Bat Conservation International State of the Bats Companion Study
The North American State of the Bats Report, published by the North American Bat Conservation Alliance (NABCA) in 2023, delivered a startling statistic — 53% of bat species in North America are at risk of extinction. The companion study was recently published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences providing the most comprehensive assessment of North American bats to date, identifying major threats (including climate change and white-nose syndrome), and calling for urgent international cooperation and action.
International Bat Week October 25th to 31st
International Bat Week is an annual event where people all over the globe celebrate our shared wonder and awe for bats as ecologically and culturally significant animals. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for Bat Week activities in your town, local park, or natural area. Visit https://batweek.org/ for more information, educational resources, and info on public events.
What Kind of Bat Are You?
In honor of International Bat Week, we invite readers to take the What Kind of Bat Are You Quiz by the Colorado Bat Watch! Are you a "home-body" tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus) or a "resourceful" Townsend's big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii)? Take the quiz to find out!
Bat Health and Conservation Funding Opportunities
Funding opportunities for Bat Health and Conservation related projects and activities are available to Canadian applicants. Opportunities can be found on the Bat Health - Resources page of Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative website. Several grants and other funding programs have upcoming deadlines, but deadline dates may change annually. Please refer to the listed website for up-to-date information.
Bat Conservation International: Bat Viewing Sites and Events
Discover the world of bats with Bat Conservation International’s (BCI) new online tool, the first-ever interactive bat-viewing map. Launched to enhance global bat sightseeing, this tool pinpoints bat habitats worldwide, making it the perfect companion for planning your next eco-friendly adventure. Whether you’re gearing up for a last-minute summer getaway or plotting a fall or winter escape, this map ensures a spectacular bat flight is never far away.
AVOID Unused Survey Locations
The "Some survey locations are unused" warning indicates that a spatial object (point, transect, or GRTS cell) has been saved as a survey location but no survey events have been associated with that location. This typically occurs when a user manually saves a location using the drawing tools on the project map or uploads a spatial object as a .kml/.geojson file but fails to provide survey metadata. The warning serves as a reminder to project members that the location has been saved and should either be associated with a survey event or deleted.
To resolve, please visit the Data Quality Assurance and Control page on nabatmonitoring.org and follow the written instructions.
Contact the NABat Technical Outreach Team if you have any questions or need any assistance with this process, or self-schedule a one-on-one appointment.
Join us Wednesday, October 30th from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm MT for the NABat CoP Call: Collecting Calls from the Wild - All About Bat Reference Calls and the New NABat Bat Reference Call Template.
Amanda Adams with Bat Conservation International will be joining us to tee up discussion on reference calls for bats, how they are collected, and why they are useful. We invite you to join the dialogue and share your thoughts and experience on these topics. We'll also present the new draft bulk upload data template for metadata associated with reference calls uploaded to NABat. We will invite feedback and discussion from the network on the proposed data fields for this template.
We are still finalizing the date/time of the November CoP call.
Stay tuned to the NABat Events page for updates.
If you want to be added to the distribution list for NABat CoP calls, you can sign up here.
Conferences
November 12-15, 2024: Wind Wildlife Research Meeting, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
January 15-17, 2025: Northeast Bat Working Group Meeting, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
February 12-14, 2025: Southeastern Bat Diversity Network Meeting, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
February 18-19, 2025: Northwest Offshore Wind Conference, Portland, Oregon, USA
Webinar
November 6, 2024: Wind Turbine Design and Bats, Webinar
Check out the NABat Events page for a complete list of training webinars, meeting links, and all other upcoming events!
Apparent absence of Trypanosoma cruzi in Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) from Texas
Changes in roosting decisions and group structure following parturition in little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus)
Effects of Climate Change on the Distribution of Molossus molossus and the Potential Risk of Orthohantavirus Transmission in the Neotropical Region
Impact of putatively beneficial genomic loci on gene expression in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus, Le Conte, 1831) affected by white‐nose syndrome
Pseudogymnoascus destructans invasion stage impacts the skin microbial functions of highly vulnerable Myotis lucifugus
ESA Specialist (Remote)
Hamer Environmental is looking for up to two (2) motivated ESA specialists to join their growing environmental consulting firm. This is a full-time, remote position for one (1) year with the possibility of extension, depending on contract(s) award and extension. The ideal candidate will have a familiarity with bats, wind turbine projects, and reviewing or writing ESA related documents.
To learn more about this position, click here.
GIS Analyst
Bat Conservation International is seeking a GIS Analyst. The GIS Analyst will perform a variety of conservation activities that benefit bats and their habitats. They will be responsible for setting up field staff within the Habitat Protection and Restoration team with the necessary tools to collect geospatial and biological data at project sites, performing data QC when crews return from the field, creating a variety of high-quality maps, assisting staff with troubleshooting geospatial hardware & software, querying geospatial data, data analysis, collaborating with the GIS team to manage databases, and working with HP&R staff and partners to create new geospatial products and tools. Occasional field work (once a quarter) in the western United States will be required to understand existing workflows, conduct data collection, test new workflows, and assist with UAS operations. Depending on the project, field work can involve hiking to remote locations, carrying heavy equipment, climbing into and out of confined spaces, and using handheld lidar and GNSS/GPS equipment. Camping will sometimes be necessary at field sites and gear could be provided upon request for those who do not have or cannot afford camping gear.
To learn more about this position, click here.
Associate Bat Biologist - (1648)
Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc. (WEST) is seeking an associate bat biologist. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in deploying and maintaining common bat acoustic detectors (preferably Wildlife Acoustics detectors), reading and understanding detector outputs and summary files, and maintaining large acoustic data sets. Experience with acoustic analysis software (i.e. Kaleidoscope, Analook, AnaBat Insight, SonoBat) is preferred. Additionally, the candidate will have demonstrated knowledge of habitat requirements for western bat and/or eastern bat species and experience conducting habitat assessments for bats. Preference will be given to those with experience in state and federal permits pertaining to bats and NABat database uploads. The successful candidate will be responsible for overseeing and completing bat and other wildlife related studies, including presence/probable absence surveys for threatened and endangered bats, pre-construction and post-construction avian and bat surveys at wind energy projects, habitat assessments for rare species, and preparing/reviewing technical reports of survey results.
To learn more about this position, click here.
Community Engagement Coordinator
Bat Conservation International (BCI) is seeking a Community Engagement Coordinator. The Coordinator will join a dynamic organization and a highly progressive team, reporting to the Director of Network and Partnerships. The Coordinator must be highly collaborative and enjoy working within a mission- and results-driven environment where they will contribute to positive ecological and social change. This position is ideal for anyone interested in working at the intersection of people and conservation, community science programs, and delivering nature experiences to a diverse audience.
To learn more about this position, click here.
In Case You Missed It: NABat Acoustic Survey Template Updates
The NABat stationary and mobile acoustic survey templates were recently updated and are now available for download through the NABat Partner Portal (view templates here). Highlights of these updates include:
The field formerly labeled 'Location Name' is now 'Site Name'
The 'Species List' field has been updated to 'Name of Species List for Auto Id' and is now required for data submission. Legacy data with no known species list should be submitted as 'legacy data unknown'.
If submitting manually vetted species IDs, users are now required to submit a 'Name of Species List for Manual Id'.
Auto ID software is now required for data submission.
That's not all! New metadata (.XML) files for Kaleidoscope Pro software are among the recent updates to the stationary & mobile acoustic data templates. These updated metadata (.XML) files include all the most-current NABat fields and data options to facilitate data prep and audio file processing within the Kaleidoscope Pro software suite. Check out the first chapter of this NABat training video if you need a refresher on working with these files.
Insider Tip: Did you know Kaleidoscope Pro's data output saves a record of the auto-classifier settings AND the names of all species considered during ID? Users have always been able to access a record of these software settings in the "settings.ini" file, and it just requires one simple trick! Right-click the .INI file but select the option to open it in a text editor software instead (e.g., Notepad, WordPad).
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