Indiana State center to focus on bat conservation
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - They can eat half their weight in insects each night, helping to control pests that might otherwise destroy crops and spread disease.
Bats are among the world's most misunderstood creatures, but they can be among the most helpful to humans. Many species are threatened or endangered, but a new bat center at Indiana State University is aimed at protecting the mysterious flying mammals.
Of 12 species of bats found in Indiana, two - the gray bat and the Indiana bat - are on the federal government's endangered species list. A third - the evening bat - is a state endangered species.
Expected to be approved by the university's Board of Trustees on June 17, the center will develop and carry out research and training aimed at bat conservation and help the public solve bat-related problems.
"The new Indiana State University Center for North American Bat Research and Conservation is the first of its kind, and its special focus on conservation and management of bats is especially timely," said Merlin Tuttle, founder and president of Bat Conservation International in Austin, Texas. "Bats rank among the world's least studied mammals. Yet they are essential to healthy ecosystems and are in alarming decline. To ignore their plight is to risk our own well-being."
John Whitaker, who has specialized in bat research for half of his more than 40 years as an Indiana State professor, will serve as the center's director.
"We get calls all the time from the public about bats in places that they don't want bats. On the other hand, some times they want to attract bats; they want to learn about bats," said Whitaker, professor of ecology and organismal biology. "We can look at situations with bats and make recommendations to help solve problems, yet protect the bats. We will also be able to provide learning situations for the public.
"The main objective of the center is to learn all that we can about bats, as the more we know about them, the better we can help to protect them."
To be funded by the university as well as via contracts with public agencies and private entities, the bat center will also provide real-world experience for Indiana State students, said Charles Amlaner, professor and chair of the department of ecology and organismal biology.
"The Bat Conservation Center will provide both field and laboratory opportunities for undergraduates and graduates to do real world research," said Amlaner. "Bat populations, while they may not be the most important things to a lot of people, are very critical in terms of the balance of nature."
Indiana State holds several contracts to study bats, including a long-term project to track the effects of a habitat project near Indianapolis International Airport.
Since 1997, Dale Sparks, a former student of Whitaker's who is now a research scientist with the university, has monitored the airport's efforts at protecting the Indiana bat in an area south of Interstate 70, a project that keeps the federally endangered animals away from airport expansion and urbanization.
"One of the things we're finding is that they just can't survive when you have a lot of development. Although they're perfectly capable of living immediately adjacent to development but they won't cross into suburbs and things like that to forage, which is a little surprising to us," Sparks said. He notes that larger species, such as brown bats, appear more willing to forage in an urban setting.
Though targeted at the Indiana bat, the wildlife habitat established by the airport also appears to be helping other animals, including fish and birds
"A lot of things seem to be benefiting from the same procedure," said Sparks, who will serve as assistant director of the Bat Conservation Center. By establishing a Bat Conservation Center, the university hopes to attract more faculty and students to research bats and improve conservation efforts, Whitaker said.
Brianne Everson, an ISU graduate student from Newport, is already hooked.
"I just find these animals extremely interesting and I think they get a bad rap from a lot of people," Everson said. "With all the myths that are going around, not much is known about them. The more we can learn about these animals the better for their conservation," she said.
Common myths about bats
- Bats get in your hair - Foraging bats often swoop over people's heads at night, but they do so in search of insects, not hair.
- Bats are blind - Most species have excellent vision but do use echolocation, a form of sonar, to locate prey.
- Bats are highly rabid - In fact, less than 1 percent of bats have rabies. When bats do develop rabies, they are generally listless and non-threatening to humans.
- Bats eat lots of mosquitoes - While bats eat large quantities of insects, they generally do not target mosquitoes because mosquitoes tend to fly alone. Instead, bats target insects that travel in large swarms.
- Vampire bats - Three species found in Central America do feed on blood, but target animals and not humans. They use tiny sharp teeth to barely scratch the skin's surface. They are not "bloodsuckers" as depicted in horror movies.
- Bats help spread disease - In reality, bats seldom transmit diseases to other animals or humans
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Note: Photos for this story are available by contacting ISU Communications & Marketing a (812) 237-3743
Contact: John Whitaker, professor, ecology and organismal biology and director, ISU Center for North American Bat Research and Conservation, (812) 237-2383 or lswhitak@isugw.indstate.edu
Writer: Dave Taylor, ISU media relations director, (812) 237-3743 or dave.taylor@indstate.edu
ISU Communications and Marketing: (812) 237-3773 or http://www.indstate.edu/news
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