Bat Survey

In 2019 MNR conducted bat surveys with the assistance of Russ Benedict, PhD in a Settlement wide bat survey. Bats are an important species, even though we typically don’t see them. Bats are critical for insect control, as they can eat thousands of insects every night. 

Bats are pretty cool if you get a chance to get up and close to one. Their wings are soft and stretchy, commonly described like a bubble gum bubbles. Their fur is fluffy and soft as well. Bats are carriers of rabies, so you want to stay away from their bites and only let trained    professionals handle them if you come across one (most likely in your house if you do!). 

The main goal of this survey was to determine how many bat species resided within the Settlement, including the Northern Long-Eared Bat (A federally threatened species) and the Indiana Bat (a federally endangered species).  These types of bats love loose bark as their roosting sites. Recently dead trees, prior to the bark falling off is a perfect location to find many bats spending the days and then come out for feeding in the evenings. 

In 2020. MNR continued the surveys post-pandemic with acoustic surveys. These surveys utilize specialized microphones to capture the echolocation sounds that are not noticeable to the human ear. Our results concluded that there are in fact northern long-eared bats and Indiana bats present, but population is unknown due to the type of data that was captured. 

A threat to many bats across the country is a fungus called white-nose syndrome. This fungus can wreak havoc on bat populations, especially species that roost in large colonies like the Indiana bat. Roost site populations have taken a huge hit from this fungus. It is a hope of bat experts that the populations will rebound. 

MNR staff did not catch any threatened or endangered species, but did capture acoustic data of each . These bat species have been collected in nearby locations off the settlement, so this information is concerning if taken into account for population declines and white-nose syndrome impacts. This collection of data is a huge stepping stone in how the Tribe can better manage bat habitat for a hopeful stable population in the future!

If you want to see the raw data that MNR staff collect this summer feel free to stop by the MNR office to take a look!