National Park Service

Description

White-nose syndrome in bats has resulted in the mortalities of more than 5 million bats in 33 states and 5 Canadian provinces. Since it was first detected in New York in 2007, WNS has been unstoppable and each year new states are affected by the deadly fungus. Funding this proposal will provide us with three years of funding to enhance our long-term bat monitoring research at Chiricahua National Monument and Fort Bowie National Historic Site, where studies have been ongoing for the past eighteen years (2000-2017). This is one of the few long-term bat data sets in Arizona, and is extremely valuable for documenting changes which may occur if white-nose syndrome continues to expand from west Texas into Arizona. We will adopt more robust methods of detecting White-nose Syndrome (WNS) with better equipment and sampling techniques, and expand our monitoring schedule. We will add acoustic monitoring and compare the results with mist-netting. This double-pronged approach is likely to provide new insights about bat species diversity and abundance at both parks. The data collected in this study will be documented in annual reports, and will be available for interpretive programs, and citizen science activities.

Who can apply

• Others

Contact

Todd Wilson <br/>Todd_Wilson@nps.gov<br/>
Todd_Wilson@nps.gov