January 2023 Newsletter

New website for the Southeast BatHub

The Southeast Bat Hub website is live! Check it out at https://www.sebathub.org. You can take part in the discussion forum by asking for and receiving help with NABat and other bat monitoring topics. Be sure to check out some of the automation tools and scripts the hub has created. Stay tuned as the hub will be adding and updating content regularly.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Winners of California Offshore Wind Energy Auction – U.S. Department of the Interior

The Department of the Interior recently announced results from BOEM’s wind energy auction for five leases offshore California. The lease sale represents the third major offshore wind lease sale this year and the first ever for the Pacific region. The sale drew competitive high bids from 5 companies totaling $757.1 million, well exceeding the first lease sales that were held in the Atlantic. The interest and success of the sale represents a significant milestone toward achieving President Biden’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind capacity by 2035. The leased areas have the potential to produce over 4.6 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, enough to power over 1.5 million homes.

Read the full announcement here!

Does NABat have set data submission deadlines?

NABat appreciates all the data that gets submitted. We occasionally have data calls so partners know when our statisticians are getting ready to compile data for updating analyses. Currently, there is not much data from 2021 or 2022 field seasons. Please reach out if you want assistance getting your data from any year uploaded to the partner portal. Email the technical outreach team or make an appointment if you have any questions!

January CoP Call

Join us 26 January, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern when the NABat central coordinating office will share accomplishments and program updates that occurred in the 2022 calendar year. We also encourage you to come ready to share highlights of your own from the past year.

Watch the events page for more info!

If you want to be added to the distribution list for NABat CoP calls, please reach out to Bethany Straw.

One model to rule them all: identifying priority bat habitats from multi-species habitat suitability models Little brown Myotis roosts are spatially associated with foraging resources on Prince Edward Island Seasonal differences in day-roost selection by Northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis) in Louisiana and a meta-analytical comparison across North America Surveillance of Bats in the United States for SARS-COV-2 and Other Coronoviruses Experimental Infection of Mexican Free-Tailed Bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) with SARS-CoV-2 Terrestrial locomotor behaviors of the big brown bat (Vespertilionidae: Eptesicus fuscus) Foliage-roosting eastern red bats select for features associated with management in a central hardwood forest Evening Bats Captured in a Managed Wildlife Refuge Used Trees in a Human-Dominated Landscape as Maternity Roost DNA Metabarcoding-Based Evaluation of the Diet of Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in the Mid-Atlantic Region Drivers of bat activity at wind turbines advocate for mitigating bat exposure using multicriteria algorithm-based curtailment Communicating uncertainty about the link between COVID-19 and bats: the indirect effects on attitudes toward bats in the United States BatCount: A software program to count moving animals

Bat Biologist: Enviroscience, Inc. The successful candidate should have demonstrated ability as a qualitative bat expert with experience completing mist-net surveys and have a USFWS collectors permit with experience completing bat acoustic surveys, qualitatively identifying federally-listed and candidate bat species such as the Indiana bat, northern long-eared bat, tri-colored bat, and little brown bat. Additionally, the successful candidate will be responsible for overseeing and completing bat and other wildlife related studies, including, habitat assessments for rare species, and preparing/reviewing technical reports of survey results. Apply here Acoustic Bat Biologist: Stantec Consulting Stantec is seeking exceptionally talented and enthusiastic individuals with a keen interest in the natural sciences to join our team in Overland Park, Kansas. In your position as a Biologist, you will utilize your knowledge and experience to perform bat acoustic surveys and analysis to support environmental services projects. This position will include opportunities for both field and office work. Apply by 3/3/23. Apply here Bat Biologist: Oregon The National Park Service - Klamath Network (KLMN) and Bat Conservation International (BCI) are partnering to monitor bat colonies and roosts to detect the arrival of Pd and WNS, conduct research to better understand bat habitat requirements and management, and educate park visitors about North American bats. The incumbent will plan and conduct a wide variety of activities, including WNS disease surveillance, acoustic monitoring, research, and interpretive activities in and around the national and state parks in S. OR and N. CA. Major duties are listed below, including the training, supervision, and oversight of a two person bat crew in support of listed activities. Apply by 1/23/23 Learn more here

January's Featured Resource: NABat's Mobile Acoustic Transect SOPs are published!

The three official NABat Mobile Acoustic Transect Standard Operating Procedures are now published. A link to these publications can be found in the resources section of our website here and they are also linked below.

North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) Mobile Acoustic Transect Surveys Standard Operating Procedure 1—Locating and Establishing Mobile Transect Routes

Suggested citation:

Martin, J., Smith, D., Li, H., Hall, M., Ferrall, E., Rae, J., Straw, B., and Reichert, B., 2022, North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) mobile acoustic transect surveys standard operating procedure 1—Locating and establishing mobile transect routes: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 2–C1, 7 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/tm2C1.

North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) Mobile Acoustic Transect Surveys Standard Operating Procedure 2—Field Season and Survey Preparation

Suggested citation:

Martin, J., Rae, J., Hall, M., Ferrall, E., Li, H., Straw, B., and Reichert, B., 2022, North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) Mobile Acoustic Transect Surveys Standard Operating Procedure 2—Field Season and Survey Preparation: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 2–C2, 9 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/tm2C2.

North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) Mobile Acoustic Transect Surveys Standard Operating Procedure 3—Conducting Mobile Transect Surveys

Suggested citation:

Martin, J., Hall, M., Ferrall, E., Li, H., Rae, J., Straw, B., and Reichert, B., 2022, North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) mobile acoustic transect surveys standard operating procedure 3—Conducting mobile transect surveys: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 2–C3, 6 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/tm2C3.