FORT). The model uses a deep-learning artificial network to create an algorithm that processes raw audio recording files, creates spectrogram images of detected pulses, and extracts bat pulses. NABat ML also validates and evaluates the classification algorithm’s performance on holdback data. The software is open source and reproducible, which makes it suitable for a wide range of stakeholders ranging from community science initiatives to big-data methods developed and implemented by researchers and professional practitioners. NABat ML reflects the transparency and accessibility that NABat encourages to accomplish broad-scale participation in bat monitoring and the development of innovative, community-driven conservation solutions.Â
To view NABat ML, click here.Â
New Species, Couplets, and Groupings Options Now Available
New options have been added for input in the NABat Database. These new species, couplets, and groupings can be selected in your metadata templates, can be viewed in data inventory visualizations, and as data request options. These adds reflect taxonomy updates and consistent ambiguities in species ID associated with acoustic and/or morphometric overlap.
Still have questions? Users who need project guidance or assistance are encouraged to book an appointment or reach out to our Technical Monitoring team for consultation.