MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Scientists in Wisconsin have tracked the state’s smallest bat by using an ultralight transmitter that beamed its movement after emerging from hibernation.
Biologists and volunteers followed a female eastern pipistrelle from a Pierce County cave in May to a roosting spot along the Mississippi River, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported . The small bat weighs less than a nickel.
Scientists initially placed the tracking devices on two bats on May 5. But scientists quickly lost track of one of the animals.
The tracking results determined that the bat moved the most right after hibernation and didn’t travel far, said Paul White, a mammal ecologist and manager of the Department of Natural Resources’ bat program.
Department officials expect the results will help researchers better understand the eastern pipistrelle’s behavior and allow for increased conservation work in areas the bat frequents. The department could also improve protective measures during important periods when eastern pipistrelles are raising their young.
“If we can understand land use and spring migratory behavior, it will help us better manage areas that are important for the survival of this species,” White said.
The bat is a threatened species in Wisconsin and is highly vulnerable to white-nose syndrome, a deadly bat disease. The disease causes a powdery white fungus to appear on a bat’s nose, ears and wings. The fungus awakens bats during hibernation, causing bats to burn more energy and eventually leading to dehydration and starvation.
One Grant County cave, which is in its fourth year of the infection, lost 94 percent of its eastern pipistrelles population this year, White said. Numbers have dropped about 72 percent in eight other sites that are in the third year of infection.
___
Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.