Two biologists are in Haida Gwaii for the summer to study bats. Dr. Michelle Evelyn, a Research Associate at the Centre for Biodiversity Research at U.B.C. and her husband and collaborator, Dave Stiles, will be on Graham Island until the end of August hoping to uncover details of the ecology of a rare and elusive bat species.
They have come to study Keen's long-eared myotis (Myotis keenii). This rare, red-listed species has the most restricted range of any North American bat species, confined to the coastal rainforests of British Columbia, southeast Alaska, and northwest Washington. Keen's bats are tiny, weighing just 4-6 grams, less than the weight of a penny. Like all North American bats, they navigate and find food by emitting high frequency sounds and analyzing the returning echoes (echolocation). They feed primarily on moths, which they catch in the air, and spiders, which they apparently remove from vegetation in flight.
In the spring and summer, pregnant female bats often gather in maternity colonies to give birth and raise their young. These sites are essential for the survival of species. The only known maternity colony for Keen's long-eared myotis exists on Hotspring Island, where mothers and babies roost among the geothermally heated rocks. However, this is unlikely to be the normal roosting situation for the species. The researchers are hoping to discover a second maternity colony in northern Haida Gwaii.
The researchers will spend the summer surveying bats at a variety of sites around Graham Island. They will use mist nets to capture bats in flight and high tech bat detectors connected to laptop computers to record the echolocation calls of passing bats and identify species based on their characteristic vocal signatures. Captured Keen's bats will be tagged with miniaturized radio transmitters and tracked to their day roost sites.
Public participation is required to make the project a success. Michelle and Dave are seeking field volunteers to assist with mist net and acoustical surveys. They are also interested in local knowledge about areas of high bat activity or existing bat roosts in trees, buildings, caves, or rock faces. If you have any information about known bat roosts or would like to volunteer, please call 559-2324 or email mjevelyn@interchange.ubc.ca until August 20th.