Courtesy Photo | This photo features a northern long-eared bat held and tagged by a wildlife...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. – Imagine waking up for the day and go about your morning routine: brush your teeth, shower maybe, get some coffee or food, but you notice it’s eerily quiet and something is off. You walk outside and witness a silence in movement as if life was paused – no one is around, and traffic is nonexistent; you are seemingly alone in the world.
This may sound like the premise of an apocalyptic sci-fi movie, but it resembles the existence of the northern long-eared bats native to the Quantico area.
“We’re talking massive declines,” said John Rohm, the head of the Natural Resources Department on MCB Quantico. “We’re talking over 90% of the population of northern long-eared bats have disappeared.”
While not as sudden as going to bed one night and waking up alone in the world, the bat population has seen this decline over the last 20 years according to Rohm. He explained that bats are nocturnal and so the decrease in their population is not as apparent as maybe another species, like deer for example.
The northern long-eared bats are one of the few endangered species on and around MCB Quantico, and the main contributor to species downfall is a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome.
This disease is a white fungal growth around the mouth and wings of the species and takes a toll on the bat’s immune system and metabolism which threatens their ability to make it through hibernation.
“It’s really quite sad,” said Rohm. “The northern long-eared bat was super common before the white-nose syndrome, which makes this so much more challenging and doesn’t fit the usual dynamics for endangered species.”
Losing numbers in bats becomes a concern for the ecosystem and the economy; they serve as nature’s pest control and save the agricultural industry roughly a billion dollars a year in pesticide, according to the United States Geological Survey.
According to Rohm, endangered species usually have specialized traits or a unique habitat which factor into why it becomes endangered. These specializations also give wildlife protectors the simpler solution of protecting that species’ necessary resources.
“Well, the challenge that we all have now is this species is a generalist,” he added, “meaning they used to be everywhere and there isn’t anything in particular that it necessarily needs; it’s just being decimated by a disease.”
Because these bats are generalists, their habitat is flexible.
While bats are usually associated with caves, they also roost in the forested areas during the warm season on and around the base, feeding on the flying pests in the area.
The base’s Natural Resources Department works with local and government organizations to help protect the endangered species that reside on and around base. MCB Quantico follows the regulations and complies with protective practices that help preserve the bats and other species and other species aboard the MCB Quantico.
MCB Quantico works with Virginia Tech University conduct acoustic bat surveys which locates any bats in the area using echolocation before conducting tree-clearing operations when necessary. Additionally, any tree-clearing operation is done during the bats’ inactive seasons, limiting any potential, unintentional harm to the now-small-populated species.
The current season of long-eared bat activity on base is April 1st through November 15th; however, the most critical window to protect the bats is during pup-rearing season.
“That’s when their pups are not able to fly, so if you knock a tree over at that time you could actually physically kill a young, protected bat,” said Rohm.
Bats can also find refuge buildings or homes, Rohm said. They are sensitive to temperature and humidity, and the buildings on MCB Quantico can be a perfect microclimate for them.
He urged personnel to not handle wildlife personally, as the animals can be diseased. If found, please call the Natural Resources Department at (703) 784-4030.
| Date Taken: | 09.13.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.13.2024 12:04 |
| Story ID: | 480786 |
| Location: | QUANTICO, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 39 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Last of them: fungal disease causes 90% decline in long-eared bat population, by LCpl David Brandes, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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