NPS Photo / Henry Baldwin All eight of our bat species are in the suborder, Microchiroptera. This suborder of bats uses echolocation calls to hunt for insects during the night. Our bats play an essential role in helping the Riverway maintain its ecological integrity by acting as a natural pest controller. The Eastern Red Bat, Hoary Bat, Silver-Haired Bat, and Evening Bat are classified as tree-roosting/migratory bats. These species reside along the Riverway during the summer months and migrate south during the winter. The Hoary Bat can travel all the way to South America! The Big Brown Bat, Little Brown Bat, Northern Long-Eared Bat, and Tricolored Bat are classified as cavity-roosting/hibernating bats. While these bats are still found roosting in trees during the spring and summer time, they hibernate all winter in a hibernaculum (typically a cave or mine) instead of migrating south. Cavity-roosting bats are highly suspectable to contracting a fungal disease known as White-Nose Syndrome. This is because the fungus which causes White Nose Syndrome, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, thrives in the cracks and crevices of caves. Smaller bat species, especially the Northern Long-Eared Bat and the Tricolored Bat, have experienced the greatest decline in population in recent years since they roost further back in caves where the fungus tends to be more abundant. White-Nose Syndrome has been such a great threat because it inhibits bats’ ability to hibernate throughout the entire winter. The fungus grows on the hairless parts of bats, such as their nose and wings. The irritating fungus will continuously wake up a bat during hibernation, causing the bat to use up its stored energy supply and starve. How can we help?Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway has been a part of the Great Lakes Parks Bat Acoustic Monitoring project since 2016. By participating in this bat monitoring project, we can better understand the trends in the local bat populations in correlation with White-Nose Syndrome. (Currently, vaccines for White-Nose Syndrome are being researched and developed.) Anybody, not just the experts, can play a part in helping bat populations! Setting up bat houses on your property can provide safe housing for an entire bat colony. Big Brown Bats and Little Brown Bats, both species affected by White-Nose Syndrome, have been proven to use bat houses in the Riverway area. Additionally, making sure to properly disinfect any clothing or equipment after being in a cave or mine is a precautionary step that greatly helps reduce the spread of White-Nose Syndrome. |
Last updated: October 28, 2023