Issue5_Fall2015

28 / 34

Some people spend their summer
at the beach, swimming or
fishing. I spent my summer in
Ohio, and was lucky enough to
work for 2 weeks mist-netting
bats. Before you get squeamish
about how "disgusting" bats are,
let me remind you that bats eat
tons (literally tons) of nuisance
bugs, such as flies, mosquitoes,
and beetles that normally eat
your vegetable garden, and save
farmers around the US billions
in pesticides. Also take a minute
to learn about the disease-
causing fungus known as White
Nose Syndrome that has been
decimating bat populations
around the eastern half of the
US for almost a decade. Bats
are an important part of the
ecosystem, therefore when
large scale projects involving
tree clearing are proposed,
such as the Utopia pipeline, it
is necessary to conduct surveys
for threatened and endangered
bats that possibly inhabit the
area. As someone who has spent
several years helping with bat
research from the comfort of a
car or office, this was a fantastic
opportunity to actually get hands-
on training. I got to hold my first
bat (a female red bat), I learned
how to set up and dismantle mist-
nets (see time-lapse video), and I
also increased my knowledge of
the federal regulations regarding
bat surveys. For 14 days straight
I went to work around 7pm and
didn't get back until almost 3, not
ideal hours for most people, but it
was definitely a treat for me.
Learn more about white nose
syndrome:
by Rachael
Hyland