GRPL CESU: Acoustic Monitoring of Bats in Northern Great Plains Parks

Acoustic Monitoring of Bats in Northern Great Plains Parks - Wyoming Natural Diversity Database (WYNDD), part of University of Wyoming will use acoustic methods to monitor bats at 6 parks in the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) using a continent-wide multi-agency North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) sampling frame and protocol. The scientific community and/or researcher’s external to NPS gains by new knowledge provided through research and related results dissemination of natural resource information of bats in the Northern Great Plains. The project assists in the creation, promotion, facilitation, and/or improvement of the public understanding of occurrences, natural history and distribution of bats across the northern plains.  The project assists in the creation, promotion, facilitation, and/or improvement of the public understanding of occurrences, natural history and distribution of bats across the northern plains. The purpose of this agreement is to conduct monitoring bats in 6 parks in the Northern Great Plains I&M Network (NGPN) parks. Bats are monitored because they are an important component of the Northern Great Plains and are good indicators of the effects of local and regional changes. The public and Park visitors will benefit by gaining the opportunity to better understand the complex nature of the natural resources at the Network parks, gain an appreciation for the challenges of managing a park for both visitor enjoyment and conservation as well as gaining a better understanding of the bats that inhabit these parks. The information gained will aid other land managers (federal, state and private organizations) in throughout the Northern Great Plains.

NGPN will provide the analysis of the bat data in the form of an NPS Natural Resource Report and possibly a poster for ecological meetings. In addition, the Parks will share these findings and results through appropriate avenues, potentially including integration into interpretive messages, park’s Facebook page, etc.  WYNDD will use acoustic methods to monitor bats at 6 parks in the Northern Great Plains - Badlands NP, Jewel Cafe NM, Missouri NRR, Niobrara NSR, Theodore Roosevelt NP and Wind Cave NP under the continent-wide multi-agency North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) sampling frame and protocol. The primary objective is to monitor for temporal changes in abundance (as measured by an index of bat flyover activity).

A total of 14 NABat cells will be monitored. Four passive acoustic recorders will be deployed at points within each NABat cell for four to seven nights. The recorders will be configured to monitor bat activity throughout the night. In addition, at each NABat cell a 25-48 km long vehicle road survey will be conducted at least two nights. The road surveys start 30-45 minutes after sunset with the surveyor driving about 32 kph. A microphone is attached to the roof of the vehicle. The surveys will be conducted in the months of June-August. WYNDD will strive for as much year-to-year consistency as possible in terms of hardware, settings, and timing of surveys.

Education

• Public and state institutions of higher education