Using an Automated Tracking System to Understand Seasonal Movements of Hoary Bats
Join the Redwood Region Audubon Societ on Thursday, November 21 at 7:00 p.m. for a presentation entitled “Using an Automated Tracking System to Understand Seasonal Movements of Hoary Bats” by Ted Weller. Motus Wildlife Tracking System is a collaborative automated radio-telemetry system established to learn about the behavior and migration of small, mobile species. Originally envisioned to learn about the movements of birds it has increasingly been used to learn about the movements of bats. Researchers in California have used the system over the last few years to study the seasonal movements of hoary bats. The work with Motus has resulted in the detection of hoary bats tagged in northwestern California to be detected in British Columbia, Nevada, and Baja California. This work has important conservation implications, as hoary bats are the bat species most frequently killed at wind energy facilities, and most of the fatalities occur during autumn migration. Results of this work have triggered a reevaluation of how biologists think about the seasonal movements of bats and the challenges associated with siting wind energy facilities to minimize impacts on bats. An ecologist with US Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Research Station in Arcata, Ted has worked with bats in northwestern California for over twenty years, investigating aspects of their natural history, especially those that make them vulnerable to fatalities at wind energy facilities. His field site in northern California is the most productive in the world for encountering hoary bats, allowing him and his colleagues to break new ground in understanding the behavior of these fascinating and beautiful animals. The program will be held at Six Rivers Masonic Lodge, 251 Bayside Road, Arcata, or online at www.rras.org. Drinks and goodies are served at 7:00 p.m., the program begins at 7:30.
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