Create Account Plan Project Collect Data Prep/Process Data Upload Data Data QA/QC Get Data Species Codes Quick Links PROCESSING ACOUSTICS IN SONOBAT Select the acoustic survey type for which you have data STATIONARY POINT SURVEYS MOBILE TRANSECT SURVEYS SonoBat 30 is now the only version of SonoBat receiving classifier and program updates and the only version to conform to NABat's current stationary and mobile acoustic metadata fields. The following guidance is customized for SonoBat 30 users. Visit SonoBat 30 updates page https://sonobat.com/updates/ for information on the most current program build and classifier series, and instructions for updating a currently installed SonoBat 30 installation. Updates to SonoBat 1 through 4 are no longer supported by the software manufacturer, therefore, the guidance provided for SonoBat 1 through 4 is final as of February 1, 2025 and may not reflect future changes to NABat acoustic metadata. SonoBat 4 Guidance Processing Stationary Point Surveys Attribute Files > Scrub Noise Files > Assign Species IDs > Export Metadata > ATTRIBUTE FILES Only the SonoBat 30 build [20250128] and newer have integrated the updated (Fall 2024) NABat stationary acoustic metadata fields. 1. Open the SonoBat Data Wizard and select NABat Attributer from the drop-down menu in the top left of the window. Click the folder icon in the top right of the window and navigate to the folder containing the .wav files you intend to attribute (this should be a folder for a single deployment). Next, determine if you would like to Copy and Attribute to Output Folder or Rename and Attribute in place using the dropdown option. Specify an output directory in the Output Folder section where attributed files will be saved. The right panel of the application displays the GUANO metadata present in your selected acoustic files. This will be updated as NABat metadata fields are assigned in the Data Wizard . 2. Click the NABat Metadata button and enter metadata in the popup window that appears. 3. Once you have added all required NABat metadata (and any other metadata you collected), click the Attribute Files button in the bottom center of the window. You will need to complete this process once for each unique detector deployment. SCRUB NOISE FILES 1. Click the folder icon in the top right corner of the Data Wizard window and navigate to the folder containing your .wav files. 2. Click the drop-down menu in the top left and select Batch File Scrubber . 3. Select Thorough: more carefully scans . 4. Select medium from the filter options and ensure the appropriate frequency filter is selected. 5. Click Scrub in the bottom left of the window. 6. NABat requests that users provide metadata for scrubbed NOISE files. However, SonoBat automatically ignores any folder labeled Noise Files , Deleted Files , or Scrubbed Files . To ensure scrubbed files load in the SonoVet table, rename folders containing scrubbed files as NOTBAT before loading folders into SonoVet. ASSIGN SPECIES IDs 1. Open SonoBat 30 western [or eastern] North America and click the SonoBatch button in the lower left corner. 2. Click the folder icon in the top center of the window and navigate to the folder containing the files you intend to process. 3. Select the classifier most appropriate for your location using the drop-down menus on the left side of the window. 4. Ensure Append species codes to filenames? is NOT selected. 5. Select autofilter in areas without low-frequency bat species and auto-low in areas with low-frequency bats present. 6. Set acceptable call quality to 0.80 . 7. Set sqnc decision threshold to 0.90 . 8. Set max number of calls to consider to 16 . 9. Click Process in the bottom center of the window. EXPORT METADATA INTO BULK UPLOAD TEMPLATE The following steps can be used to export metadata from all processed deployments simultaneously, resulting in a single CSV with metadata from numerous sites. Simply select the parent folder that contains all of your processed deployments and follow the steps outlined below. The presence of non .wav files in the folder will not interfere with this process. SonoBat will ignore non .wav files. 1. Open SonoBat 30 western [or eastern] North America and click the SonoVet button in the lower left corner. 2. Click the Settings tab on the top menu bar. Click the dropdown menu for the vetting table layout setting and select the NABat summary preview option to load the NABat metadata form. 3. Click the Vetting Table tab from the top menu bar. Ensure all required fields have values and that all fields for which you have entered data are filled. 4. If everything is correct, click the Export tab from the top menu bar. Select a destination folder to save the metadata file and select Output null as an empty cell from the dropdown menu in the bottom center of the window. Click the Use current layout dropdown and select the NABat summary option. Provide a unique name for your metadata CSV. 5. Click Save to File . 6. Open the new metadata CSV, and enter the value for the metadata field, Name of Species List for Auto Id . If applicable, also include the value for the metadata field, Name of Species List for Manual Id. Click File, Save . 7. Your metadata is now ready for upload to the NABat Partner Portal . Attribute Files: SonoBat 30 Scrub Noise Files: SonoBat 30 Assign Species IDs: SonoBat 30 Export Metadata Into Bulk Upload Template: SonoBat 30 Processing Mobile Transect Surveys Attribute Files > Scrub Noise Files > Assign Species IDs > Export Metadata > ATTRIBUTE FILES Only the SonoBat 30 build [20250128] and newer have integrated the updated (Fall 2024) NABat stationary acoustic metadata fields. 1. Open the SonoBat Data Wizard and select NABat Attributer from the drop-down menu in the top left of the window. Click the folder icon in the top right of the window and navigate to the folder containing the .wav files you intend to attribute (this should be a folder for a single deployment). Next, determine if you would like to Copy and Attribute to Output Folder or Rename and Attribute in place using the dropdown option. Specify an output directory in the Output Folder section where attributed files will be saved. The right panel of the application displays the GUANO metadata present in your selected acoustic files. This will be updated as NABat metadata fields are assigned in the Data Wizard . 2. Click the NABat Metadata button and enter metadata in the popup window that appears. Select True to confirm that you are processing mobile transect data. NOTE: The NABat system will estimate the location based on user-provided spatial information for the route, timestamps of each file, and the start/end times of the survey. In this case, it is critical that users provide a spatial object (a KML or GEOJSON file) for the route prior to uploading NABat metadata, ensure timestamps are provided for each file, provide start and end times of the route, and leave the GRTS Cell Id column of the metadata upload blank. Instructions on uploading or drawing a spatial object for mobile transect routes are as follows: If transects pass through > 1 grid cell and you have a record of the X,Y location where each call was recorded (using an external GPS or a GPS enabled detector), leave the Start/End GPS and NABat Grid Cell Id fields blank. The NABat system will use the X,Y locations to auto-assign the correct grid cell id to each call. Otherwise, calls recorded outside the primary cell will produce a lat/long-grid cell mismatch error. 3. Once you have added all required NABat metadata (and any other metadata you collected), click Finish and then Attribute Files button in the bottom center of the window. You will need to complete this process once for each unique detector deployment. SCRUB NOISE FILES 1. Click the folder icon in the top right corner of the Data Wizard window and navigate to the folder containing your .wav files. 2. Click the drop-down menu in the top left and select Batch File Scrubber . 3. Select Thorough: more carefully scans . 4. Select medium from the filter options and ensure the appropriate frequency filter is selected. 5. Click Scrub in the bottom left of the window. 6. NABat requests that users provide metadata for scrubbed NOISE files. However, SonoBat automatically ignores any folder labeled Noise Files , Deleted Files , or Scrubbed Files . To ensure scrubbed files load in the SonoVet table, rename folders containing scrubbed files as NOTBAT before loading folders into SonoVet. ASSIGN SPECIES IDs 1. Open SonoBat 30 western [or eastern] North America and click the SonoBatch button in the lower left corner. 2. Click the folder icon in the top center of the window and navigate to the folder containing the files you intend to process. 3. Select the classifier most appropriate for your location using the drop-down menus on the left side of the window. 4. Ensure Append species codes to filenames? is NOT selected. 5. Select autofilter in areas without low-frequency bat species and auto-low in areas with low-frequency bats present. 6. Set acceptable call quality to 0.80 . 7. Set sqnc decision threshold to 0.90 . 8. Set max number of calls to consider to 16 . 9. Click Process in the bottom center of the window. EXPORT METADATA INTO BULK UPLOAD TEMPLATE The following steps can be used to export metadata from all processed deployments simultaneously, resulting in a single CSV with metadata from numerous sites. Simply select the parent folder that contains all of your processed deployments and follow the steps outlined below. The presence of non .wav files in the folder will not interfere with this process. SonoBat will ignore non .wav files. 1. Open SonoBat 30 western [or eastern] North America and click the SonoVet button in the lower left corner. 2. Click the Settings tab on the top menu bar. Click the dropdown menu for the vetting table layout setting and select the NABat summary preview option to load the NABat metadata form. 3. Click the Vetting Table tab from the top menu bar. Ensure all required fields have values and that all fields for which you have entered data are filled. 4. If everything is correct, click the Export tab from the top menu bar. Select a destination folder to save the metadata file and select Output null as an empty cell from the dropdown menu in the bottom center of the window. Click the Use current layout dropdown and select the NABat summary option. Provide a unique name for your metadata CSV. 5. Click Save to File . 6. Open the new metadata CSV, and enter the value for the metadata field, Name of Species List for Auto Id . If applicable, also include the value for the metadata field, Name of Species List for Manual Id. Click File, Save . 7. Your metadata is now ready for upload to the NABat Partner Portal . Exporting into Bulk Template: SonoBat 30_Mobile Attribute Files: SonoBat 30_Mobile Scrub Noise Files: SonoBat 30_Mobile Assign Species IDs: SonoBat 30_Mobile

NABat is a muli-national, collaborative conservation monitoring program aimed at understanding status and trends all 47 species of bats common to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT BATS? Bats are the second most diverse order of mammals with about 1,400 species worldwide. Currently, there are 150 species of bats recognized in North America, including 138 that are found in Mexico, 47 in the United States, and 17 in Canada. NABat will focus on the 47 species that are found in the United States and shared with Canada or Mexico. In Canada, three species are listed by the federal government as endangered, one species is considered threatened, and another species is considered a species of special concern. In the United States, eight species or subspecies are listed as endangered by the federal government and one species is listed as threatened. In Mexico, three species are considered threatened and two species are provided special protection. Bats are important to the maintenance of healthy ecosystems and are considered to be good bioindicators for monitoring ecosystem health because of their longevity and their sensitivity to changes in their environment that may also affect many other organisms. Additionally, bats provide many benefits and services to humans. Because bats are active mainly during the night (nocturnal) many of their important benefits and services occur “under the radar.” Insect Consumption One of the most important services that bats provide is insect consumption. Approximately 70 percent of all bat species either depend exclusively or primarily on insects for food, and these bats consume large numbers of insects throughout the growing season. For example, colonies of Mexican free-tailed bats in Texas often contain over 1 million bats; the economic importance of their foraging has been estimated to save cotton farmers approximately $12.2 million a year in insect pest suppression. Other studies estimate that bats across the United States and other parts of the word save farmers billions of dollars each year by patrolling the dark skies and literally gobbling up tons of flying crop pests each night. Pollination Some species of bats are also important pollinators of native and commercial plants. Over 500 different types of tropical plants are pollinated by bats every year. For example, nectar feeding bats pollinate Agave tequilana , which is the principal component used in the distillation of tequila, an economically important product of Mexico. These bats forage by plunging their faces down into a flower and using their very long tongues to lap up nectar stored there. While they are doing this, pollen becomes attached to their fur. Then when they visit other flowers, some of this pollen comes off, thereby fertilizing the flowers. Seed Dispersal Fruit-eating bats in the tropics and subtropics are important seed dispersers and aid in regenerating forests and fruit crops. When bats fly across nighttime landscapes, their combined abilities of digesting quickly and defecating ‘on-the-fly’ play an important role in regenerating clear-cut forests, especially rainforests. Bats also redistribute nutrients across the landscape. Bat guano is exceptionally high in nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium. Guano accumulations around the bases of bat roosts in dead trees fertilize the soil and may also aid in forest regeneration. Medical Research and Technology Bats provide many other benefits to humans, some of which are just becoming known. They have served as important models in medical research, and compounds from their bodies are being used in new medical treatments. Because bats live much longer than would be expected based on their body size, they provide a good model for studies of the aging process, and studies of their metabolism have provided insight into some causes of aging. The transparent and extremely thin structure of bat wings have led to improved understanding of the dynamics of blood circulation in mammals. In other studies, a compound found in the saliva of the common vampire bat is being tested as a treatment for stroke victims, as it shows promise in providing faster restoration of blood flow with reduced risk of bleeding and can be administered later than other stroke treatments. Biotechnology Research & Dev'mt Bats have the most sophisticated flight mechanisms in all the animal kingdom. The structure and function of bat wings have been studied to understand the aerodynamics of complex flight. These studies are beginning to inspire engineered designs of futuristic aircraft, such as drones. In addition to fertilization, the components of bat guano may lead to future uses. The chitin from undigested insect shells found in bat guano may be used in pharmaceuticals, bioengineering, agriculture pest control, and textiles. The bacteria of bat guano, rich in ammonia, may someday be used in environmental engineering to remove nitrogen from industrial waste before it reaches our lakes and rivers. Ecotourism Nightly bat emergences during summertime from daytime roosts in caves, tunnels, mines, or bridges provide impressive viewing opportunities as tens of thousands to millions of bats leave their roosts to forage for insects. Their collective flight can draw thousands of spectators, create interpretive opportunities, and provide economic benefits to nearby communities. For example, the emergence of Mexican free-tailed bats at Carlsbad Caverns or the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, TX, bring thousands of visitors to these areas. Total annual visitation to view Mexican free-tailed bats at these and 15 other sites in the southwestern United States was over 242,000 visitors, and their visits were conservatively estimated to bring in $6.5 million per year to the local communities.

Create Account Plan Project Collect Data Prep/Process Data Upload Data Data QA/QC Get Data Species Codes Resource Library UPLOAD DATA Adding Survey Data to Project Attaching Mobile Transect to Survey Matching Acoustic Files to Survey Jump to... Adding Survey Data to Project 1. Log in to the NABat Partner Portal to access your NABat project. First-time users will need to Create an Account . 2. Click the My NABat tab from the primary menu and select the desired project. 3. Click the Upload Survey Data button and select the relevant survey type. 4. Review the pop-up instruction menu that appears (instructions vary by survey type). Select the appropriate metadata upload option to launch the Bulk Upload tool. Note: Uploading via the Full Metadata option is recommended for most users. Options for uploading location site metadata separately from count or call metadata may be useful when sites are established but survey data is forthcoming. 5. Always Download Template prior to entering project data to ensure you are using the most up-to-date template version and review required and optional data fields, acceptable categorical values, and formatting. The template's first row displays data field headers recognized by the NABat database. The second row outlines required fields and lists formatting requirements and/or accepted categorical values. The third row provides brief descriptions of data fields. 6. Organize survey data according to the Bulk Upload template and save it under the CSV UTF-8 format. 7. Choose a file to upload via the Select File button. 8. The selected file will automatically load in a Document Preview window. Review the preview window and resolve any highlighted formatting errors in the original CSV. Once corrections are made, reselect the file for upload. Note: Common errors include unaccepted categorical values, shifted data (due to commas in the data field entries) and incorrect column headers (ensure the first column header reads | GRTS Cell Id. It is critical that the "| " symbol be retained in this header. 9. Upload data via the Submit button. 10. The Document Preview only proofs a subset of data and certain common errors may only be recognized after the document is processed. Ensure the full upload is error-free in the project's Bulk Upload Status tab. Errors negate the entire row of data and must be resolved for the data to be processed and stored. 11. If errors are present, download the error report by clicking the blue hyperlink in the Errors Found column. Errors may be resolved by correcting and reuploading the original CSV or by correcting and uploading the error report. Note: The NABat database automatically replaces duplicate filenames with the most recent upload. If changes are made to the original CSV and the filename is not changed, uploading the corrected file will overwrite the previous upload. Attaching Mobile Transect to Survey Click here for guidance on downloading a mobile transect route from a GPS-enabled acoustic detector. Users who use a GPS unit to record a mobile transect survey route can upload that route as a KML or GeoJSON file. Most GPS units produce data in the GPX file type, we recommend using one of the many free online conversion tools available. 1. Log in to the NABat Partner Portal to access your NABat project. First-time users will need to Create an Account . 2. Click the My NABat tab from the primary menu and select the desired project. 3. Click the Surveys tab and navigate to the map. 4. Select the KML | GeoJSON button in the upper right corner of the map to select the desired route file. 5. After uploading your route, a dialogue box will appear. Click Edit and name the transect route. 6. Newly uploaded routes are not automatically connected to a survey event, therefore, the user must link using the following approaches: If uploading mobile survey metadata via the Bulk Upload Tool , simply enter the route’s name (exactly matching ) into the Site Name column of the bulk upload CSV file before uploading. If working in the reverse order (i.e., survey metadata uploaded prior to transect route upload) the user should simply click Reprocess to update metadata CSV file in the Bulk Uploads tab. Alternatively, mobile survey metadata can be manually drawn in the Surveys tab map. Select the Mark a New Transect button on the upper left of the map. Click to start drawing line, use each additional click to continue drawing line and create a new point. When transect is complete, click final point to complete the line. Select the Edit button in the pop-up window to name your transect and define the associated Survey Type as Transect Route . Select Save . As mentioned in bullet above, confirm that the saved route Name matches the Site Name reported in uploaded survey event metadata. Matching Acoustic Files Survey NABat does not require users upload acoustic files associated with stationary and mobile acoustic surveys. Project-specific objectives or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services requirements (e.g., Florida Bonneted Bat consultation-related projects) may necessitate uploading these files. If you plan to upload acoustic files and link them to your survey event(s), follow the steps below: 1. Upload acoustic files to your project by selecting your project of interest and clicking the Upload Audio Recordings button in the upper right of your selected project's header section. 2. File names for uploaded acoustic files must precisely match the acoustic file names listed within the corresponding metadata .csv. To check success of your acoustic file uploads, select the Acoustic Data tab in your project and examine the Matched/Missing Acoustic Files columns. If there are any missing acoustic files, complete the following: In the Surveys tab, scroll down and select the survey event(s) that contain missing acoustic files. Select the Echolocation Measurements dropdown and scroll down to the Audio Recording table. Check the Unmatched Only box. Correct and upload any missing or errored individual files. Note: Noise and NoID auto-ID's are not accounted for in the Matched/Missing Acoustic Files counts. Note: To prevent nonessential database expansion, we recommended that users (apart from rare project-specific exceptions) avoid uploading acoustic files auto-ID'ed as NOISE.

2022 Photo Contest Winners! Category: Bats Hayden Hutcherson Townsend's Big-Eared Bat in Coconino County, Arizona Category: Acoustic Equipment Showcase Melissa McGaw A biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission runs a route to record acoustic signals from bats in the immediate area. Category: Surveys Ivan Yates Townsend's big-eared bat being swabbed for WNS during a hibernacula survey.

74de993a-776c-4cd3-966e-d89bef6251a6 Photo credit: Jose Martinez-Fonseca, NAU USFWS Next WNS & Listing Status Lasionycteris noctivagans Order: Chiroptera Suborder : Yangochiroptera Family : Vespertilionidae Call characteristics: Low frequency caller (~30 kHz range) Weight 1/4 - 3/8 oz (8 - 11g) Body Length 3 .6 – 4.5 in (9.2 - 11.5 cm) There are various sources for bat species range maps including IUCN , NatureServe , U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ECOS , and the National Atlas of the United States . US SWAP National List IUCN Red List Canada Species at Risk Mexico Silver-haired Bat The silver-haired bat has dark, blackish fur, with tips of silver guard hairs and a short and broad snout. This species is found most often in coniferous or mixed coniferous and deciduous forests, with a preference for Old Growth areas. Roosts are almost exclusively in tree cavities, hollows, or under loose bark. Hibernation sites include wood piles and cliff faces, with species occasionally hibernating in the entrances of caves. Primary prey for this bat includes small, soft-bodied insects, such as flies, midges, leafhoppers, moths, mosquitos, beetles, caddisflies, and sometimes spiders. Silver-haired females are known to produce twin pups (baby bats). Information used to populate this page was obtained from the following sources: NatureServe Explorer United States Fish and Wildlife Service Environmental Conservation Online System Bat Conservation International Bat Profiles National Atlas of the United States. (2011). North American Bat Ranges, 1830-2008. National Atlas of the United States. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/pz329xp4277. Taylor, M. 2019. Bats: an illustrated guide to all species. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books. Conservation Status Previous Next

Create an Account Plan Your Project Collect Data Process Data Upload Data Get Data NABat Bulk Upload Templates Follow the steps below to download bulk upload templates for any survey type. Templates include the following information: first row - column headers; second row - description of formatting requirements and/or accepted entries for restricted categorical fields; third row - brief decription of field. Log in to the NABat Partner Portal . Click the "Projects" tab at the top of the page and select the NABat project to which you will upload data. Click the "Upload Survey Data" button in the top right corner of the project homepage, then select the relevant survey type from the drop-down menu. Select "Full Metadata" from the next window. Click the green "Download Template" button from the upload window.

e7392ced-bec4-477e-b10c-78c7397721f2 Photo credit: BCI Menden Pictures USFWS Next WNS & Listing Status Antrozous pallidus Order: Chiroptera Suborder: Yangochiroptera Family: Vespertilionidae Call characteristics: FM sweep (60-30 kHz range) Weight 1/2 - 1 oz (14 - 30 g) Body Length 2 1/3 - 3 1/3 in (6 – 8.5 cm) There are various sources for bat species range maps including IUCN , NatureServe , U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ECOS , and the National Atlas of the United States . US SWAP National List IUCN Red List Canada Species at Risk Mexico Pallid Bat The Pallid Bat has yellow to brown fur on its back, white fur on its belly, a flat, pig-like nose, and a conspicuous skunky odor. It is the only species in the genus Antrozous and is found mostly in arid environments and grasslands from southern Canada to central Mexico and Cuba. The pallid bat roosts primarily in rock crevices, however, this species can also be found in hollow trees, buildings, and mines. Little is known about its migratory behavior, with some populations hibernating in deep crevices and others remaining active throughout the winter. In addition to echolocation, Pallid bats use their large ears to listen for prey, including scorpions, centipedes, and beetles, which it gleans directly from the ground. Pallid bats have also been observed drinking cactus nectar, a highly unusual behavior for primarily insectivorous species. Mothers typically give birth to twins. Information used to populate this page was obtained from the following sources: NatureServe Explorer United States Fish and Wildlife Service Environmental Conservation Online System Bat Conservation International Bat Profiles National Atlas of the United States. (2011). North American Bat Ranges, 1830-2008. National Atlas of the United States. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/pz329xp4277. Taylor, M. 2019. Bats: an illustrated guide to all species. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books. Conservation Status Previous Next

NABat is a muli-national, collaborative conservation monitoring program aimed at understanding status and trends all 47 species of bats common to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. OUR NETWORK Fundamental to the success of NABat is the collaborative network upon which it stands. Our network of partners include local, federal, state, tribal and provincial agencies, non-governmental organizations, research institutions, and industry experts who are collecting bat-related data across the continent. Connect with a Regional Bat Hub Hubs help facilitate local implementation of NABat and maximize benefit within the region. By joining a regional hub partners may receive more individual support to guide local survey efforts while maintaining the level of consistency necessary to meet the broader, programmatic goals of NABat. Learn More Join Our Community of Practice Join the NABat Central Coordination team and our continental network of partners as we virtually discuss the latest in research and analyses, updates to data collection and submission guidelines, programmatic updates, and so much more. Join CoP Learn About Our Network of Partners Visit the NABat Partner Portal Partners page to learn more about the organizations contributing data and expertise that is helping to advance our understanding of the status and trends of North American bat species. Partners Page Photo: Ivan Yates

Create Account Plan Project Collect Data Prep/Process Data Upload Data Data QA/QC Get Data Species Codes Resource Library CREATE AN ACCOUNT An NABat login and password are required to access most features of the NABat Partner Portal. Interested individuals should review NABat's terms and conditions prior to requesting an account. Follow the instructions on this page to register as an NABat Partner. Become an NABat Partner 1. Navigate to the NABat Partner Portal and click the Login | Request an Account button (top-right corner). 2. The log in process varies depending on a user's affiliation with the Department of the Interior (DOI). Any user outside the DOI is considered an External Account. Users setting up an External Account should begin by clicking the Login.gov button under External Account , then follow prompts to create an account. DOI users must register or log into their NABat account by selecting Microsoft Entra . To complete account set up, users will need to associate an account with a registered organization. If an organization is not in the dropdown list, please fill out the New Organization Form , and a member of the Technical Outreach team will add it to the NABat Partner Portal . Please allow up to 24 hours for the request to be processed. Note: For the Organization Leader(s) and/or NABat Point(s) of Contact, please refer to either the organization's current leader or the most consistent representative responsible for the data uploaded to the NABat Partner Portal. If the point of contact changes, please reach out to a member of the Technical Outreach Team to update the contact information. 3. Once an account is created/approved, navigate to the NABat Partner Portal and log in. 4. Once logged in, click the My NABat tab from the top menu bar. A user's current projects will appear under this tab. If a user wishes to join an existing project, contact the project leader and request to be added as a member.

Threats to Bats Learn more about factors impacting the survival and health of North America's bats Photo Credit: National Park Service The Problem: North American bats are currently facing a range of significant threats that have led to alarming declines in various species. Key issues include diseases such as white-nose syndrome, collisions with wind turbines, and habitat loss and degradation. Understanding species distributions and abundance, as well as how these metrics change over time, is critical to assessing the viability of bat populations and identifying when populations are recovering. A Solution: The North American Bat Program effectively addresses the historical lack of information regarding bat species status and trends through coordinated, standardized, long-term data collection. The data collected as part of NAB will contribute to spatially explicit estimates of bat distributions and abundance, as well as track changes over time. information is vital for filling knowledge gaps and supports proactive management of bat populations. White-nose Syndrome White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a disease caused by an invasive, cold-growing fungus that affects hibernating bats . The fungus grows on bats’ skin, disturbing hibernation and resulting in dehydration, starvation, and often death. First documented in New York in 2006, WNS has since spread to numerous U.S. states and Canadian provinces, causing severe population declines in many bat species. Click on the button below to learn more or explore the WNS publications database . Learn more Wind Energy Current evidence suggest that collisions with spinning wind turbine blades may kill hundreds of thousands of bats each year in North America. Although it has been theorized that barotrauma, internal injuries caused by rapid changes in air pressure, may also contribute to bat fatalities at wind turbines, research shows this is exceedingly unlikely . Given that bats are long-lived and typically limited to 1 or 2 offspring per year, existing fatality rates may not be sustainable for some species . Recent studies indicate population-level declines are possible, particularly with the anticipated growth of wind energy development (see example wind energy future scenarios for the U.S. here ). As a result, significant investments have been made in search of solutions that minimize impacts to bats without impeding the continued deployment of wind energy. Learn more from this webinar recording or click below to explore literature on this topic. Learn more Habitat Loss & Degradation Forests and underground structures like caves and mines are critical bat habitat for roosting, foraging, and reproduction. The growing loss of these habitats, continues to cause substantial impacts on the abundance and diversity of bats at a global scale.