Date

Friday, October 23, 2026, 2:00–2:30 pm ET / 11:00–11:30 am PT

Speaker

Bethany Shulze, Biological Science Technician, USGS Western Ecological Research Center

Webinar Summary

Bats play a vital role in maintaining the health and balance of diverse ecosystems, in California and around the world. Bats are necessary for controlling insect pests, pollinating plants, and dispersing seeds, which helps natural habitats and agriculture thrive. Western bat species can be found in a variety of habitats, even over the open ocean! However, bats are impacted by a variety of stressors, including habitat loss, disease, and fatalities from wind turbines. We know very little about the movements of migratory bat species, which are the most impacted by wind energy, and even less about migratory activity in coastal and offshore environments. To investigate bat activity in these areas we deployed acoustic bat detectors at coastal and offshore rocks and island sites. We are also using the Motus Wildlife Tracking system to determine the movements of individual bats. The acoustic data shows migratory and resident species are active in coastal and offshore environments throughout the year, with peaks in activity during spring and fall. Activity at offshore and island sites is significantly lower than coastal sites and northern sites have substantially higher activity than southern sites for most seasons and species. The data from Motus tagged bats shows they often fly very far distances in short periods of time, and do not appear to follow any type of consistent migratory route. This research demonstrates coastal and offshore environments are frequently used by bats that have erratic and long-distance movement patterns, which has implications for management of offshore wind energy development.

Series Info 
Friday’s Findings is a twice‑monthly public webinar series hosted by the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area.