Updated November 21st, 2024
Bat Conservation In Your MetroParks
Bats play a key role in the ecosystem and provide humans with several ecosystem services, primarily insect control. There are 10 bat species commonly found in Ohio, including the federally endangered Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat, and the state endangered little brown bat and tricolored bat.
Like many species, bat populations are threatened by habitat loss and other human activity. However, with the introduction of the fungal disease white-nose syndrome into Ohio in 2011, bat populations have severely declined in the last decade. To prevent further declines and help protect the remnant bat populations, it’s important to protect quality bat habitat and monitor populations.
Quality bat habitat is characterized by the availability of resources for roosting and foraging. Female bats form maternal colonies to raise their pups in the summer and often roost in snags, exfoliating tree bark, foliage, or tree cavities.
Bat Box Monitoring Program
To support and monitor local populations, Five Rivers MetroParks instituted a bat box program with routine monitoring in 2020. Bat boxes are artificial roosting sites that mimic natural roosts and are placed for maternal colonies to roost in when populations are large or natural roosts are lacking. MetroParks with bat boxes deployed include: Huffman, Englewood, Taylorsville, Possum Creek, Wegerzyn Gardens and Eastwood MetroParks. Emergence surveys are conducted at each box from May-July to identify species and track the number of bat pups born.
Bat Blitz and University Research
The first Ohio Bat Blitz was held on August 19 and 20, 2022 at Germantown MetroPark. Over the two-night period, teams captured 97 bats representing 7 species that included three state endangered species, one federally endangered species, a possible state record, and located two roost sites for federally endangered Indiana bats within the Twin Valley. Three Indiana female bats were outfitted with radio transmitters so staff and biologists could track them to their roost tree via radio telemetry. Once trees were located, staff conducted several emergence surveys at both trees; roost A averaged 135 bats emerging nightly, while roost B averaged 60 bats.
In July 2023, Researchers from the University of Cincinnati captured 2 additional female Indiana bats at Germantown MetroPark and worked with staff to locate 2 additional Indiana bat roost trees. Emergence surveys were conducted at both trees, for average bats counts of 28 and 51 nightly. A male northern long eared bat (federally endangered) was also captured, a first within Five Rivers MetroParks land. Information about roost tree preference and surrounding habitat was taken to better our understanding of how bats select roost trees and inform management decisions in the future!
“The goal of this bat blitz [was] to collectively gather professionals to accomplish what could otherwise take a single biologist an entire year to do in terms of research,” said MetroParks director of conservation Grace Dietsch. “Bats are a good indicator of the ecological health of our natural spaces and the data collected during the bat blitz will give us some insight on what is happening in our parks and across the Miami Valley.”
Mist nets, fine mesh nets made from synthetic material, were erected at a variety of stations in Germantown and Twin Creek MetroParks, and the Upper Twin Conservation Area – all locations bats may use as flight corridors. Because mist nets are hard to detect, bats will fly into them, allowing researchers to view specimens and collect data with regards to their species, size, age, weight, health, reproductive status and more. Species that are listed as endangered on the state and federal level may be banded, and oral swabs or fur clips may be taken for special projects.
Because participating researchers have experience handling bats and wildlife permits, the surveying process is harmless to both the bats and researchers. Bats were released in the same area in which they are collected after they are surveyed.
Indeed, bat populations have been dwindling due to climate change, habitat loss, disease, pesticide use and more, with some species, such as the Indiana bat, becoming endangered. Bats are important to natural ecosystems and the local economy for insect control.
Biologists with the Ohio Bat Working Group identified a portion of southwest Ohio as an area that was under-surveyed, which prompted Five Rivers MetroParks and the Ohio Division of Wildlife to conduct acoustic and small-scale mist net surveys at Germantown MetroPark over the last few summers.
“After collecting data from initial surveys, we had strong support from the Ohio Bat Working Group to move forward with a full, two-day bat blitz,” said Dietsch. “Surveys of this kind really involve a substantial commitment of time, expertise and materials that are volunteered by researchers, and we couldn’t conduct this bat blitz without these partners.”
“There are many misconceptions about bats,” said MetroParks education coordinator Joshua York. “This is an opportunity to inform the public about these important creatures and get a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to be a biologist collecting research.”
