BUNKERS

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BATSB AT C O N S E R VAT I O N I N T E R N AT I O N A L

BATSBUNKERS

in the

BATS AND FLOWERSIN AN EVOLUTIONARY RACE

WHY KATYDIDSSTOP THEIR SINGING

INCLUDES

2008-2009

ANNUAL REPORT

BATS

COVER PHOTO: The lesser mouse-tailed bat is a frequent user of abandonedIsraeli military bunkers that were modified to make them more friendly forroosting bats. (Story on Page 7.)

© MERL IN D . TUTTLE , B C I / 8 4 0 3 1 0 1

BATS Volume 27, No. 3 , fall 2009

Publications StaffDirector of Publications: Robert LockePhoto Editor: Meera BantaGraphic Artist: Jason HuertaCopyeditors: Angela England, Valerie Locke

BATS welcomes queries from writers. Send your article pro-posal with a brief outline and a description of any photos tothe address above or via email to: pubs@batcon.org.

Members: Please send changes of address and all cor res -pondence to the address above or via email to members@bat-con.org. Please include your label, if possible, and allow sixweeks for the change of address.

Founder/President Emeritus: Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle

Board of Trustees:Executive Committee: John D. Mitchell, ChairBert Grantges, SecretaryMarshall T. Steves, Jr., Treasurer

Jeff Acopian; Anne-Louise Band; Eugenio ClariondReyes; Bettina Mathis; Sandy Read; Walter C. Sedgwick;Marc Weinberger.Advisory Trustees: Sharon R. Forsyth; Elizabeth AmesJones; Travis Mathis; Wilhelmina Robertson; WilliamScanlan, Jr.Verne R. Read, Chairman Emeritus

Scientific Advisory Board:Dr. Leslie S. Hall, Dr. Greg Richards, Bruce Thomson,Australia; Dr. Irina K. Rakhmatulina, Azerbaijan; Dr.Luis F. Aguirre, Bolivia; Dr. Wilson Uieda, Brazil; Dr.M. Brock Fenton, Canada; Dr. Jiri Gaisler, CzechRepublic; Dr. Uwe Schmidt, Germany; Dr. GanapathyMarimuthu, Dr. Shahroukh Mistry, India; Dr. ArnulfoMoreno, Mexico; Ir. Herman Limpens, Netherlands; Dr.Armando Rodriguez-Duran, Puerto Rico; Dr. Ya-Fu Lee,Taiwan; Dr. Denny G. Constantine, Robert Currie, Dr.Theodore H. Fleming, Dr. Thomas H. Kunz, Dr. GaryF. McCracken, Dr. Don E. Wilson, United States; Dr.José R. Ochoa G., Venezuela.

Membership Manager: Amy McCartneyBATS (ISSN 1049-0043) is published quarterly by Bat Con ser vation International, Inc., a nonprofit corporation supported by tax-deductible contributions used for publiceducation, research and conservation of bats and the ecosys-tems that depend on them.

© Bat Conser vation International, 2009. All rights reserved.

Bat Conservation International’s mission is to conserve theworld’s bats and their ecosystems in order to ensure a healthyplanet.

A subscription to BATS is included with BCI membership:Senior, Student or Educator $30; Basic $35; Friends of BCI$45; Supporting $60; Contributing $100; Patron $250;Sustaining $500; Founder’s Circle $1,000. Third-class postagepaid at Austin, Texas. Send address changes to Bat Conser -vation International, P.O. Box 162603, Austin, TX 78716.

P.O. Box 162603, Austin, Texas 78716(512) 327-9721 • Fax (512) 327-9724

F E A T U R E S

1 Going to Great LengthsBats & flowers stage an evolutionary race

by Nathan Muchhala

4 Singing Bat Detectors Katydids know when to shut up

by Hannah ter Hofstede

7 Bats along the Jordan RiverMilitary bunkers are becoming bat houses

by Eran Levin

11 Softening the BlowNew wind-energy research could help reduce bat kills

by Rebecca Patterson

N E W S & N O T E S

14 Of bats and wine

It’s time to apply for BCI Scholarships

Do Bats Drink Blood?

A plan for WNS

Working together for bats and turkeys

BCI Member Snapshot

The Wish List

Volume 27, No. 3 F A L L 2 0 0 9 B AT S1

Bats play essential roles in healthy ecosystems – so muchso that various bat species have impacted the evolution

of insects they hunt or plants they pollinate. Bats evolvedhunting aids, such as echolocation (emitting ultrasonicsounds and analyzing returning echoes to catch prey andavoid obstacles in the dark), or grew longer snouts to reachinto flowers and lap nectar. Insects responded, for example,by evolving hearing that is sensitive to ultrasound, while

plants open their flowers at night or changed shape toattract bats and improve pollination. This evolutionary titfor tat has been going on for at least 50 million years.

This issue of BATS features research that explores how anevolving plant led one bat species to grow an enormouslylong tongue and how katydids learned to escape attackingbats. Bats not only contribute greatly to nature, they helpedto shape it through many examples of coevolution.

Evolving Together

GOING TO GREAT LENGTHSBats & flowers stagean evolutionary race

by Nathan Muchhala

After hanging motionless for a spell, the bat suddenly stretches, cat-like, unfurling first one wing,then the other. It yawns widely and extends its tongue. And keeps extending it – longer and longerin a remarkable display. This is a tube-lipped nectar bat, and its tongue, at full stretch, reaches morethan 11⁄2 times its body length.

The bat in my screened-in tent in Ecuador laps sugar-water from the bottom of a plastic test tube– and contributes to my efforts to determine why evolution produced such a spectacular tongue.

I discovered this unique bat during fieldwork for my Ph.D. dissertation for the University ofMiami. In a paper coauthored with two Ecuadorian biologists, we named the species the tube-lippednectar bat (Anoura fistulata) because of its distinctive elongated lower lip.

This bat extends itsremarkably long tongueinto a semiartificial flowercomposed of a local plantand a plastic test tube. Thetest tube is attached to aprotractor-like device thatmeasures the force that’sbeing applied by the bat.

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A tube-lipped nectar bat

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flower of Aphelandra

acanthus in Ecuador.

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Subsequent research demonstrated that this bat can extendits tongue some 3.3 inches (8.5 centimeters), twice as long asother nectar bats and longer, relative to body length, than anyother mammal. Novel modifications of its mouth and throatallow it to store large portions of its retracted tongue in asleeve of tissue inside the rib cage.

What evolutionary pressures could have brought aboutsuch a spectacular tongue? In 2008, I returned to Ecuadorwith financial support from Bat Conservation International toexplore this question.

One possible answer was suggested by Charles Darwin. Hehypothesized that the remarkably long tongue of a giant hawkmoth in Madagascar evolved in a “race of increasing lengths”with the exceptionally long nectar spur of the Malagasy starorchid. Although the term “coevolution” wasn’t coined untilthe 1960s, this was one of the first descriptions of a coevolu-tionary process.

Darwin reasoned that, for moths, tongues equal to orlonger than flower tubes would be required to reach all of thenectar. From the flowers’ perspective, the tubes needed to belonger than moth tongues to ensure that the moth has to pushits head into the flower, and thus pick up (or deposit) thepollen found there. A moth’s tongue (or proboscis) functionslike a straw: nectar is sipped through a groove in the center. Soif a moth’s tongue is longer than the floral tube, it could con-sume all of the nectar while hovering outside of the flower andnever actually touching the flower’s reproductive parts; theflower goes unpollinated. The result of those opposing needs

is a repetitive loop: the flower grows longer to ensure pollina-tion, while the moth’s tongue lengthens to reach more nectar,which causes the flower to grow longer, and so on.

The diet of tube-lipped nectar bats includes nectar from theflower Centropogon nigricans, which stores its nectar at the baseof 3- to 31⁄2-inch (8- to 9-centimeter) tubes. Could this plant andbat have coevolved in a race similar to that envisioned byDarwin? As with moths, the benefit of increased tongue lengthsin nectar bats is clear: it allows the animal to reach more nectar.The value of long tubes for the plant, however, is not as obvi-ous. Unlike moths, Anoura fistulata and other nectar-eating batsdrink nectar by extending and retracting the tongue, much as adog laps up water. This means that the bats will fully insert theirheads into even short-tubed flowers and extend their tonguesonly as far as needed to reach the nectar. So why would evolv-ing a longer tube help the flower?

I suspected that although bats will fully insert their headsinto any flower, they push especially hard against flowers withlong tubes in an effort to reach that last drop of nectar. Thisextra force should mean that they pick up and deposit morepollen grains, which allows the plant to produce more seeds.

To test this idea, I traveled into the cloud forests ofEcuador’s Bellavista Reserve. With the help of three field assis-tants, I set up nets around C. nigricans flowers and capturedfour tube-lipped nectar bats. I held these bats for four days inseparate screened tents and performed two sets of experimentswith them.

The first experiment involved flower proxies: plastic test

courtesy of NathaN muchhala

Nathan Muchhala peers through a microscope (left) to count pollen grains deposited in flowers by nectar-eatingbats. The screen enclosures (right) housed the bats and the experiments, which demonstrated that longer flow-ers collected more pollen.

Volume 27, No. 3 F A L L 2 0 0 9 B AT S3

tubes cut to six different lengths. I attached wire “stems” to thetubes and placed them in front of protractor-like platesdesigned to measure the force with which the bats pushed intothe tubes. I poured small amounts of sugared water into thetubes, set them up in the tents and recorded the bats withnight-vision video cameras. I scored each bat visit in terms ofduration and force. The experiment showed that longer tubesresulted in longer visits, but had no effect on visit force.

Next, I used semiartificial flowers. I cut actual C. nigricansflowers near the base of their tubes and placed them in eitherof two different lengths of plastic tubes. This allowed me tomanipulate the length of flowers without affecting the repro-ductive parts.

Like most flowers, those of C. nigricans have both male andfemale reproductive parts. Each flower goes through a malephase, producing pollen and placing it on visiting pollinators,for several days, followed by several days of a female phase,during which it collects pollen from pollinators to fertilize itsseeds. Flower length could affect the success of either the malephase (how much pollen is “exported”) or female phase (the“import” of pollen).

For each of the two tube lengths, I allowed the captive batsto visit a single male-phase flower followed by a single female-phase flower. I then collected pollen from the female-phaseflowers and used a microscope to count how many grains hadbeen transferred. Results showed a strong benefit to increasedflower length: longer male-phase flowers exported 123 percentmore pollen than the shorter flowers, and longer female-phaseflowers received 144 percent more pollen.

I filmed these visits to the semiartificial flowers and record-ed visit duration and force. Unexpectedly, the flowers thatwere most successful in transferring pollen did not receivelonger or more forceful bat visits. Although longer flowersclearly enjoy better pollination, the reason remains unclear. Isuspect that my method of measuring force was inadequate forthe task, recording forces that push the flower up or down

rather than those pushing directly into the flower.But regardless which aspect of bat behavior is responsible

for the difference, this research clearly demonstrates that batsare more efficient pollinators of longer flowers. In combina-tion with a length benefit to bats – longer tongues give accessto more nectar – this sets up the conditions for a coevolution-ary race between plant and bat. The remarkable tongue of thisrecently discovered bat likely evolved in a “race of increasinglengths” similar to that envisioned by Darwin more than 150years ago.

Not surprisingly, C. nigricans is completely dependent ontube-lipped nectar bats for pollination and only occurs wherethe bat species occurs. That’s not so for the bats, how ever. Ifound pollen from other flowers on the fur of tube-lipped nec-tar bats. And although the range of the plant is restricted to asmall part of the northwestern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes,these bats have been confirmed throughout the eastern andwestern slopes and as far north as central Colombia.

This raises a whole new set of questions. For instance, whatother flowers do tube-lipped nectar bats visit? Have otherlong-tubed flowers coevolved with it? Are the tongues of tube-lipped nectar bat populations shorter in forests with shorterflowers, as the coevolutionary scenario would predict? I hopeto study the diet of these amazing bats throughout the rest oftheir range in order to address these sorts of questions.

NATHAN MUCHHALA is a postdoctoral researcher at theUniversity of Toronto. This research was supported by a BCI grantmade possible by BCI Members Edmund S. and Marie Morgan.

You can help this young scientist continue research on this andrelated questions concerning the diet and evolution of this new batspecies. Muchhala seeks a BCI grant of $5,040 to cover field-research costs for eight weeks in Ecuador, which includes trainingseveral Ecuadorian biology students in bat-research techniques. Tohelp support this research, please visit www.batcon.org/ggnm.

photos courtesy of NathaN muchhala

Volume 27, No. 3BATS F A L L 2 0 0 94

In the war between bats and night-flying insects, the bats use theirbiosonar systems for tracking prey, while many insects evolved ultrasonichearing to monitor bats’ echolocation calls, which permits sophisticatedescape maneuvers. The result is a remarkable array of predator-prey adap-tations built around aerial dogfights.

Gleaning bats, however, snatch their prey off plants, rocks and othersurfaces and use quieter echolocation calls that are difficult for insects tohear. How does that affect the interactions between predator and prey?

Early researchers called the gleaners “whispering bats” because theircalls tend to be fainter – as well as shorter and higher-frequency – thanthose of bats that hunt flying insects. Although gleaning bats still echolo-cate, mostly to avoid obstacles in flight, many rely on prey-generatedsounds, such as rustling noises or calling songs, to locate prey.

That suggests a potentially effective defense against gleaning bats: theinsects need to know when to shut up. If insects can hear the approach ofa gleaning bat, they might be able to silence themselves in time to preventthe attack.

This lethal contest between predator and prey was the subject of myPh.D. research at the University of Toronto. Working with ProfessorJames Fullard (author of “Predator and Prey: Life and Death Struggles” inthe Summer 1991 issue of BATS magazine), I conducted my research atthe Queen’s University Biological Station (QUBS) in Southern Ontario,Canada. This is an ideal site that provides abandoned mines for capturingbats, a large outdoor flight room for behavioral experiments and a diverseabundance of insects.

SINGING BAT DETECTORSKatydids know whento shut up

by Hannah ter Hofstede

Top photo: Bats and katydids do battle around the world.

In Latin America, this D’Orbigny’s round-eared bat

(Tonatia sylvicola) prepares to capture a katydid. (The

species was not part of this study.) Bottom: A conehead

katydid like those studied by Hannah ter Hofstede.

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Volume 27, No. 3 F A L L 2 0 0 9 B AT S5

My work was inspired by earlier research by Paul Faure ofMcMaster University in Canada and Ronald Hoy of CornellUniversity in the United States, who found that coneheadkatydids (Neoconocephalus ensiger) stopped singing in responseto pulses of ultrasound. Could that be a defense against glean-ing bats?

Katydids are closely related to crickets and, like crickets,the males produce a song to attract females by rubbing theirforewings together. Katydids also have ears that are sensitive toultrasound – the high-frequency sounds, mostly beyondhuman hearing – that bats use for echolocation.

My first step was to identify bat species that were gleaningthese insects. Eight species are found in Ontario, but only one,the northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis), appears to special-ize in gleaning. I captured several northern myotis in the areaand caught conehead katydids in the fields by following theirsongs at night and picking them off grass stems. One evening, Ireleased several katydids and one northern myotis into the flightroom for the first time, then sat back with a night-vision scopeto see what might happen. I was not disappointed.

The bat perched on a wall near the ceiling, while a katydidsat barely 12 inches (30 centimeters) away. Predator and preyseemed unaware of each other. Suddenly, the katydid began tosing. The bat’s ears started twitching, and after several seconds,he took off, landed on the katydid and ate it. Other northern

myotis I caught that summer had similar reactions: theyignored silent katydids, but often – though not always – madeshort work of those that burst into song.

Over the next two years, we tested more than 60 northernmyotis for their responses to katydid calling songs – usingeither live katydids or a recorded calling song broadcast froma speaker – during their first 15 minutes in the flight room.About one-third of the bats hovered in front of or landed onthe katydid/speaker. The number of bats responding to thekatydid song increased over the summer, possibly as these batsgrew more accustomed to this insect as prey.

For comparison, we watched the bats’ responses to theunfamiliar song of a cricket. Some bats hovered near thespeaker but none landed in response to the cricket song. Wealso tested six bats with katydids singing in potted grasses tosee if the bats can remove the prey from their natural singingperch. Three of the bats attacked the katydids in the grass; onesuccessfully removed and ate the insect.

Next we confronted a puzzle: Northern myotis were bothinterested and skilled at gleaning katydids in the flight room,yet katydids have never been reported in diet analyses of thesebats. The feeding behavior we observed provided a likely solu-tion to this conundrum.

A northern myotis typically grabs the katydid by the backof the “neck” and vigorously chomps to kill the prey. Then the

This bat was among several north-ern myotis that pursued katydidsin a flight room as part of astudy of predator-prey inter-actions and tactics.

courtesy of haNNah ter hofstede

Volume 27, No. 3BATS F A L L 2 0 0 96

bat positions itself head up, grasping a surface with thumbsand hind feet so the tail membrane forms a pouch, over whichthe insect is eaten. The bat eats the body, starting at the headand working downward, while letting larger, harder body partssuch as wings and legs fall into the tail-membrane pouch.Finally, the bat picks through the remains in the pouch, eatingany meaty bits before dropping remnants to the ground.

Bat-diet analyses usually involve examining fecal samples forinsect parts. When feeding on katydids, however, these bats didnot consume the hard parts that are used for identification, sofecal analysis may not be the best way to find katydids in a smallbat’s diet. Fecal analysis for several captive bats that had recent-ly eaten katydids revealed very few parts that could be identified.

If northern myotis hunt katydids, what defenses haveevolved in katydids? We recorded the “search” and “attack”echolocation calls of northern myotis and played them tokatydids that were singing in cages. Sure enough, the katydidsconsistently stopped singing in response to calls broadcast atrealistic intensities.

This seems like an effective antipredator strategy, but dothe bats have a countermeasure? Could they switch from pas-sive listening to echolocation to detect a silent target? Perhapsthe bat can remember the last spot where it heard prey songsand attack there.

In collaboration with John Ratcliffe of the University ofSouthern Denmark, I tested whether northern myotis can out-

maneuver katydids by subjecting individual bats to four sce-narios: 1) a continuous calling song played from a speaker inthe flight room with a dead katydid on the surface as a target;2) same as Scenario 1, but without the katydid; 3) an inter-rupted calling song, in which we stopped the song as the batflew towards the speaker with a dead katydid on the surface;and 4) same as Scenario 3, but without the katydid.

The bats landed on the speaker as long as the calling songplayed continuously during their approach, but they broke offthe attack if the sound stopped, regardless of whether a katy-did was present. This means the bats have no countertactic uptheir wings, and simply shutting up is an effective katydiddefense against these gleaning bats.

Katydids obviously find themselves in a difficult situation:they must sing to attract a mate, but singing runs the real riskof attracting gleaning bats. Their remarkable ability to hearand react to the ultrasonic calls of bats helps them survive thisdilemma. Our flight-room observations show that bats cansometimes sneak up on katydids. But when the prey hears thepredator in time, katydids can often deprive the bat of the onething it needs to find them: that chirping beacon that seems tosay “dinner.”

HANNAH TER HOFSTEDE is a post-doctoral researcher at theUniversity of Bristol School of Biological Sciences in the UnitedKingdom.

Bats’ responses to katydid songs were explored in this flight room in Ontario, Canada. Therecorded calls were played over speakers placed in various positions behind the black screen.The bats typically responded by flying to the mesh-covered hole closest to the speaker.

courtesy of haNNah ter hofstede

Volume 27, No. 3 F A L L 2 0 0 9 B AT S7

BATS ALONGTHE JORDAN RIVER

Military bunkers are becoming bat houses

BATS ALONGTHE JORDAN RIVER

Military bunkers are becoming bat houses

Bunkers and bomb shelters dot the historic 60 miles (96 kilo-meters) of the Jordan River Valley between Israel and Jordan.Since the peace agreement of 1994, most have been abandoned– except by an assortment of bats, which roost precariously onthe slick ceilings and walls of some bunkers. Giving a conserva-tion twist to the notion of beating swords into plowshares, ourteam, with help from a BCI Global Grassroots Conser vationFund grant, converted these old bunkers into prime bat roosts.

The valley, no more than five miles (8 kilometers) wide, liesbetween the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. Its climate variesfrom Mediterranean in the north, with warm, dry summersand relatively rainy winters, to extreme desert in the south. Thevalley, with its rich soil, warm climate and water from the riverand frequent oases, is extremely fertile. It also hosts remarkablydiverse flora and fauna, including at least 27 bat species (out ofa total of 33 reported in Israel.)

Except for the Egyptian rousette fruit bat (Rousettus aegyp-tiacus), all are insect eaters. There are many farms on both sidesof the river, including numerous organic date-palm planta-tions. These bats – as consumers of agricultural pests – are sig-nificant assets for farmers and increasing their numberspromises real benefits, a point we stressed in the education

(Top photo) The lesser horseshoe bat (left) and Blasius’ horseshoebat are among species that seek refuge in old military bunkers inIsrael. So does this lesser mouse-tailed bat (bottom photo) thatclings to plastic mesh installed in the conservation project.

by Eran Levin

photos courtesy of eraN leViN

Volume 27, No. 3BATS F A L L 2 0 0 98

aspects of our work.Roosting sites are probably a limiting factor for bat

populations, since most natural caves in the JordanValley have been disturbed by human activities. Thefact that bats colonized the military bunkers shortlyafter they were abandoned supports this hypothesis.

I had previously surveyed most of these bunkers,which are located between the river and Israeli borderfences, as part of my Ph.D. research on greater mouse-tailed bats (Rhinopoma microphyllum). Each bunkerconsists of several tunnels leading to an undergroundroom (roughly 13 by 40 feet [4 x 12 meters]). They arerarely visited; our surveys and modification workrequired permission from the Israeli military.

With help from the Israeli Defense Force and theNature and Parks Authority, we located more than 20abandoned bunkers and bomb shelters. Their metalceilings and walls, however, are too slick for bats toeasily cling to. We found bats hanging from aging elec-

An assortment of bats, including these clustersof trident leaf-nosed bats, quickly moved intoold bunkers that were retrofitted with anassortment of surface materials that bats caneasily grip.

Eran Levin applies a bat-friendly surface to the slick, metal ceiling of anabandoned military bunker in the Jordan River Valley.

courtesy of eraN leViN

courtesy of eraN leViN

Volume 27, No. 3 F A L L 2 0 0 9 B AT S9

tric cables and assorted braces and shelves. Some bunkers werealmost filled with abandoned equipment and assorted rubbish,while the entrances to others were closed or blocked.

I identified 10 bat species using the structures as day roostsor maternity roosts. That total is now 12 species, includingtwo listed by the IUCN as critically endangered in the IsraelRegion, three as endangered and five as vulnerable. These batsinclude species that are typically classified as European, Afri -can and Mediterranean.

For four species – the greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophusferrumequinum), Geoffroy’s myotis (Myotis emarginatus), tri-dent leaf-nosed bat (Asellia tridens) and Egyptian slit-faced bat(Nycteris thebaica) – the bunker populations represent the firstmaternity colonies discovered in Israel since the mass declinein bat populations. During the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, bats ofmany species were devastated in the region, largely because of

misdirected and needless efforts to eradicate Egyptian rousettefruit bats (see “The Bats of Israel,” BATS Spring 2003).

Our team included Eran Amichai of Tel Aviv University,Amit Dolev of the Society for the Protection of Nature inIsrael and Aviam Atar of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

Our approach to converting these old bunkers into bathouses was to first clear trash and entrance obstructions, thento cover the slick, metal ceilings with bat-friendly materialsthat give the animals a rough surface they can grasp securely.We did this by applying plaster mixed with gravel, attachingplastic mesh, installing simple wood structures, stretchingropes or spraying a layer of lumpy, polyurethane foam.

We fully converted eight bunkers with a mix of treatments.The bats quickly embraced their remodeled roosts and beganmoving in almost immediately. The most common speciesusing the bunkers during summer is the trident leaf-nosed bat,

Military bunkers like these are sprinkled along the Jordan River Valley between Israel and Jordan. Mostwere abandoned after the peace agreement of 1994, although bats of at least a dozen diverse specieshave colonized them. An Israeli team, with support from BCI’s Global Grassroots Conservation Fund,has been remodeling bunker interiors to better meet the needs of bats as natural roosts disappear.

courtesy of eraN leViN

BCI’s Global Grassroots Conservation Fund supports innovative bat conser-vation projects like this one around the world. Your help can make a realdifference. Support Global Grassroots at www.batcon.org/grassroots.

Volume 27, No. 3BATS F A L L 2 0 0 910

Before Israeli conservationists remodeled the bunkers into superior roosts,bats were unable to cling to the slick surfaces. Instead, they were forced tohang from old electric cords, bracing and other surfaces. Many more batsare expected to move into shelters that are now bat friendly.

with several thousand individuals forming the species’ onlyknown maternity colony in Israel.

Trident leaf-nosed bats and Geoffroy’s horseshoe batsseemed to prefer ceilings of polyurethane foam and plaster-and-gravel; greater horseshoe bats favored ropes; while mouse-tailed bats chose plastic mesh and wood structures.

We also positioned temperature dataloggers in each bunkerto monitor conditions. Horseshoe bats typically chose coolerbunkers than other species.

We fully expect increasing numbers of bats, as well as addi-tional species, to colonize these much-improved roosts – find-ing refuge in these military relics. The bunker bats will bene-fit farmers along both sides of the Jordan, a fact we will pub-licize with education and outreach.

Our project area is along Israel’s border with Jordan and

the Palestinian authority, and the work itself was possible as aresult of the peace treaty with Jordan. We hope this projectwill strengthen the peace agreement with our neighbors andprovide a basis for future cooperation in bat conservation.

ERAN LEVIN is a graduate student in zoology at Tel AvivUniversity, a member of the Society for the Protection of Naturein Israel’s Mammals Research Center. He supervises a project forthe rehabilitation of insectivorous bat populations in urban areasof Israel.

This project also received funding from the Society for Protectionof Nature in Israel, Israel Nature and Parks Authority and theJerusalem Biblical Zoo.

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he morning sun is barely rising over theforested Pennsylvania ridge top when threegiant blades twist slowly to catch the windand begin rotating on their 263-foot (80-meter) tower. Electricity starts flowing fromthe wind turbine almost immediately.

And soon after, a team of BCI field biol-ogists in bright-orange vests and hard hatsbegin scouring the fields surrounding thisand other turbines at the Casselman WindPower Project. On this balmy July day, thebiologists are collecting data and searchingfor bat carcasses, just as they did during thefreezing rains of early spring. The turbinesand the biologists are both part of an experi-ment designed to reduce the number of bats that are beingkilled at wind-energy facilities around the United States andelsewhere.

Ed Arnett, BCI’s Co-director of Programs, arrives at theIberdrola Renewables wind farm with two assistants, a pair ofchocolate Labrador retrievers – experienced hunting dogstrained to search for bat carcasses under turbine blades. The

dogs are skilled at spottingdead bats in waist-high grassand other daunting terrains.This experiment could proveextremely important, and itwas a long time in the making.Arnett is here to help ensurethe project’s success.

The idea for this study wasfirst proposed at the initialmeeting of the Bats and WindEnergy Cooperative (BWEC)in 2004. The BCI-led programwas formed in response to analarming number of bat fatali-

ties discovered at a wind-energy facility at Mountaineer, WestVirginia. This unusual collaboration of conservationists, indus-try and government was charged with prioritizing and con-ducting research designed to reduce bat kills at wind turbines.BWEC was founded by BCI, the American Wind EnergyAssociation, the National Renewable Energy Lab and the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service. Arnett is the BWEC Coordinator.

SOFTENINGTHE BLOW

New wind-energy researchcould help reduce bat kills

SOFTENINGTHE BLOW

New wind-energy researchcould help reduce bat kills

This dead bat was recovered from beneath a windturbine at the Casselman Wind Power Project in astudy that found such bat kills can be reduced byshutting down turbines on certain low-wind nights.

Ed Arnett of BCI examines a dead bat found by his chocolatelabrador, Sage, at the Casselman Wind Power Project nearRockwood, Pennsylvania.

by Rebecca Patterson

©michael schirmacher, Bci / 0045780

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Volume 27, No. 3BATS F A L L 2 0 0 912

Field-research technician Paula Shover (left photo) searches for bat carcasses near giant wind tur-bines at the Casselman Wind Project. Casselman’s owner, Iberdrola Renewables, allowed BCI toconduct this critical research in hopes of reducing wind-energy bat kills. (Right) Shover marks thelocation of a bat killed at one of the turbines.

Tens of thousands of bats are being killed at wind farms inthe eastern United States each year in collisions with the spin-ning turbine blades and from related causes. Nationwide, con-firmed bat kills include 12 of the United States’ 46 bat species.Little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) are common wind-power victims, almost 25 percent of bat kills at some sites – andalso the hardest hit by White-nose Syndrome. Reducing wind-power mortality becomes especially urgent among bat popula-tions that are being simultaneously devastated by WNS.

Studies at Mountaineer and at Pennsylvania sites showedthat bats were most often killed during migratory periods andon nights when wind speeds were low. (Subsequent researchfinds that roughly 85 percent of bat deaths occur during thefall migration from late July through mid-October.) This ledBWEC scientists five years ago to propose a test of the hypoth-esis that curtailment – shutting down wind turbines duringlow-wind periods at night – could reduce the number of batfatalities. During such periods, relatively little electricity wasbeing produced, which minimizes the costs of curtailment.

But persuading the wind industry to temporarily shutdown perfectly serviceable turbines in hopes of saving batsproved to be a tough sell. After being rebuffed by several wind-energy companies, BWEC scientists were finally able to testthe curtailment hypothesis last year.

The world’s leading provider of wind power, IberdrolaRenewables (formerly PPM Energy) allowed BWEC scientiststo use the Casselman Wind Power Project for the study. Thefirst U.S.-based curtailment experiment was conducted fromJuly through October 2008, and researchers were backbeneath the turbines again this year.

“We are proud to offer our Casselman site for this impor-tant experiment and fully support efforts of the BWEC,”Andrew Linehan, Iberdrola Renewables director of permit-ting, said. “We … recognize there is an impact on bats thatrequires scientific study.”

The BWEC team monitored fresh bat kills daily at 12 ofCasselman’s 23 turbines from July 26 through October 10.Each night, four randomly selected turbines were left to oper-ate normally, kicking into action when wind speed reached 7.8miles per hour (3.5 meters/second). The other eight were setto remain idle until winds reach 11.2 to 14.5 mph (5 to 6.5m/s). Researchers found no significant fatality differencesbetween the two experimental wind-speed thresholds. Tenother non-curtailed turbines, monitored for a separate study,were used for comparison as a second control group.

Our initial results are certainly promising. At Casselman,nightly bat fatalities were 53 to 87 percent lower at curtailedturbines than at fully operational units. The average drop in

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bat kills was 73 percent per night. These figures are consistentwith the 50 to 60 percent reductions reported from two simi-lar curtailment studies, one each in Germany and Canada.BCI scholarships and other grants helped support research ledby the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada (“PrairieWinds,” BATS Fall 2007).

The study also found that temporarily stopping turbineson low-wind nights results in minimal power losses annually.If the temporary curtailment procedures were applied to all 23Casselman turbines during the migration period of approxi-mately 21⁄2 months, total electricity output for the year wouldbe reduced by less than one percent.

With the number of wind-energy projects growing rapidlyaround the country, it is vital that scientists demonstrate feasi-ble methods for sharply reducing the number of bat fatalitiesand that wind-power operators adopt them.

While continuing their curtailment studies, BWEC scien-tists also are conducting the first tests of a prototype acoustic

deterrent at operating wind turbines. The device is designed tobroadcast ultrasonic noise that should interfere with the bats’own echolocation-based navigation system to such an extentthat the animals steer clear of the turbines. BWEC is deploy-ing the devices on operational turbines to determine theirimpact on bat fatalities. Once again, Iberdrola Renewablesstepped forward to support critical BWEC research and ishosting the deterrent study at a different Pennsylvania facility.

We are making progress toward the day when bats andwind turbines can share the landscape without littering theground with carcasses. But the expanding wind industry willnot wait for the results of conservation science. BCIresearchers face a tight deadline as more bats are dying everyday. But with the continued support of BCI members, gov-ernment and industry, we will reach this goal.

REBECCA PATTERSON is the Programs Assistant at BatConservation International.

An acoustic engineer from Deaton Engineering Inc. of Georgetown, Texas, installs a prototypeacoustic-deterrent device on a turbine at the Locust Ridge Wind Farm at Hazleton, Pennsylvania.The device, which is undergoing field tests, is designed to keep bats from approaching the windturbines by broadcasting ultrasonic noise.

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Volume 27, No. 3BATS F A L L 2 0 0 914

Of bats and wineby Ed Arnett

A s the sun sets over the Texas Hill Country, the workdaycomes to an end for the owners and employees of Singing

Water Vineyards. But it’s just beginning for the night shift.These workers emerge each summer evening from small wood-en boxes atop 15-foot (4.5-meter) poles scattered amid rows ofmerlot, Syrah and pinot grigio grapes. Their job is to wreakhavoc among insects in the area, and they’re good at it – forthese workers are bats lured to the vineyard by bat houses.

Dick and Julie Holmberg purchased this property nearComfort, Texas, in 1993 and planted their first grapes fiveyears later. Initial plans to sell grapes to Central Texas wineriessoon blossomed into their own commercial winery. Theretired Exxon human-resources specialist said he and his wifenamed their vineyard after “the wonderful sound that fills theair as the waters of Bruins Creek cascade over the waterfall onthe property.”

“I got very interested in promoting bats,” Dick Holmbergsaid, “when I read somewhere that bats ... eat leafhoppers,which are known to transmit Pierce’s disease, which is devas-tating to the wine industry.” The Holmberg vineyards are nowpatrolled by the residents of three bat houses, he said, addingthat “it took about a year before we noticed any bats using thehouses.”

“We’ve always tried to promote an organic approach to ouroperation and use as few chemical applications as possible,”Holmberg said. “I don’t know if it’s because of the bats them-selves or in combination with our light use of some pesticides,but so far we’ve never had Pierce’s or any other insect-relateddisease here at the vineyard.”

Grapes are an economically vital industry around much ofthe world, with tens of millions of acres planted in grapesworldwide. But as with most agricultural crops, grapes arebedeviled by an assortment of pests and pathogens. TheUniversity of California’s Statewide Integrated Pest Manage -ment Program says at least 24 insects and mites can damagegrapes and the vines that grow them.

Bats, meanwhile, are primary predators of night-flyinginsects, including many pests that annually cause billions of dol-lars in damage to crops and forests. The diets of various batspecies include a staggering array of moths, flies, beetles,froghoppers (spittlebugs), leafhoppers, plant hoppers, grasshop-pers, stinkbugs and cicadas. And researchers have documentedthat insects often avoid areas where bats are foraging.

BCI Conservation Biologist Mylea Bayless, an artificial-roost specialist, confirmed that both evening bats (Nycticeiushumeralis) and Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis)were roosting in the Singing Water bat houses. “These twospecies have different feeding styles and, together, can con-sume several different insect pests,” Bayless said. “Evening batsare far more maneuverable than freetails and are more likely tobe feeding near the ground among the grape vines. Having

both species is a real benefit because they will eat a wider rangeof insect pests.”

The Holmbergs are devoted ambassadors for bats, toutingthe benefits of their “night-time helpers” to customers, familyand friends. This fall, BCI plans to help the Singing WaterVineyards erect larger bat houses better designed to bring stillmore bats into the operation.

Whether bats truly control insect-transmitted Pierce’s dis-ease remains unknown and research is needed to fully demon-strate the importance of bats to the wine industry. But in themeantime, having bats around can only help – and they willalways have a home and a job at the Singing Water Vineyards.

ED ARNETT is BCI’s Co-director of Programs.

BCI Conservation Biologist Mylea Bayless (right) and DickHolmberg, owner of Singing Water Vineyards in Texas, examinebats in a bat house Holmberg installed on the vineyard.

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Do Bats Drink Blood?Fascinating Answers to Questions about Batsby Barbara A. Schmidt-French and Carol A. Butler

No other animals suffer as much from myth and misinfor-mation as the beleaguered bats. So Do Bats Drink Blood?

should have a prominent place on the bookshelf of just aboutanyone who’s interested in wildlife.

Presented in a Q & A format, it authoritatively covers mostaspects of these endlessly fascinating creatures, from “Whendid bats evolve?” (at least 52 million years ago) to “Can batsbe domesticated?” (sort of sometimes, but for a host ofreasons, don’t try it). A sample factoid: “Micro -bat pups are born feet first, … [while] megabatsare born head first.”

The 155-page publication (paperback,$21.95) is written by Barbara A. Schmidt-French,a leading bat rehabilitator and former ScienceOfficer for Bat Conservation International, andCarol A. Butler, an author and photographer. It’s thesecond volume in a planned series of Animal Q & Abooks published by Rutgers University Press. The first:Do Butterflies Bite?

The answers to the 66 questions posed in Do Bats

Drink Blood? are concise, reasonably comprehensive andinclude research results from an array of international bat sci-entists. Answers run from about one-fourth of a page (such as“Where in the world are bats found?”) to four pages (“Are batsintelligent?”). The 25 pages of citations provide a remarkableresource.

Bats of more than 1,100 species have much incommon, and this book reflects that, but moreimportantly, it emphasizes the wondrous diversity ofbats that live in varied habitats on every continentbut Antarctica. Their ecological and economicbenefits are well documented. And in addition tolots of accessible science, there are also answeredquestions about threats to bats, evicting batsfrom buildings, erecting a bat house, pho-tographing bats and “how can I help?”

Knowledge really is power in bat conser-vation, and by that measure, Do Bats Drink

Blood? is a very powerful book.– Robert Locke, BCI

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F A L L 2 0 0 9 B AT S15Volume 27, No. 3

Review

It’s time to apply for BCI ScholarshipsBCI’s Student Research Scholarship program is accepting

applications for 2010 awards. Since 1990, BCIScholarships have been helping top students at universitiesaround the world conduct research that contributes to theknowledge needed to conserve bats and their habitats.

Scholarships of up to $5,000 each for the 2010-11 acade-mic year will support research projects that directly impact batconservation anywhere in the world. Qualified research shouldaddress at least one of these issues: answering ecological orbehavioral questions that are essential to conservation or man-agement; resolving an economic problem that will improvesupport for conservation; or documenting key ecological oreconomic roles of bats.

Scholarship applications must be completed online at BCI’swebsite (www.batcon.org/index.php/what-we-do/grants/student-research-scholarships.html). The deadline for receipt of applica-

tions for 2010 BCI Scholarships is December 15, 2009.Applications are judged by a panel of non-BCI scientists, andawards are announced in March.

BCI has awarded 275 scholarships totaling $674,750 inthe past 19 years. With matching funds from other conserva-tion organizations, government agencies and private founda-tions, our investment helped generate a total of $4.8 millionin conservation-related research in 58 countries.

U.S. Forest Service International Programs partnered withBCI in 2005 to establish the Bats in International ForestryScholarship Fund, which provides BCI scholarships forresearch conducted in developing countries. Students fromany university are eligible for these awards, and all qualifiedapplicants will automatically be considered. Bats inInternational Forestry Scholarships have supported 39 stu-dent-research projects in 19 countries.

BCI provided 19 scholarships for the 2009-10 academic year. Among them were:•David Armitage (University of Florida): Effects of prescribedburning on insect and bat communities, Florida USA;

•Kristine Bohmann (University of Copenhagen): Free-tailedbats and the pest moth Eldana saccharin, Swaziland;

•Beth Clare (University of Guelph): Dietary resource parti-tioning in a bat community, Costa Rica;

• Lee-sim Lim (Queen Mary, University of London):Conservation consequences of forest fragmentation,Malaysia;

•Emma Stone (University of Bristol): Impact of artificial light-ing on bat behavior, United Kingdom.

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This winter almost certainly will see White-nose Syndromeincreasing its devastation among hibernating bats and

spreading into still more states beyond the AmericanNortheast. Now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) ispresenting its draft framework for a plan to coordinate andmanage the national response to this disastrous disease.

The framework, which outlines key priorities, actions andgoals for a national plan, was prepared in coordination withthe U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, U.S. ForestService and state agencies. Other agencies, states, organiza-tions and scientists will help develop the final plan, which, theFWS said, should be available for public review this winter.

Several scientists, including BCI President EmeritusMerlin Tuttle, testified before two congressional subcommit-tees in June that a coordinated federal strategy and leadershiprole are essential to dealing with this urgent wildlife crisis.

Since WNS was discovered in a cave in New York State inFebruary 2006, it has killed more than a million bats. TheFWS reports that the population of endangered Indianamyotis in its northeast region has fallen about 30 percent since2007. Mortality approaching 100 percent has been reported atsome major hibernation sites.

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has worked passion-ately towards a solution to White-nose Syndrome for the pastseveral years,” said Mylea Bayless, BCI’s WNS Coordinator.“Unfortunately, we expect WNS to move into the AmericanSouth and Midwest in the coming years, so we are pleased tosee an emerging national approach to addressing this crisis.This framework provides a good road map for that approach.The challenge now is funding its implementation.”

And time is running out.“As WNS spreads, the challenges for managing the disease

continue to increase,” the Fish and Wildlife Service said in itsdraft, which “details the elements that are critical to the inves-tigation and management of WNS.”

Among other things, the framework calls for developing acentralized and accessible system for making WNS research,data and analyses quickly available to those involved in theWNS effort. It would provide uniform standards for data col-lection, interpretation and dissemination.

The document notes the need for a reliable, rapid and stan-

dardized diagnosis of WNS in individual bats and in popula-tions. Mitigation will require the ability to “maintain existingWNS-free zones and WNS-free sites within the infectedzone.” A key goal is to minimize disease impacts enough “toallow the future restoration of all species to their geographicand genetic abundance.”

The framework says the purpose of the research compo-nent “is to identify and prioritize critical research needs inareas such as disease causality, transmissibility, live-animaltests, bioassays, genotyping and population monitoring, andto assess surveillance and management action plans.”

The FWS hopes to develop consensus standards for safe andeffective surveillance efforts to identify risk factors and improveearly detection and support prioritized conservation actions.

The draft framework can be viewed at the Fish andWildlife Service’s northeast region website:

www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html

BCI is refocusing its WNS Rapid Response Fund to target specif-ic gaps in research and mitigation efforts around the country. Helpwin the fight against White-nose Syndrome by donating at:www.batcon.org/wnsdonate

A plan for WNS

A fungus called Geomyces destructans coats the faces and wingsof most bats stricken with White-nose Syndrome. Scientists aredesperately seeking solutions to this devastating wildlife disease.

You can get a little more value out of that oldcar – or truck, van, motorcycle, boat or air-plane – that’s cluttering up your yard. Donateit to Bat Conservation International and we’lluse the proceeds to help conserve bats andtheir habitats around the world.

BCI can accept cars and other vehiclesfrom anywhere in the United States. The vehicledoesn’t have to be running; we’ll tow it away for

free. Vehicles that don’t sell at auc-tion are sold for salvage. Bat con-servation gets the profits eitherway.

Call us today, toll-free, at 877-BATS-123. We’ll pick up your vehi-cle and haul it away. And you’ll

receive a receipt for your tax-deductible donation.

Clunkers for Bats

©VermoNt fish aNd Wildlife departmeNt

Dave Waldien (front left), BCI’s Acting Executive Director, andJames Earl Kennamer, CEO of the National Wild Turkey

Federation, signed a Memorandum of Understanding in September.The two nonprofits pledged to work together to “conserve, enhanceand restore wildlife habitat, particularly as they relate to … bat andwild turkey conservation and management.”

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N E W S A N D N O T E S

Working togetherfor bats and turkeys

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Share a snapshot of your bat activities with fellow members: Email it topub@batcon.org or mail it to Snapshot, Bat Conservation International,PO Box 162603, Austin, TX 78716.

She goes by the name“Muninn” and she founded,

with her husband, the non-profit, community-serviceorganization Hercules Invictusin Hawley, Pennsylvania.Muninn says she “alwaysloved bats and the more Ilearn about them, the moreextraordinary I find them.”So they expanded theirefforts to include environ-mental outreach, specifi-cally education aboutbats. Their first Bat Festat the Hawley PublicLibrary was such a hitthat a second is on tap

for this Halloween season.

BCI Member Snapshot

WISH LISTThe

Finding Park Bats in Estonia Nearly all of Estonia’s natural forests disap-

peared over the past century. And although no onewas really keeping track, most bat colonies left aswell. Many of those displaced bats found newhomes in parklands associated with countryestates built when Estonia was part of the SovietUnion. The numbers, diversity and locations ofthose bats are mostly unknown, and few of theparklands are protected. Biologist Matti Masing isleading a team that hopes to survey bats that for-age in important parklands during summer andhibernate there in winter. His results could be acritical step in winning habitat protection for thesites. The project includes training for studentsand local conservationists in bat observation andresearch; community education that stresses theimportance of bats; and articles in local newsmedia. Masing is seeking a BCI Global GrassrootsConser vation Fund grant of $3,600 for the project.

Volunteers for Bat BridgesBat Conservation International and the Texas

Parks and Wildlife Department are working together to develop a volunteer program with TexasMaster Naturalists, a citizen-science program dedi-cated to protecting natural resources. The programwill recruit and train 10 to 20 volunteers to monitorbat colonies roosting in Texas bridges. Their datawill help state officials plan bridge repair, main -tenance and replacement projects to minimizeimpacts on the bats. This joint project needsorange safety cones for roadways ($24 each) andreflective vests for the volunteers ($12 each).

Mine Gates for Nevada BatsThe long-abandoned Piermont Mine is one of

the most important mines in Nevada for Town -send’s big-eared bats, as well as other species. Themine, which sprawls across six levels with sevenentrances, shelters a large maternity colony in itsupper reaches, while lower levels are used forhibernation. In fact, Townsend’s big-eared batsprobably utilize the old mine for all critical aspectsof their lives. Scientists urge that bat-friendly gatesbe installed at all seven entrances to protect batsthat depend on this site. BCI is working with federaland state partners to protect this critical mine.Government funds are available to gate entranceson public land, but several gates also are neededon private property. BCI is leading that effort andneeds about $4,000 to complete the project.

Your help with any of these special needs will directly improveBCI’s ability to protect bats and bat habitats. To contribute or formore information, contact BCI’s Department of Develop ment at(512) 327-9721 or development@batcon.org.

P.O. Box 162603Austin, TX 78716-2603 U.S.A.

A D D R E S S S E R V I C E R E Q U E S T E D

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDAUSTIN, TEXAS

PERMIT NO. 1530