Science Explorer
Exploring: Behavior Of Bats
Linking animals aloft with the terrestrial landscape
Despite using the aerosphere for many facets of their life, most flying animals (i.e., birds, bats, some insects) are still bound to terrestrial habitats for resting, feeding, and reproduction. Comprehensive broad-scale observations by weather surveillance radars of animals as they leave terrestrial habitats for migration or feeding flights can be...
Multi-state occupancy models of foraging habitat use by the Hawaiian hoary bat Lasiurus cinereus semotus
Multi-state occupancy modeling can often improve assessments of habitat use and site quality when animal activity or behavior data are available. We examine the use of the approach for evaluating foraging habitat suitability of the endangered Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) from classifications of site occupancy based on flight...
Attribution: Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Ecosystems
Lance Everette earned a B.S. in wildlife ecology and natural history from The Evergreen State College in 1994. Since joining the USGS in 1996, he has studied the feeding ecology and behavior of bats and development of data and information management systems for wildlife researchers. He is currently a member of the USGS Web Reengineering Team (WRET...
An endangered Hawaiian hoary bat, a species that is sometimes killed by wind turbines. USGS scientists from Hawaii and Colorado are devising a way to directly observe bat occurrence and behavior at wind turbines using a video system composed of high-powered illuminators and near-infrared cameras. This new approach images the full rotor-swept...
USGS scientists use tracking/telemetry tags to determine the occurrence and local movement patterns of wildlife. Because energy development often takes place in critical wildlife habitats, scientists can study these wildlife patterns to help guide project siting and operational decisions to areas and practices that present the lowest risk to...
USGS scientists build broadly applicable management support tools to assist resource managers and the industry in siting of energy development and selection of off-site mitigation areas.
USGS science is helping to understand the potential population effects for a number of wildlife species. Scientists are also developing risk assessment tools to guide energy development to locations where it will have minimal impact on wildlife.
USGS scientists collect data and develop tools and techniques to minimize potential negative effects of new energy development. These tools are critical for supporting management efforts to monitor and improve effectiveness of how facilities are located, built, and operated.
USGS assists state fish and wildlife agencies, land and wildlife managers, and other stakeholders by producing applied science-based tools to guide wind and solar energy development to locations where it will have minimal impact on wildlife. As a basis for these tools, USGS researchers study the movement and migration of wildlife.
Bats are essential parts of Earth’s environments and perform services valuable to humans. Research by USGS scientists shows that insect-eating bats—through their free pest-suppression services—save farmers at least $3 billion each year. Many bat populations are declining due to factors such as habitat loss and disease. Recent growth in wind-energy...
Because energy development often takes place in critical wildlife habitats, ecological science can be used to help guide project siting and operational decisions to areas and practices that present the lowest risk to energy development and wildlife.
USGS scientists study and monitor fish and wildlife, providing natural resource managers evidence-based information on the status and trends of species of interest. A rigorous scientific process is applied to understand risks, measure impacts, and inform solutions to national and local challenges facing both humans and wildlife.
Disturbances from energy development can have an affect on wildlife behavior. USGS scientists study the impacts of energy development on land, water, and the healthy ecosystems that fish and wildlife depend on to determine how these impacts may affect wildlife behavior.
The Analyze stage of the Science Data Lifecycle represents activities associated with the exploration and assessment of data, where hypotheses are tested, discoveries are made, and conclusions are drawn.
Most USGS videos and and animations created since 2009 are posted on the USGS Multimedia Gallery. All videos on that site have captioning or associated text. Many of these videos are also posted on the USGS YouTube channel.
The following is a collection of USGS videos and animations that are especially appropriate for classroom use. Although by no...
You’ve heard of tiny houses, introducing (really) tiny communities - microbiomes!
USGS research on wildlife behavior, abundance, and sources of mortality are improving our understanding of the specific effects of renewable energy on wildlife and habitats. This knowledge is guiding the development of effective strategies to minimize the impact of renewable energy development on wildlife. USGS is improving and developing...
Since the winter of 2006-07, millions of North American bats have died from white-nose syndrome (WNS). As of September 2015, bats with WNS were confirmed in 26 states and five Canadian provinces.
White-nose syndrome gets its name from the white fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, which infects the skin on the muzzle, ears, and wings of...
I am a quantitative ecologist conducting scholarly research at the intersection of animal ecology, spatial analyses, and statistics. My interests are in population ecology for animals declining in abundance, asking new questions of multiple, combined data sets to gain novel insight into the dynamics of animal populations, and...
This data release consists of a single table that includes sample site geographic locations, insect prey abundance, and bat activity and behavior metrics. The dataset was used to develop multi-state occupancy models of foraging habitat use by Hawaiian hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus semotus).