Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
ResearchersintroducecommunitybatinvestigationsBiologistsbegintrainingparticipantsinFortSmithfornextsummerEnvironmentWildlife7TuesdayAugust122014ByDALICARMICHAELFridayeveningaroundduskagroupofbravesoulswanderedouttoThebachacabinsontheoutskirtsofFortSmithinhopesofen-counteringwhatsomemightavoidbats.Foraboutfouryearsre-searchershavebeenreturn-ingtotheareainordertomeasuretheirpopulationsinWoodBuffaloNationalParkWBNP.Nowtheyarehop-ingtotrainlocalstohelpwithcommunitycountsthroughouttheyearandintothefuture.Wevealwayswantedtodooutreachandeduca-tionbecausebatstendtobemisunderstoodsaidLauraKaupasamastersstudentfromUniversityofCalgarywhohasbeenstudyingtheminFortSmithforthelastthreesummers.Theyareeatingthepestsandtheyareanimportantpartoftheenvironment.Wewouldloveitifpeoplecouldcontinuethebatcountovertheyearstohelpmoni-torthepopulationsshesaidnotingthatitwouldbeim-possibletomakeanyconclu-sionsuntilatleastveyearsofdatahavebeengathered.Eightvolunteersmadeittothesiteataround900p.m.readytolearnabouttheightycreaturesofthenightincludingwhatkindsliveintheNorthandhowoftentheyreproduce.Nextthevolunteerswereintroducedtomethodstheywouldbeusingspecicallydetectorsusedtomeasurebatcallsandadapttheirfrequenciesmakingthemaudibletohumans.Around1015p.m.theystartedcountingtheanimalsspottingatotalof103thatnight-adown-turnfromthe300orsoanimalsseenearlierintheseason.Kaupasnotedthatitistoolatethisyeartostartcontinu-ouscommunitymonitoringasthebatswillsoonheadtotheirhibernaculumsremain-ingdormantuntilApril.How-evershehopesthatbyintro-ducingtheideashemaynowhavesomevolunteersreadytohelpatthestartofnextyear.WhitenosediseaseWhitenosediseaseiscausedbyafungusthatcov-ersthemammalssnoutsastheyhibernatecuttingofftheirairsupplyanddisturb-inganimportantperiodofrest.ItwasdiscoveredinsomespeciesinNewYorkstatearound2006andaftertherstyearitwasfoundresearchersnotedthatthefunguskilledoffalmost80percentofthepopulationitwaslinkedto.ItsspreadprettywidelywehaveitinCanadaalongtheEastCoastOntarioQuebecsaidIgaStasiaktheactingregionalbiologistwithEnvironmentandNat-uralResourcesENR.IthasntmadeitswayquitetoManitobaortotheNorthwestTerritoriesbutbecauseitsspreadingsoquicklywerereallyconcerneditsgoingtocomeupheretoo.Whatwewanttoknowishowmanybatswehaveandwhatspecieswehaveandtheirdistributionsothiscouldhelpustodetectitifweseetheresdie-offsinthetrendsshesaid.TraitsuniquetotheNorthAnimalenthusiastsmightnditinterestingtonotethatchiropterologistspeoplewhostudybatshavediscoveredmanytraitsthatseparateNorthernbatsfromtheirsoutherncounterparts.Firsttherearesevendis-tinctspeciesintheNorthwestTerritoriesvethatliveintheareaallyearlongandtwothatmigrateannually.AtthecentreofthestudiesaresmallbrownbatsNorth-ernlong-earsandbigbrowns.Thelattertworoostintreesatraitthathadntbeenstud-iedabovethe60thParalleluntilcurrentbiologistsstartedtheirwork.Northernbatstendtorepro-ducelessoften-onlyeveryonetothreeyearscomparedtoannually.Thismeansthatshouldanythingdecreasethepopulationsitcouldtakeyearstorestorethem.BatsintheNorthwillalsoforageforfoodallnightlong.Biologistsbelievethisisbecauseofshortersum-mernightsintheregionthusfeweropportunitiesforfeed-ing.Forthesamereasonitsbelievedtheyaremoreef-cienteatersscarngdownupto1000mosquito-sizedbugsinanhourtoeattheirbodyweightinbugsoverthecourseofanight.BatbiologistLauraKaupasdemonstratesmonitoringandmeasurementtechniquesusedtocollectdataonthemammalsforvolunteercommunityresearchers.HeresheisseenholdingalittlebrownbatnativetotheNorthwestTerritories.PhotoDaliCarmichaelEnjoyworkshopsdisplayslivetheatreaFarmersMarketandanArtistsFair.EventstakeplaceatMissionParkandtheNorthernLifeMuseumAug.12-17.10OFFSTOREWIDEUNTILAUGUST17Presentthiscouponandget10offgroceriesclothingandhouseholdgoodsNotapplicabletotobaccoproductsorgiftcardsNorthernStoreinFortSmithsupportsSummerSplashFORTSMITHSANNUALARTSFESTIVALFunactivitiesforthewholefamilyFORTSMITHSANNUALARTSFESTIVAL867872-2568Mon-Fri9am-8pm