Mission 3

Research
and Scalable
Solutions

Sound science informs sustainable conservation solutions and strategies, benefitting bats throughout the world.

Tina Cheng, Ph.D.
Data Scientist

Closely monitoring caves for signs of
White-nose Syndrome helps assess the
overall health of North American bats.
Photo by Rachel Harper.

Project Fat Bat
Northern Michigan

BCI researchers string ultra-violet lights /
near hibernation roosts to attract insect prey.
Photo by Dr. Winifred Frick.

Applying science and seeing results

Among classic old forests of fir, maple, and birch on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, near the entrances of caves and abandoned mines, Bat Conservation International (BCI) sets up a promising scientific study – a “bug buffet” to fatten up bats before they begin their winter hibernation.

The study is intended to combat the massive death toll White-nose Syndrome (WNS) has had on millions of North American bats. WNS leads to a cruel fate. The fungus causes bats to rouse from hibernation and expend body fat necessary to survive the winter months when insect prey is unavailable. Could a higher percentage of body fat before hibernation spare more bats from the fatal consequences of WNS? BCI is determined to find out.

Beginning in the fall of 2019, at five sites with small remnant colonies of little brown bats in Michigan, BCI researchers conducted the first efforts to determine if bats will feed at prey patches. Covid-safe fieldwork was resumed in April 2021, when BCI researchers headed back to Michigan to test the food provisioning project during the bats’ spring emergence from hibernation. When bats emerge from hibernation, they have depleted fat reserves due to both hibernation and the effects of WNS.

Additional achievements regarding White-nose Syndrome

In 2021, BCI:

Published a high-impact paper in Conservation Biology on the scope and severity of WNS impact on bats.
Collaborated on a field trial on cave myotis in Texas to test vaccine efficacy against the fungal pathogen that causes WNS. BCI provided field support for this project that is led by the National Wildlife Health Center and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

GUINEA,
WEST AFRICA

Illustration of map with orange circle highlighting Africa

Finding and documenting a colorful new bat species

Among the remote Nimba Mountains in Guinea in western Africa, a group of scientists led by Bat Conservation International (BCI) and colleagues from Guinea and Cameroon carry out surveys at natural caves and exploratory mining tunnels in search of the Critically Endangered Lamotte’s roundleaf bat (Hipposideros lamottei). During one night of surveys, the researchers were surprised to see an unusual bat with striking orange and black markings — a bat that did not fit the description of any known species.

In collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History, the researchers began a two-year process of gathering data — morphological, morphometric, echolocation, and genetic data, including comparative data from museum collections — to prepare all necessary scientific documentation to show that the unusual bat was indeed a species never before described. They named the new species Myotis nimbaensis (“from Nimba”) in recognition of the special mountain range where it was found.

Announcement of the new species was published in the scientific journal American Museum Novitates in January 2021 and soon captured international media attention in the New York Times and Washington Post, BBC World Service, and NPR’s Science Friday.

Photos by Dr. Jon Flanders.

Discovering a new mammal is rare. In an age of extinction, the discovery of this bat offers a glimmer of hope. It also underscores the need to protect wild landscapes like the ‘sky islands’ of West Africa.

Winifred Frick, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist

Photo by Rachel Harper.

North America

Photo by Michael Whitby.

Working toward win-win solutions for bats & wind energy

Bat fatalities from collisions with the rotating blades of wind turbines are now one of the leading threats to some bat populations. North American hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus) are particularly vulnerable and are at risk of disappearing.

Researchers from Bat Conservation International (BCI) seek to understand why bats are attracted to wind turbines and how seasonal migration patterns, weather configurations, geography, and insect activity influence the risk of bats being killed at wind turbines. Accelerating and applying research is key to developing wind energy technologies and industry standards to reduce the number of bat deaths at wind turbines. In 2021, BCI:

Published a report of a meta-analysis that shows changing wind industry practices to stop wind turbine blades from spinning on nights with low wind conditions can on average reduce 50% of bat fatalities in North America.
Tested two approaches to develop smarter ways to reduce bat fatalities and maximize energy generation at a wind energy facility in the midwestern USA. The research was funded by Department of Energy in collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute and Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute.
Convened strategy-building conversations among stakeholders regarding win-win ways to protect bats and facilitate green energy goals.

Hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) hanging from tree

Hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus).
Photo by J. Scott Altenbach.

A hoary bat is in flight near pine creek in the John Day
Fossil Beds National Monument, Clarno Unit, Oregon.
Photo by Michael Durham/Minden Pictures.

Monitoring trends to find solutions

Collecting data and analyzing bat population trends is key to devising sound science-driven strategies that help bats where they need it the most. Bats in North America face numerous threats including White-nose Syndrome, expanding wind energy development, and the stresses of climate change and habitat loss. Without a solid understanding of how bat populations are faring over time, we can’t execute strategies to protect them.

Bat Conservation International (BCI) is a leading partner to the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat), an international collaboration with more than 160 groups contributing data for the purposes of bat conservation. NABat includes numerous U.S. and Canadian government agencies, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations. Our BCI team provides leadership to the NABat program and is continually innovating with NABat partners to enhance data collection and processing, and to provide the most comprehensive effort to measure and monitor the status and trends of bats across the continent.

In 2021, one of our most significant accomplishments was working in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geologic Survey to analyze the current fate of three bat species – little brown bats, tricolored bats, and northern long-eared bats. Due to the severe impacts of White-nose Syndrome, these species are being considered for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Collecting & sharing data through the North American Bat Monitoring Program, BCI contributed:

338,572

acoustic files

45,877

bat colony
count records

Student scholars are conducting
important bat research around the
world, with BCI’s support.
Photo by Amanda Adams.

Scholars around the world are the future of bat conservation

Bat Conservation International’s 2021 Student Scholars Program recognized 14 emerging researchers for their potential to significantly contribute to bat conservation.

The scholars and their research projects were based in 12 countries including Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Fiji, France, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, and the United States. Projects ranged from studying how bats pollinate durian fruit to how bats are affected by land-use changes. Additionally, we:

Launched three new student scholar awards including the Thomas H. Kunz Innovation in Bat Research Honor; Promoting Diversity in Conservation Award; and Conservation Evidence Special Recognition.
Created a Code of Conduct & Fair and Inclusive Training Opportunities Statement.

Student Scholar Work
around the globe in 2021.

Science &
COVID-19

Bats fly from the Eagle Creek Bat Cave in Arizona.
Photo by Bill Hatcher.

The science of climate adaptation

Bat Conservation International (BCI) staff, working with several international collaborators, researched and published a scientific paper — “Climate Change and Bats in Western North America and Western Europe” — in the high-impact journal Global Ecology and Conservation. The paper provides natural resource managers across the western U.S. with science-based climate adaptation strategies to conserve bat populations.

Bat conservation & COVID-19

Bat conservation became even more critical as COVID-19 impacted the lives of people worldwide. BCI served as a leader in communicating the importance of bats during the pandemic, providing vital information to the media, our partners, and the public.

In 2021, we:

Co-authored publications, including scientific publications and fact sheets on bats and COVID-19, and widely distributed information to our partners and supporters.
Provided reporters with scientific facts resulting in national media coverage such as PBS, CNN, and the New York Times.
Launched an online web page dedicated to the latest news and information on bats and COVID-19.
Hosted and participated in informative presentations.

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