Chiroptera Monthly
a newsletter for citizen scientists
Welcome to the monthly newsletter for Porter County Chapter's Chiropterologists!
If you like to learn about bats, you are an official chiropterologist!
Chiropterology is the study of bats. (kai-rop-ter-ology)
Chiroptera Proper noun (kai-rop-tera)
Worldwide, there are more than 1,300 species of bats, that’s almost 20 percent of all mammal species. Bats live almost everywhere on Earth except the most extreme desert and polar regions. So, no matter where you live, it is almost certain that there are bats living near you.
Bats come in all shapes and sizes, from the tiny, adorable bumblebee bat that weighs less than a penny to the big, beautiful flying foxes that can have a wingspan of up to six feet. They can be white, brown, black, gray, red or even spotted or striped! Some bats have big eyes and long slender snouts that help them reach deep into flowers for nectar. Other bats have small eyes and large ears, some with wrinkly faces or nose leave to help them echolocate to navigate and find insect prey. Whether you find them beautiful or bizarre, bats are unique and fascinating animals.
How PCC started our bat citizen science
In the fall of 2018, Tammy Patterson, PCC member, and USGS scientist, led a team to study local bats at our Frame Conservation Area. They set up audio equipment at the west end of the property by Reynolds creek.
Sound recordings of bat calls were made and the following bats were identified over the course of one night: 48 Big Brown, 36 Silver-haired, 9 Hoary, 8 Evening, 5 Little Brown, 4 Eastern Red and 2 Tri-colored bats. They also netted 4 big brown bats, one was lactating which indicates that there was a maternity colony nearby.
PCC and Valpo Chain of Lakes then partnered to purchase bat monitoring equipment for Tammy to use to continue her studies with the organizations.
Watch for the next issue of Chiroptera Monthly to learn about PCC's 2019 Bat Monitoring and Habitat project.
You can watch a YouTube video on "Mammals of Flight" by the Lochmueller Group.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfQYvmakPzg&feature=youtu.be
HAPPY BAT WEEK - Oct. 24 - 31
Washington, DC (October 16, 2019) – A coalition of partners across North America announced the launch of Bat Week, an international celebration of the role bats play in nature. This annual event held October 24 – 31, is designed to raise awareness about the need for bat conservation across the globe.
Bats are incredible animals that are vital to the health of our environment and economy. Although we may not always see them, bats are hard at work all around the world each night -- eating tons of insects, pollinating flowers and spreading seeds that grow new plants and trees.
At-risk species listed on the site include the Townsend big-eared bat, the Florida bonneted bat, the Indiana bat, the Northern long-eared bat, and the Mexican long-nosed bat.
- Indiana bats (pictured here) are small, insect-eating bats that live in North America. They are currently listed as an endangered species in the US as populations have been impacted by threats like White-nose syndrome (WNS), a deadly fungal disease.
- Townsend’s big-eared bats boast massive ears. Two endangered subspecies under threat of habitat loss reside in the Ozarks and Appalachian regions.
- The Florida bonneted bat is found only in south Florida. It is listed as an endangered species in the United States.
- The northern long-eared bat is a species of bat native to North America. There are no recognized subspecies. This is another species under threat from WNS.
- The Mexican long-nosed bat is federally endangered and relies on nectar from blooming agave to make long migrations through Mexico into the southwest United States.
print for coloring fun!
try this word search game to learn about the insects bats eat
“The baby bat
Screamed out in fright,
'Turn on the dark,
I'm afraid of the light.”
― Shel Silverstein