Paul Cryan, Ph.D.
Biography
Mysteries, underdogs, and gadgets have always fascinated me, so for the past two decades I have focused my research on using technology to reveal how some of the 43+ species of U.S. bats live their cryptic lives. My particular interests include uncovering bat migration behaviors and seasonal movements, discovering the details of their winter hideouts and survival strategies, and understanding how infectious diseases influence bat populations. What began as general interest in an understudied group of mammals has grown into a practical search for answers to two of the most pressing threats currently facing U.S. bats - fatalities at wind turbines and the emerging disease known as white-nose syndrome. My basic research approach is to start by synthesizing natural history and existing information, then test plausible new hypotheses in a scientifically defensible way through observational and experimental field studies. I gravitate toward new collaborations and technologies that take us beyond existing methods and expand our abilities to follow and discover what (and how) bats are doing out there in the dark.
Education
- Ph.D. Biology, University of New Mexico, 2003
- M.S. Biology, University of New Mexico, 1997
- B.A. Biology, The Evergreen State College, 1991
Professional Experience
- 2003 to present, Research Biologist, USGS Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, CO
- 1999 to 2003, Student Trainee (SCEP), USGS Arid Lands Field Station (Fort Collins Science Center), Albuquerque, NM
- 1994 to 1997 & 1999 to 2002, Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
- 1998 to 1999, Wildlife Biologist, USGS Arid Lands Field Station (Fort Collins Science Center), Albuquerque, NM
- 1995 to 1997, Biological Science Technician, USGS Arid Lands Field Station (Fort Collins Science Center), Albuquerque, NM
Science and Products
Non-invasive Surveillance of Bat Hibernacula to Investigate Potential Behavioral Causes of Mortality Associated with White Nose Syndrome
White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) is a devastating disease that threatens the survival of hibernating bats in North America. Since first documented in the winter of 2005/2006, WNS has spread from a very small area of New York across at least two thousand kilometers and half or more of states and provinces in the U.S. and Canada.
Ecological Investigations of White-Nose Syndrome in Bats
White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) is a devastating disease that threatens the survival of hibernating bats in North America. Since first documented in the winter of 2005/2006, WNS has spread from a very small area of New York across at least two thousand kilometers in half or more of states and provinces in the U.S. and Canada. Over five million bats are estimated to have died during the past decade...
White-Nose Syndrome Threatens the Survival of Hibernating Bats in North America
During the winter of 2006–2007, an affliction of unknown origin dubbed “white-nose syndrome” (WNS) began devastating colonies of hibernating bats in a small area around Albany, New York. Colonies of hibernating bats were reduced 80–97 percent at the affected caves and mines that were surveyed. Since then, white-nose syndrome or its causative agent have consistently spread more than 2,000...
Bat Fatalities at Wind Turbines—Investigating the Causes and Consequences
Wind energy is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world and represents an important step toward reducing dependence on nonrenewable sources of power. However, widespread deployment of industrial wind turbines is having unprecedented adverse effects on certain species of bats that roost in trees and migrate. Bats are beneficial consumers of agricultural insect pests and migratory...
Bat Species of Concern: An Ecological Synthesis for Resource Managers
A large number of bat species are considered “species of concern” in the United States and its Territories, and resource managers are increasingly interested in learning more about their distribution, status, and potential management.
Animal Migration and Spatial Subsidies: Establishing a Framework for Conservation Markets
Migratory species may provide more ecosystem goods and services to humans in certain parts of their range than others. These areas may or may not coincide with the locations of habitat on which the species is most dependent for its continued population viability. This situation can present significant policy challenges, as locations that most support a given species may be in effect...
Radio telemetry data on nighttime movements of two species of migratory nectar-feeding bats (Leptonycteris) in Hidalgo County, New Mexico, late-summer 2004 and 2005
These bat location estimates have been reported by Bogan and others and come in the form of a GIS shape file.
Long-term video surveillance and automated analyses of hibernating bats in Virginia and Indiana, winters 2011-2014
This data release includes video files and image-processing results used to conduct the analyses of hibernation patterns in groups of bats reported by Hayman et al. (2017), "Long-term video surveillance and automated analyses reveal arousal patterns in groups of hibernating bats.”
United States bat species of concern: A synthesis
In 1994 the federal government designated 24 species or subspecies of bats in the United States (U.S.) and its territories as Category 2 candidates for listing as Endangered or Threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Category 2 was eliminated in 1996, but taxa previously receiving this designation were informally considered “species of...
O'Shea, Thomas J.; Cryan, Paul; Bogan, Michael A.Landscape movements by two species of migratory nectar-feeding bats (Leptonycteris) in a northern area of seasonal sympatry
Animals often migrate to exploit seasonally ephemeral food. Three species of nectar-feeding phyllostomid bats migrate north from Mexico into deserts of the United States each spring and summer to feed on blooms of columnar cactus and century plants (Agave spp.). However, the habitat needs of these important desert pollinators are poorly...
Bogan, Michael A.; Cryan, Paul; Weise, Christa D.; Valdez, Ernest W.Do you hear what I see? Vocalization relative to visual detection rates of Hawaiian hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus semotus)
Bats vocalize during flight as part of the sensory modality called echolocation, but very little is known about whether flying bats consistently call. Occasional vocal silence during flight when bats approach prey or conspecifics has been documented for relatively few species and situations. Bats flying alone in clutter-free airspace are not known...
Gorresen, Paulo Marcos; Cryan, Paul; Montoya-Aiona, Kristina; Bonaccorso, FrankLong-term video surveillance and automated analyses of hibernating bats in Virginia and Indiana, winters 2011-2014.
This data release includes video files and image-processing results used to conduct the analyses of hibernation patterns in groups of bats reported by Hayman et al. (2017), "Long-term video surveillance and automated analyses reveal arousal patterns in groups of hibernating bats.” Thermal-imaging surveillance video cameras were used to...
Hayman, David T.S.; Cryan, Paul; Fricker, Paul D.; Dannemiller, Nicholas G.Long-term video surveillance and automated analyses reveal arousal patterns in groups of hibernating bats
Understanding natural behaviours is essential to determining how animals deal with new threats (e.g. emerging diseases). However, natural behaviours of animals with cryptic lifestyles, like hibernating bats, are often poorly characterized. White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an unprecedented disease threatening multiple species of hibernating bats, and...
Hayman, David T.S.; Cryan, Paul; Fricker, Paul D.; Dannemiller, Nicholas G.Improving spatio-temporal benefit transfers for pest control by generalist predators in cotton in the southwestern U.S.
Given rapid changes in agricultural practice, it is critical to understand how alterations in ecological, technological, and economic conditions over time and space impact ecosystem services in agroecosystems. Here, we present a benefit transfer approach to quantify cotton pest-control services provided by a generalist predator, the Mexican free-...
Wiederholt, Ruscena; Bagstad, Kenneth J.; McCracken, Gary F.; Diffendorfer, Jay E.; Loomis, John B.; Semmens, Darius J.; Russell, Amy L.; Sansone, Chris; LaSharr, Kelsie; Cryan, Paul; Reynoso, Claudia; Medellin, Rodrigo A.; Lopez-Hoffman, LauraFirst direct evidence of long-distance seasonal movements and hibernation in a migratory bat
Understanding of migration in small bats has been constrained by limitations of techniques that were labor-intensive, provided coarse levels of resolution, or were limited to population-level inferences. Knowledge of movements and behaviors of individual bats have been unknowable because of limitations in size of tracking devices and methods to...
Weller, Theodore J.; Castle, Kevin T.; Liechti, Felix; Hein, Cris D.; Schirmacher, Michael R.; Cryan, Paul M.Evaluating the effectiveness of wildlife detection and observation technologies at a solar power tower facility
Solar power towers produce electrical energy from sunlight at an industrial scale. Little is known about the effects of this technology on flying animals and few methods exist for automatically detecting or observing wildlife at solar towers and other tall anthropogenic structures. Smoking objects are sometimes observed co-occurring with reflected...
Diehl, Robert H.; Valdez, Ernest W.; Preston, Todd M.; Wellik, Mike J.; Cryan, PaulEnvironment, host, and fungal traits predict continental-scale white-nose syndrome in bats
White-nose syndrome is a fungal disease killing bats in eastern North America, but disease is not seen in European bats and is less severe in some North American species. We show that how bats use energy during hibernation and fungal growth rates under different environmental conditions can explain how some bats are able to survive winter with...
Hayman, David T.S.; Pulliam, Juliet R.C.; Marshall, Jonathan C.; Cryan, Paul M.; Webb, Colleen T.Multiple mortality events in bats: a global review
Despite conservation concerns for many species of bats, factors causing mortality in bats have not been reviewed since 1970. Here, we review and qualitatively describe trends in the occurrence and apparent causes of multiple mortality events (MMEs) in bats around the world. We compiled a database of MMEs, defined as cases in which ≥...
O'Shea, Thomas J.; Cryan, Paul; Hayman, David TH; Plowright, Raina K.; Streicker, Daniel G.Book review: Bats: A world of science and mystery.
This book has something for everyone, from casual seekers of fascinating eye candy to professional scientists interested in the latest discoveries. Without losing sight of how mysterious bats remain despite decades of research, the authors deftly introduce readers to bats and the people who study them. The book is nice to look at, easy to...
Cryan, PaulDim ultraviolet light as a means of deterring activity by the Hawaiian hoary bat Lasiurus cinereus semotus
Widespread bat fatalities at industrial wind turbines are a conservation issue with the potential to inhibit efficient use of an abundant source of energy. Bat fatalities can be reduced by altering turbine operations, but such curtailment decreases turbine efficiency. If additional ways of reducing bat fatalities at wind turbines were available...
Gorresen, P. Marcos; Cryan, Paul M.; Dalton, David C.; Wolf, Sandy; Johnson, Jessica A.; Todd, Christopher M.; Bonaccorso, Frank J.Pre-USGS Publications
Trick or Treat? The Frightening Threats to Bats
Written by Marisa Lubeck and Ethan Alpern
Videos Reveal Birds, Bats and Bugs near Solar Project Power Towers
Video surveillance is the most effective method for detecting animals flying around solar power towers, according to a study of various techniques by the U.S. Geological Survey and its partners at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System facility in southeastern California.