#spookyscience

I prefer smooth peanut butter. :) 

By: Emily Weidner, USFWS Biologist

Photo: Long-eared myotis (Myotis evotis) with forearm band. Credit: USFWS

Bats managed to find a niche not many other animals occupy, the night skies. There are big bats (Megachiroptera) and small bats (Microchiroptera). Chiroptera means “hand-wing.” Bats earned that moniker since membranes stretch between the fingers of their little bat hands forming their wings. Oregon has approximately 15 species of little bats.  Some migrate, some hang out in caves, some roost in itty-bitty rock crevices, and some like to roost wedged between slabs of bark in an old juniper tree. Bats echolocate their food with a series of clicks emitted from their larynx. The frequency and duration of their clicks depend on whether they’re foraging or have acquired a target (i.e., a tasty snack).  They can eat up to 1,000 insects every hour!  

Photo: Looking for wing damage; We then assign each bat a wing damage index number for each wing (0 = none to 3 = high). Credit: USFWS

Many folks worry about bats and diseases as they relate to humans, but some North American bat species now have to contend with a disease that has serious implications for their survival. White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a disease caused by the fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). Ominous right? Among other things, the fungus attacks the skin of the bat while it’s hibernating. This causes the bats to wake up and use valuable fat stores they need in order to survive the winter. First detected in New York in 2006, WNS continues to spread rapidly across North America. USFWS is working together with state and federal agencies, and Tribes to understand the disease, how it spreads through populations, and how we might mitigate its impact on bat populations.  

Photo: Looking for closure between the cartilaginous epiphyseal growth plates which differentiates adults (closed) and juveniles (open).  These growth plates are found on long bones in mammals (i.e., humerus, radius, ulna, clavicle, femur, tibia, fibula etc.). Credit: USFWS