The need to mark bats individually in order to assess life history parameters and movements is especially important as threats from white-nose syndrome (WNS) and wind energy development continue to negatively affect bats.
Responses to these threats at the population level can only be discerned through measurements made possible through marking. Although disparate bat banding efforts are ongoing, no coherent strategy, official clearinghouse or coordination program exists in North America, despite the recognized need. A major recommendation made in 2008 in “Summary and Analysis of the U.S. Government Bat Banding Program” was to develop a national clearinghouse for banded bats in order to optimize information obtained from marked bats.
The U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region are developing a clearinghouse for banded bats beginning with the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). To accomplish this task, FORT will send each Indiana bat permittee (intending to capture individuals) bat bands and pliers for band application. FORT is also currently developing a Bat Population Data (BPD) Project, which will eventually have a “Banding Application.” In this Web-based application, individual banders will be able to log on securely to the database and enter their banding information.
Below are publications associated with this project.
A plan for the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat)
Estimating sample size for landscape-scale mark-recapture studies of North American migratory tree bats
Summary and Analysis of the U.S. Government Bat Banding Program
Monitoring trends in bat populations of the United States and territories: Problems and prospects
Below are partners associated with this project.
- Overview
The need to mark bats individually in order to assess life history parameters and movements is especially important as threats from white-nose syndrome (WNS) and wind energy development continue to negatively affect bats.
USGS Research Biologist Paul Cryan taking a female hoary bat out of a net. This bat was intercepted during its spring migration through New Mexico. Photo by Leslie Cryan. Responses to these threats at the population level can only be discerned through measurements made possible through marking. Although disparate bat banding efforts are ongoing, no coherent strategy, official clearinghouse or coordination program exists in North America, despite the recognized need. A major recommendation made in 2008 in “Summary and Analysis of the U.S. Government Bat Banding Program” was to develop a national clearinghouse for banded bats in order to optimize information obtained from marked bats.
The U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region are developing a clearinghouse for banded bats beginning with the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). To accomplish this task, FORT will send each Indiana bat permittee (intending to capture individuals) bat bands and pliers for band application. FORT is also currently developing a Bat Population Data (BPD) Project, which will eventually have a “Banding Application.” In this Web-based application, individual banders will be able to log on securely to the database and enter their banding information.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
A plan for the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat)
The purpose of the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) is to create a continent-wide program to monitor bats at local to rangewide scales that will provide reliable data to promote effective conservation decisionmaking and the long-term viability of bat populations across the continent. This is an international, multiagency program. Four approaches will be used to gather monitoring dataAuthorsSusan C. Loeb, Thomas J. Rodhouse, Laura E. Ellison, Cori L. Lausen, Jonathan D. Reichard, Kathryn M. Irvine, Thomas E. Ingersoll, Jeremy T. H. Coleman, Wayne E. Thogmartin, John R. Sauer, Charles M. Francis, Mylea L. Bayless, Thomas R. Stanley, Douglas H. JohnsonEstimating sample size for landscape-scale mark-recapture studies of North American migratory tree bats
Concern for migratory tree-roosting bats in North America has grown because of possible population declines from wind energy development. This concern has driven interest in estimating population-level changes. Mark-recapture methodology is one possible analytical framework for assessing bat population changes, but sample size requirements to produce reliable estimates have not been estimated. ToAuthorsLaura E. Ellison, Paul M. LukacsSummary and Analysis of the U.S. Government Bat Banding Program
This report summarizes the U.S. Government Bat Banding Program (BBP) from 1932 to 1972. More than 2 million bands were issued during the program, of which approximately 1.5 million bands were applied to 36 bat species by scientists in many locations in North America including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Central America. Throughout the BBP, banders noticed numerous and deleterious effects on batsAuthorsLaura E. EllisonMonitoring trends in bat populations of the United States and territories: Problems and prospects
Bats are ecologically and economically important mammals. The life histories of bats (particularly their low reproductive rates and the need for some species to gather in large aggregations at limited numbers of roosting sites) make their populations vulnerable to declines. Many of the species of bats in the United States (U.S.) and territories are categorized as endangered or threatened, have bee - Partners
Below are partners associated with this project.