CONGRESS CONSIDERS BUILDING A FUTURE WHITE -NOSE SYNDROME FOR BORNEO ’S BATS
WWW.BATCO N.ORG SUMMER 2009
BBBAT CONSAAERVATIOTNT INTERNASS TIONAL
TThhee MMiissssiioonn CCoonnttiinnuueess aass BBCCII BBuuiillddss oonn MMeerrlliinn TTuuttttllee’’ss SSuucccceessss Volume 27, No. 2, summer 2009 P.O. Box 162603 , Austin, Texas 78716 BATS (512) 327-9721 • Fax (512) 327-9724
FEATURES Publications Staff Director of Publications: Robert Locke Photo Editor: Meera Banta 1 The Founder Passes the Baton Graphic Artist: Jason Huerta A lifetime of bats and science Copyeditors: Angela England, Valerie Locke BATS welcomes queries from writers. Send your article pro - by Robert Locke posal with a brief outline and a description of any photos to the address above or via e-mail to: [email protected] . Members: Please send changes of address and all cor res - 13 WNS Goes to Congress pondence to the address above or via e-mail to members@bat - con.org . Please include your label, if possible, and allow six Scientists urge immediate action to save North America’s bats weeks for the change of address. by Mylea Bayless Founder/President Emeritus: Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle Board of Trustees: John D. Mitchell, Chair 15 Building a Future for Borneo’s Bats Bert Grantges, Secretary Training and accessible resources prepare local researchers Marshall T. Steves, Jr., Treasurer by Matthew Struebig Jeff Acopian; Anne-Louise Band; Eugenio Clariond Reyes; Bettina Mathis; Thomas M. Read; Walter C. Sedgwick; Merlin D. Tuttle; Marc Weinberger. Advisory Trustees: Sharon R. Forsyth; Elizabeth Ames NEWS & NOTES Jones; Travis Mathis; Wilhelmina Robertson; William Scanlan, Jr. Verne R. Read, Chairman Emeritus 16 A long-range bat course Scientific Advisory Board: Dr. Leslie S. Hall, Dr. Greg Richards, Bruce Thomson, Colombia’s first bat conference Australia; Dr. Irina K. Rakhmatulina, Azerbaijan; Dr. Luis F. Aguirre, Bolivia ; Dr. Wilson Uieda, Brazil; Dr. BCI Member Snapshot M. Brock Fenton, Canada ; Dr. Jiri Gaisler, Czech The Wish List Republic; Dr. Uwe Schmidt, Germany; Dr. Ganapathy Marimuthu, Dr. Shahroukh Mistry, India; Dr. Arnulfo Moreno, Mexico; Ir. Herman Limpens, Netherlands; Dr. Armando Rodriguez-Duran, Puerto Rico; Dr. Ya-Fu Lee, Taiwan; Dr. Denny G. Constantine, Robert Currie, Dr. Theodore H. Fleming, Dr. Thomas H. Kunz, Dr. Gary F. McCracken, Dr. Don E. Wilson, United States; Dr. José R. Ochoa G., Venezuela. Membership Manager: Amy McCartney BATS (ISSN 1049-0043) is published quarterly by Bat Con ser vation International, Inc., a nonprofit corporation supported by tax-deductible contributions used for public education, research and conservation of bats and the ecosys - tems that depend on them. © Bat Conser vation International, 2009. All rights reserved. Bat Conservation International’s mission is to conserve the world’s bats and their ecosystems in order to ensure a healthy planet. A subscription to BATS is included with BCI membership: Senior, Student or Educator $30; Basic $35; Friends of BCI $45; Supporting $60; Contributing $100; Patron $250; COVER PHOTO: Merlin Tuttle, BCI’s Founder and leader for 27 years, expresses Sustaining $500; Founder’s Circle $1,000. Third-class postage paid at Austin, Texas. Send address changes to Bat Conser - sheer joy at being surrounded by bats emerging from Bracken Cave in 1991 (see vation International, P.O. Box 162603, Austin, TX 78716. story on Page 1). © MERLIN D. TUTTLE, BCI / 8403101 THHEE OUNDER T FFOUNPPAASSDSSEESS ETTHHR EE BBAATTOONN 0 8 4 2 4 0 0
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Tennessee, in 2007. N i l r e m © erlin Tuttle, who founded Bat Conservation search for a new Executive Director has begun. BCI’s current MInternational in 1982 and spent the last 27 years Management Team, with the support of the Board of building it into the leading defender of bats worldwide, is Trustees, will oversee the organization in the interim. stepping back from his leadership role. Merlin resigned as This planned transition is part of BCI’s Strategic Planning President/Executive Director on May 31. He remains a val - Initiative, begun more than a year ago to develop a blueprint ued part of BCI, assuming the title President Emeritus and to help the organization build on its successes and move continuing on BCI’s Board of Trustees. vigorously into the future. Merlin, 68, began a one-year sab - Merlin and John Mitchell, Chair of the BCI Board of batical leave to pursue personal projects, including writing Trustees, jointly expressed their confidence that “this tran - his memoirs. He will also work on select projects with BCI, sition in leadership will go smoothly, and BCI can look for - including efforts to deal with the crisis triggered by White- ward to impressive achievements in the years ahead.” The nose Syndrome.
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erlin Tuttle’s fascination with bats – and with science – really took hold in 1959, when, as a teenager, he discovered a colony of gray myotis in Baloney Cave, a few miles from his Tennessee home. MScientific texts back then reported that gray myotis ( Myotis gris - escens ) remained in the same favored caves year-round. Merlin, as he would often do in later years, questioned the conventional wisdom. He studied the bats, explored the cave and even attached bat bands from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to hun - dreds of them. That winter, he found dozens of his banded bats in another cave 100 miles (160 kilometers) north. While still in high school, Merlin proved for the first time that gray myotis migrate between summer roosts and winter hibernation sites, some traveling north rather than south, as expected. That led to a lifetime of dedication to con - serving these wondrous and invaluable flying mammals. And it led to BCI. 1201 / 868 BCi le, “Merlin Tuttle has probably directly con - uTT D. T rliN tributed more than anyone else to the conserva - ©me tion of bats,” says Brock Fenton, Biology Chair at the University of Western Ontario. “Quite simply, Merlin ( top ) beams at Zuri, a straw-colored flying fox that he turned his fascination with them and his love of charmed audiences around America. And i n1963, Merlin them into a lifelong campaign to effect their con - (above) rests for a few precarious moments in Pearson servation at home and abroad. His name is, appro - Cave, Tennessee.
BATS 2 SUMMER 2009 Volume 27, No. 2 priately, synonymous with bats.” Merlin’s gray myotis research continued for two decades and included his Ph.D. dissertation in population ecology at the University of Kansas. And along TRIBUTES the way, he made another discovery that charted the course of his life: gray myotis Merlin Tuttle has played a pivotal and historic colonies were being devastated by humans at a frightful rate. role in the conservation of bats. He has crafted a “You're too late,” old-timers often said when Merlin sought information on program that blends cutting-edge science, out - local bat caves. “When I was a child, clouds of bats filled the sky. You should have standing outreach, amazing photography and pro - been here back then. They're all gone now.” fessional advocacy to engage, inspire and motivate a The culprit, he found, was ignorance. Hardly anyone had any inkling of the global audience. For the past three decades, Merlin many ecological and economic benefits of bats. And most people, their attitudes has been at the forefront of every important con - shaped by myths, misinformation and baseless fears, despised bats as dangerous servation issue facing bats. The world is a better and sinister pests. place because of his work. Not only were countless bats of many species being lost to disappearing habi - John P. Hayes, Chair, Department of Wildlife tat, pesticide poisoning and similar dangers, but some cave owners and visitors Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida intentionally killed incredible numbers of bats, sometimes even igniting confla - grations that burned or suffocated all the bats inside. The story was much the Bats have had no greater ally than Merlin Tuttle. same almost everywhere Merlin went in North America and around the world. Through his science, supernatural charisma and Bats were feared, reviled and casually destroyed. passion, he has reversed the public opinion of bats Merlin Tuttle devoted his long and productive career not only to learning about around the world. I have known Merlin the major - bats, but to sharing the facts about these essential creatures around the world. ity of my life and have been lucky enough to travel “At a time when most bat species were considered to be ugly and vile, Merlin on many of his adventures. He has been a great singularly shaped public perceptions about bats,” says Thomas H. Kunz of the friend and mentor, and I look forward to our con - Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology at Boston University. “Over the tinued relationship through BCI. years, he has passionately influenced a host of students and colleagues around the Bert Grantges world on the ecological values of bats.” BCI Board of Trustees “Merlin is a pioneer,” says John Mitchell, chairman of BCI’s Board of Trustees. I have long respected Merlin for his practical “When he started, most of the world was unaware of how important and how approach to wildlife conservation. Merlin’s ap- threatened bats are. He made the rest of us aware of their great value, and that had proach and style has always been one of education a multiplier effect as other conservation organizations signed on.” and not admonishment, of the careful choice of “Quite frankly,” Merlin wrote 17 years ago, “the founding of BCI came as an words and, most importantly, of leading by a posi - act of desperation. It was obvious that without major improvement in public atti - tive example. tudes, the situation for bats would continue to worsen.” Merlin and a few other Mark J. Bloschock, Vertex Engineering Inc. scientists studying bats raised the alarm. They were largely ignored as even estab - 3 7 0 0 4 5 2 1 4 1 5 0 8 1
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Volume 27, No. 2 SUMMER 2009 3 BATS People who excel at what they do are often real - lished environmental groups showed little enthusiasm for championing such ly good at one thing. Merlin’s one of those people unpopular animals. Bats just couldn’t compete with baby seals and pandas. with a variety of talents that he’s really good at. My Many years ago, recalls biologist Richard LaVal of Costa Rica, Merlin told him first impression was that this guy’s a really good and other bat biologists of “his plan to create an organization for the conservation photographer. Then I realized he’s a really good of bats. The rest of us felt that it was going to be very difficult to get people to salesman and could talk you into doing just about donate money to save bats because they had a very bad public image at the time. anything. Merlin has a self-sacrificing drive deep in Nevertheless, we encouraged him. I, for one, knew that if anyone could do it, his heart and a sincere dedication that he must Merlin could, because he was a natural-born salesman. The rest is history!” share. Add communication, conflict resolution and Merlin founded BCI on March 12, 1982, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, while he leadership skills and you have a rock-solid leader. was Curator of Mammals at the Milwaukee Public Museum. The struggling orga - And he’s a darned good biologist, too. nization with virtually no money was a nights-and-weekends enterprise. Verne Cal Butchkoski, Wildlife Biologist, Read, one of BCI's earliest friends in Milwaukee, was a founding board member Pennsylvania Game Commission and crucial supporter. He now serves as Chairman Emeritus, while his son, Thomas Read, is an active member of the board. Probably no other biologist has done so much to The philosophical foundation of BCI was rooted in Merlin’s work with gray influence others to study, and ultimately protect, a myotis. A Tennessee farmer, in agreeing to let Merlin study the bats in his cave, group of organisms as Merlin Tuttle has done for added: “While you’re in there, kill as many of them as you can.” Merlin let the bats. I am proud to count myself as one of those comment slide, but upon entering the cave, he found the floor littered with the who was influenced by Merlin to join BCI’s “army” discarded wings of potato beetles, an especially destructive crop pest. “When I of scientists, students, laypeople and politicians returned with a handful of the colorful wings, the farmer understood immediate - who together fight for the protection of bats and all ly that the bats were eating his most-feared pests. The next time I visited, that the other organisms that depend upon them. farmer was actively protecting his bats.” Scott A. Mori, Nathaniel Lord Britton Curator When people understand bats’ enormous benefits, Merlin realized, their dis - of Botany, The New York Botanical Garden dain can be transformed into appreciation and bat conservation can become a 9 6 6 1 4 0 0
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BATS 4 SUMMER 2009 Volume 27, No. 2 Merlin went to great lengths for unique bat photos. In Belize, he took to the water in 1992 to photograph a group of tufted bats roosting in a tree trunk.
©merliN D. TuTTle, BCi / 7292409 reality. Public education became the centerpiece of BCI. The organization’s earliest efforts were mostly educational, including the BCI and Merlin Tuttle have been unstinting in audiovisual program, Saving America’s Bats and a Bats and Their Conservation their support for bat conservation in southern brochure, both funded by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, as well as a bat-edu - Africa. Merlin’s visit in 2000 was a memorable cation booklet, The Most Famous Bat in the World , published by BCI supporter milestone in bat conservation in [South Africa] and Bacardi Imports. Merlin was also featured prominently in several national publi - provided huge impetus and positive media atten - cations and television programs. tion to fledgling South African bat groups. We BCI, still short on financing but with a growing list of conservation and edu - deeply appreciate the kind and generous advice, cation activities, moved to Austin, Texas, in 1986. At the time, Merlin notes, inspirational talks and the wonderful portrait pho - Austin “was generating more negative publicity about bats than any other city in tographs of our bats [that he] freely provided. America.” Hundreds of thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats had moved into Peter Taylor, Bat Interest Group of crevices beneath the remodeled Congress Avenue Bridge downtown, much of the KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa populace was in a panic, and news media around the country were taking an inter - I can’t believe what I’m reading, Merlin! I hope est. “Mass fear in the air as bats invade Austin,” screamed a local newspaper head - you don’t go too far away. You are the soul of BCI. Ramona Seeligson Bass, Fort Worth, Texas
End of an era. You must be tremendously proud of your achievements at BCI and the advances you have made in bat conservation internationally. Your leadership in areas such as turbine issues, White- nose Syndrome and cave protection has been exem - plary. The BCI Scholarship scheme has helped fos - ter the research careers of many young scientists. It has always been a pleasure to work with you. Gareth Jones, School Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
When Merlin first moved to Austin, he stayed in our guest room for five or six months. Of course, we got really hooked on bats during that time – you know what a salesman he is. We gave a dinner party for him that year. Some of the earliest [BCI] board members came out of that party. Merlin had ©merliN D. TuTTle, BCi / 0020345 that effect on people. He’s a magician. I’m just The 1.5 million bats under the Congress Avenue Bridge in downtown Austin, Texas, astounded at how much has happened since then. were one reason Merlin moved BCI from Wisconsin to Texas. When he arrived in Peggy Phillips, BCI Trustee 1986-2005 1986, many residents wanted the bats exterminated. Now they’re a major tourist attraction in the “Bat Capital of America.”
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©merliN D. TuTTle, BCi / 1136200 Merlin and biologist Paul Cox photograph bats in America Samoa in 1986. BCI members were instrumental in win - ning approval of a national park in Samoa to protect flying foxes. ( Inset ) Merlin gets a close-up photo of a Gambian epauletted bat. line, as many residents demanded the bats’ extermination. Many scientists around the world are involved in But after a tireless education campaign that saw Merlin meeting with city offi - various aspects of bat research, but no one on the cials, news media, neighborhood groups and schoolchildren, the fears gradually sub - planet has done more for bat conservation than sided. Today, the summer emergences of 1.5 million “Bridge Bats” draw many thou - Merlin Tuttle through BCI. David A. Saugey, Wildlife Biologist, sands of visitors each year and generate an estimated $11 million in local revenue. Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas Austin proudly calls itself the Bat Capital of America. Knowledge is a powerful force. Public understanding of bats makes so much else possible, and Merlin has Those of us who work with bats continuously always been ready to teach. Fiona Reid, a biologist, author and artist, has accom - face the challenges of conveying their importance panied Merlin as co-leader of Founder’s Circle ecotours in Zambia, Madagascar, to skeptical audiences. It is hard to imagine how the Amazon, Australia and New Zealand, and Uganda. Although surrounded by much more difficult those challenges would be had some of BCI’s leading supporters, Merlin “never passes up an opportunity to talk Merlin and Bat Conservation International not to villagers, to show bats to children that gather around him, and to take time out forged the path of education and conservation of an already hectic schedule to spread the word that bats are a precious and valu - action on which we now tread. able resource,” she said. “Merlin has done more for bat conservation than any Paul Cryan, Research Biologist, other living being, and I am proud to have been able to assist him on some of his USGS Fort Collins Science Center, Colorado international voyages.” The effect of Merlin´s infectious enthusiasm for Even before launching BCI, Merlin became distressed at the quality of the bat bats has been momentous for the huge and timely photographs that illustrated his articles. “I was appalled that nearly all showed change in the image of bats among the general snarling bats, a posture bats display only in self-defense. More than any other public of the United States. medium, photography showing the true nature of bats helps people begin to Rodrigo A. Medellín, Instituto de Ecología, appreciate and understand them. So I decided to learn to photograph bats.” Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México In fact, he became a world-class wildlife photographer and his images have been crucial to BCI’s education efforts. The impact is not lost on his scientific colleagues.
BATS 6 SUMMER 2009 Volume 27, No. 2 Gary McCracken Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Chair at the Over the years, Merlin has passionately University of Tennessee says he features a classic Merlin photo ( below ) influenced a host of students and colleagues of a Mexican free-tailed bat ( Tadarida brasiliensis ) with a corn ear - around the world on the ecological values of bats, worm moth in its mouth “in every talk I give on the ecosys - ranging from cave ecosystems to tropical rain - tem services of bats. Usually, it is the first slide I show. forests. Merlin’s passion for bats is marked by his While I can easily talk for hours about the value of incredible photographic images that will continue
bats, this 1 0 4 to have positive impacts on the conservation of bats 2 1 one picture 0 6 / for years to come. i C of Merlin’s B , e Thomas H. Kunz, Center for Ecology and l is worth more T T Conservation Biology, Boston University u T than my thousands . D iN l I had the good fortune to have a personal tour of of words.” r e m Bracken Cave with Merlin and his family one fine The way “this photo © captures a message is a testa - summer evening. Streams of bats against a darken - ment to Merlin’s genius. The ing evening sky lit by flashes of distant lightning message is simple: bat eats insects. and sunlit storm clouds. Merlin and I laughed with When people know that this bat is one joy at the beauty and power of it all. When I think of the millions of free-tailed bats that feed of Merlin, I acknowledge and respect the scientist, each night over crop fields, and that corn the visionary, the leader – and I will remember a earworms are the most destructive agricul - summer evening in Texas and a man who delight - tural pests in America, the message becomes ed in the moment as the bats began to emerge from profound. Photos like this, and the many Bracken Cave. thousands of other amazing photos of bats Carol Lively, Wings Across the Americas Coordinator, Gary McCracken of the University of U.S. Forest Service International Programs that Merlin Tuttle has taken over the last 40 Tennessee says this Merlin Tuttle years, have been a major factor in Merlin’s photo of a Mexican free-tailed bat In 1998, I met Merlin, I was impressed by his success in presenting a positive image of with a moth in its mouth delivers a passion for bats and his scientific knowledge on bats to more people than anyone in histo - more powerful message than words Latin American bat ecology. Thanks to this visit, and ry.” alone can express. together with other regional initiatives, I decided I Education for Merlin and BCI also should try to do something similar and founded the means nurturing new generations of bat biologists through the Student Research Bolivian Bat Conservation Program. Merlin was a Scholarship fund. tremendous example for our newly formed pro - “Although Merlin has been known above all for his immense contribution to gram. We have received his constant sup port ever bat conservation, his creative and organizational activities reach far beyond that,” since. Merlin has always been a good friend and a says BCI Science Advisor Jiri Gaisler, Professor Emeritus at Masaryk University in key ally to our efforts to protect bats in the region. the Czech Republic. “No one else has done so much to promote knowledge of bat Luis F. Aguirre, President, Bolivian Bat habitats worldwide. He organized (and took part in) the education of countless Conservation Program; BCI Science Advisor people about the importance of bats for us humans and the unique role bats play When I drive over Congress Avenue Bridge with in ecosystems.” visitors, I point out the kiosk about bats, the bat Australian Biologist Greg Richards, a member of BCI’s Scientific Advisory sculpture and, of course, I tell them about how the Board, cites scholarships as part of the reason that “there are not many people in emergence of these bats has become one of the the bat world who haven’t been touched or influenced by Merlin’s constant dili - major attractions of Austin. Then I tell them that gence. It was always a delight for me to review the applications for scholarships before Merlin arrived, they were trying to figure from around the world, especially those from kids in developing countries. out how to get rid of all those bats under the bridge. Through this, you could see the result of Merlin’s efforts.” Now the fancy restaurants advertise that you can Since the program began in 1990, BCI has awarded 275 scholarships totaling dine on the veranda and watch the bats emerge. All $674,798 for research conducted in 58 countries, from Argentina, Cambodia and of that is because of Merlin. Cameroon to Uganda, Ukraine and Vietnam. These are competitive awards Michael Ryan, Department of Integrative Biology, judged by top researchers from outside BCI, and the scholars represent some of University of Texas at Austin the most promising young bat scientists in the world. Many BCI Scholars already
resident Emeritus Merlin Tuttle will lead a at the world-renowned Asa Wright Nature Centre & Sign Up for a PFounder’s Circle Ecotour to the Caribbean island Lodge in the Arima Valley. of Trinidad May 1-9, 2010. The fee for this memorable ecotour is $5,950 Founder’s The island nation boasts more than 70 species of (plus airfare). A $1,000 donation to BCI is included. Circle Ecotour bats, including fishing bats, fruit- and nectar-feeding For more information and registration, please contact: bats, tent-making species, carnivorous bats and all BCI Executive Assistant Dianne Odegard at dode - to Trinidad three species of vampire bats. The tour will be based [email protected] or call 512 327-9721, ext. 26 .
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©merliN D. TuTTle, BCi / 7492504 have become leaders in bat science and conservation. A few years after I joined the University of The Global Grassroots Conservation Fund, meanwhile, has provided Aberdeen, my attempts to obtain grants and estab - $183,435 in grants for 73 local conservation projects in 40 countries. These small lish a research group in bat ecology were frustrat - grants, which average about $2,500, tap the enthusiasm of local volunteers to cul - ed by the view widely held among British mam - tivate the seeds of bat conservation around the globe. Educating children, farmers malogists that bats were too difficult to study. I per - and communities about the value of their bats has always been an integral part of suaded the Mammal Society to allow me to devote Global Grassroots efforts. a one-day meeting to bats and invited four North Educational books, brochures, videos, audiovisual productions and classroom American colleagues to speak. They were Jack curricula developed by BCI and its partners are teaching facts about bats around the Bradbury, Tom Kunz, Brock Fenton and Mer lin world. BCI workshops have taught bat-related research, conservation and manage - Tuttle. The meeting room of the Zoological Society ment techniques to more than 1,400 biologists, wildlife and land managers and of London was filled to capacity and included the other professionals from 23 countries; many are now leaders in bat conservation. graybeards who sat on grants committees. My next And from its earliest days, BCI has emphasized cooperation over confronta - grant application was successful. I have always re - tion, building alliances and partnerships with industry, government agencies and garded that meeting as a turning point and remain other organizations. grateful to my North American colleagues. A Working with members, friends and many public and private partners, BCI decade later, Merlin’s trailblazing with BCI was a sparked creation of the American Samoa National Park to protect flying foxes; huge encouragement to those of us involved in helped install bat-friendly gates on more than 1,000 American caves and mines to establishing the Bat Conservation Trust in the UK. protect millions of bats; purchased and protects Bracken Cave near San Antonio, Paul Racey, Regius Professor of Natural History summer home to the world’s largest colony of bats, 20 million Mexican freetails; (retired), University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom led continuing work to ensure safe and stable water supplies for bats in arid west - ern states; launched a major research program to mitigate the alarming number of Merlin, you’ve done more for bat conservation bats killed by wind-energy turbines; and much, much more. than anyone in history, and that is something that International initiatives have been a major part of BCI’s conservation efforts you (and all of us) should be proud of. since its beginnings. In 1982, its first year, BCI helped convince the government Bill Schutt, Biology Department of Thailand to protect millions of free-tailed and fruit bats that were being deci - C.W. Post College of Long Island University mated by poachers by hiring a game warden at the Khao Chon Pran Cave. BCI’s most persuasive argument: Profits from guano mining, which supported a local
BATS 10 SUMMER 2009 Volume 27, No. 2 monastery and school, had fallen by half because of the declining bat population. Since then, BCI has sponsored varied conservation projects (in addition to Global Grassroots awards and scholarships) with partners in many countries. One recent addition to that list is Norma Monfort of the Philippines, whose family has As founder of the Bat Working Group for the for decades owned a cave with the world’s largest-known population of Geoffroy’s National Military Fish and Wildlife Association, I rousette fruit bats ( Rousettus amplexicaudatus ). Norma now is a tireless champion was in need of support from an established bat- not just of that colony, but of bats throughout the Philippines. conservation organization to encourage bat surveys “Whenever I am asked why I got into bat conservation, I become transformed and management programs on military installa - into an animated storyteller,” she says. “People listen wide-eyed as they feel the tions. Through the efforts of Merlin and BCI, a excitement that I relive in recounting the details of such an incredible journey. The Memo randum of Understanding was developed impact of having met and worked with Merlin D. Tuttle when he came to visit between BCI and Department of Defense. This doc - and assess the Monfort Bat Cave in June 2006 left an indelible impression, which ument has been instrumental in promoting bat grew into a formidable passion for the cause. research and habitat improvement projects on “To just say, ‘Thank you, Merlin, for all that you have done’ confines the installations throughout the country. immensity of my gratitude and respect. Instead, continuing to successfully cham - Chester O. Martin, Environmental Laboratory, pion bat conservation in the Philippines is what will make him proud.” U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center I have never met anyone who has a better innate 1
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He is Merlin the Magician. It is sheer magic for someone to take on an animal group like bats and give them a totally new public image. Because of Merlin’s magic – his great drive – many, many peo - ple see bats today as charming, furry, innocent, cute, and most of all useful Heroes of the Ecosystem. This is a far cry from the image bats had: dangerous, rabies carriers, vampire blood - suckers, witches’ companions, you name it. Not that bat problems are over, but now we have a model for what to do and Merlin is our role model. Sally Walker, BCI South Asia Liaison (India); Founder, Zoo Outreach Organization
Without the information from BCI and your early and extensive support, the Cayman Islands Bat Conservation Program would have never exist - ed. We now have over 90 bat houses, most of them successful, and efforts continue on all fronts including cave and forest conservation, rescue and rehab, as well as public education. “Thanks” is not a big-enough word for everything you have done for me and for bats everywhere. Lois Blumenthal, Bat Conservation Program Director, National Trust for the Cayman Islands Searching for a bat roost, Merlin starts down a cliff at Fort Pearce Wash in Utah in 1992.
Volume 27, No. 2 SUMMER 2009 11 BATS Norma is now Executive Director of Philippine Bat Conservation, as well as President and Founder of Monfort Bat Cave & Conservation Foundation. Both Merlin, more than any other individual, has organizations began after Merlin’s initial visit. transformed the image of bats in the eyes of liter - Through it all, Merlin never forgot the gray myotis, which was, based on his ally tens of thousands of people. We have him to research, officially listed as endangered in 1976. Largely through the efforts of BCI thank for contributing directly, but also for moti - and its allies, this species is recovering strongly and seemed almost ready for grad - vating many others to be advocates for these ani - uation off the endangered list – at least until the appearance of White-nose mals and be willing to stand up and speak to the Syndrome on the edge of its range. (Merlin played a lead role in organizing and valuable roles they play and the nonsense that funding a WNS Science Priority Meeting for top WNS scientists in New York in perpetuates the myths that haunt them. Mark Brigham, Professor, 2008 and worked with Tom Kunz of Boston University for a similar session in University of Regina, Canada Austin last May. [See “WNS Goes to Congress” in this issue of BATS .]) Looking back over all those years, Senior Scientist Don Wilson of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History notes: “Merlin was among the Many years ago, Merlin, when we first met, you first to recognize that all was not well in the world of bats, and among all of us lit a spark in me to learn all I could and put that working on bats at the time, he was the only one to take the bull by the horns and knowledge to work in my great interest to build the found his own NGO to do something about it. best [bat] habitat that I know how. It is still lighting “Watching Bat Conservation International grow over the years has been a plea - a fire in me to keep trying to build the best possible sure for all of us who worked with Merlin in some small way. The world of bats is bat houses. I want to thank you for all you’ve done. a better place because of the efforts of Merlin Tuttle, and BCI has a strong and Marvin Maberry, Bat Conservationist and secure future thanks to him.” Founder, Maberry Centre Bat Homes ROBERT LOCKE is Director of Publications at Bat Conservation International. BCI has become a world-recognized organiza - tion, the first place most people go for information on bats and their conservation. Under Merlin’s leadership, BCI has instituted many valuable pro - grams, not the least of which are the grant pro - grams that support many young bat researchers
and the numerous workshops that have stimulated
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After he burst on the scene at the National e m Geographic Society, I was his editor and advisor. © Merlin is a remarkable character, fitting right in with the many other notable scientists who have received research grants from the Society, people like Jane Goodall, Louis and Mary Leakey, Dian Fossey – the list is long but exclusive. So why include Merlin? Not just because of his stature as a scientist, but also because he understood from the beginning that promoting bats and their impor - TO COMMEMORATE MERLIN ’S SERVICE TO BAT CONSERVATION tance was a vital key to our understanding of what and ensure that his devotion to education continues far into the really matters on our planet. Because of Merlin, in future, Bat Conservation International is establishing the Merlin many areas of the world those traditionally loathed Tuttle Bat Conservation Scholarship Fund. This fund will support and feared creatures have become objects of admi - BCI Student Research Scholarships, North American Bat ration and awe. Which, come to think of it, is Conservation Fund grants and Global Grassroots Conservation always how I've felt about Merlin himself. efforts worldwide. You can show your gratitude for all that Mary Smith, Senior Editor (retired) Merlin has accomplished and make a personal difference for The National Geographic Society bat conservation by contributing to this important initiative.
Please visit www.batcon.org/tuttleScholarship or contact BCI’s Department of Development at (512) 327-9721.
BATS 12 SUMMER 2009 Volume 27, No. 2 © JoNaThaN reiCharD WWNNSS GG OOEESS TTOO CCOONNGGRREESSSS
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Aeolus Cave in Vermont “became a morgue” after WNS arrived, state wild - life official Scott Darling told Congress.
by Mylea Bayless
fter ravaging bat populations in the northeastern United duced the name, “white nose.” States, White-nose Syndrome has moved into the American Thomas Kunz, Director of the Center for Ecology and South, leaving little time to prevent what threatens to be a con - Conservation Biology at Boston University, told the subcom - Atinent-wide wildlife disaster with devastating ecological and mittees that scientists have not yet confirmed whether G. economic consequences. Scientists told two Con gressional destructans is the primary cause of bat mortality or a secondary subcommittees that urgent federal action – an immediate manifestation of other underlying factors that are killing the national strategy and emergency funding – is essential to stop bats. Many other basic questions remain, including whether this disease. the fungus is geographically limited, whether and how the “Never in my wildest imagination had I dreamed of any - spread of WNS can be slowed or stopped, and whether bat thing that could pose this serious a threat to America’s bats,” mortality can be reduced. Bat Conservation International President Emeritus Merlin The Northeast Region of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Tuttle told the subcommittees. The National Wildlife Health Center and wildlife agencies of “The battle against WNS is a race against time,” said Scott several states have stepped into the breach, redirecting Darling of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. While resources to coordinate and implement an emergency Vermont’s bats already have been devastated, he said, “much of response. “The responsiveness of state, federal, academic and the country … is at a tipping point, watching to see if we can nonprofit agencies/organizations has been nothing short of muster the energy, resources and public will to address this superb,” Darling said. “Unfortunately, it is not enough.” national environmental crisis.” Kunz said state and federal agencies in the Northeast “have Since WNS was discovered in a New York cave in February been the major contributors to research and monitoring,” 2006, an estimated million or more hibernating bats of six despite a chronic lack of funds. But “the rapid responses of species have been killed by the disease in nine states. Mortality nongovernment agencies and private organizations have made rates approaching 100 percent are reported at some sites. it possible to conduct most of the research … to date.” WNS jumped from the Northeast last winter into West The Fish and Wildlife Service reports spending $3 million Virginia and Virginia. And scientists still have far more ques - on the disease and pledges $2.5 million this fiscal year. tions than answers about the syndrome. Although nonprofits have limited resources, they often have A previously undescribed, cold-loving fungus, now called greater flexibility in allocating funds quickly. Federal funding Geomyces destructans , is clearly associated with the disease. procedures can require months to deliver grants, which can Found on the nose, ears and wings of affected bats, it pro - delay crucial research for the rapidly evolving crisis of WNS.
Volume 27, No. 2 SUMMER 2009 13 BATS Bat Conservation International provided more than “Urgent congressional action is needed to establish a clear $125,000, raised from a broad assortment of donors and leadership role at the federal level, to require development of a members for its WNS Emergency Response Fund, to assist national strategy to understand and combat White-nose with a dozen research projects and to help organize and under - Syndrome, and to fund targeted research and mitigation write two Science Strategy Meetings, the latest in Austin, efforts nationally,” Tuttle said. Texas, in May 2009. Another major WNS-research supporter, The ball is now in Congress’ court. the National Speleological Society, provided at least $55,000 for WNS research. Conservation Biologist MYLEA BAYLESS is leading BCI’s efforts Biologists from key federal agencies briefed congressional to deal with White-nose Syndrome. staff on WNS issues after an April 2009 meeting of federal, We are hopeful Congress will respond to these requests for urgent state and local agencies, private organizations and universities. action, but waiting is not an option. Please help fight the worst In addition to Kunz, Darling and Tuttle, witnesses at the for - threat ever faced by North America’s bats by contributing to BCI’s mal hearing in June included Marvin Moriarty, USFWS WNS Emergency Response Fund. Northeast Regional Director; Deputy Chief Joel Holtrop of the Visit www.batcon.org/wnsdonate . National Forest System; Peter Young - baer, WNS Liaison for the National Speleological Society; and Micro - biologist David Blehert of the USGS National Wildlife Health Center. Subcommittee leaders expressed sup - port for action. Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, who chairs the Sub committee on National Parks, For ests and Public Lands, voiced concern re garding “the lack of information about this problem and its greater impacts on communities.” Rep. Made leine Bordallo of Guam, who heads the House Sub committee on In - sular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, said, “We must quickly ascertain the causes of and vectors for the spread of White-nose N o s l Syndrome to avoid what could be an i w
ecological and economic disaster.” C a z
“Time is our enemy,” Youngbaer y B
C said. “We need significant federal i h p
resources now, and they can make a dif - a r G
ference.” i C B Scientific Consensus onvened by BCI President Emeritus Merlin Tuttle and are federally listed as endangered in the U.S. Such losses CBiologist Thomas Kunz of Boston University, the Second alone are expected to have unprecedented consequences on WNS Emergency Science Strategy Meeting in Austin, Texas, ecosystem health throughout North America, with unknown May 27-28, 2009, provided this consensus statement: economic consequences. White-nose Syndrome is a devastating disease of hiber - Most bat species in North America feed on night-flying nating bats that has caused the most precipitous decline of insects, of which many are pests of forests, agriculture, and North American wildlife in recorded history. garden crops or pose risks to human health. The number of Since it was first discovered in 2006, WNS has infected insects consumed annually by one million bats is stagger - six species of insect-eating bats in the northeastern and ing—equivalent to 694 tons—emphasizing the extraordi - southern U.S., causing declines approaching 100% in some nary value of these bats to the normal function of both ter - populations; estimated losses have exceeded one million restrial and aquatic ecosystems. bats over the past three years. If the spread of WNS is not Establishment of a national comprehensive research pro - slowed or halted, further losses could lead to the extinction gram is urgently needed to identify underlying mechanisms of entire species and could more than quadruple those that causing WNS and to develop sound management solutions.
BATS 14 SUMMER 2009 Volume 27, No. 2 BBUUIILLDDIINNGG AA FFUUTTUURREE FFOORR BBOORRNNEEOO ’’SS BBAATTSS
TTrraaiinniinngg aanndd aacccceessssiibbllee rreessoouurrcceess pprreeppaarree llooccaall rreesseeaarrcchheerrss by Matthew Struebig
During a research-training workshop in Sungai Wain, Indonesia, Matt phoTos CourTesy of maTThew sTrueBiG Struebig explains to students how to use identification keys when studying bats in the field.
ndonesia is home to one of the most diverse collections of bats in the world, with approximately 175 species. Yet this phenomenal resource has been scarcely studied, and little is known about the conservation status of most Ispecies. This is especially true of Kalimantan, a region that sprawls across two- thirds of Borneo. A core problem for bat conservation here is that recruiting and training bat workers is especially tough when few resources are available in the native language. Bats suffer from unsavory public perceptions throughout Indonesian soci - ety, making them unpopular subjects for study. Among many non-Muslims, the only value of bats is as meat or medicine (for asthma), and unregulated hunt - ing of flying foxes is common. Smaller bats are disdained as vermin, sometimes erroneously referred to as tikus terbang (flying rats) or Pontianak (vampires). But the biggest barrier to bat conservation in Indonesia is that research institutions mostly lack the skills, funds or equipment to conduct even the most basic bat research. To help meet these challenges and establish long-term bat conservation in the region, Angela Benton-Browne of the Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project in Indonesia and I helped found the Kalimantan Bat Conservation Project to combine surveys of the region’s bat populations with training for Hetty, a student at the University of Palangkaraya, local biologists and students. BCI’s Global Grassroots Conservation Fund examines a woolly bat during the bat survey of supported our “capacity building” efforts, which have had a lasting legacy in Tanjung Puting National Park. Borneo. The project started as a collaboration between the University of Palangka Raya in Central Kalimantan and the Orangutan Foundation, a nongovernment organization focused on our first
Volume 27, No. 2 SUMMER 2009 15 BATS A long-range bat course
Brock Fenton, Professor of Biology at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, is teaching an Internet-based distance-learning course this fall on bat biology. “The goal of this course is to use bats as a model for exploring biological systems, from form and func - tion, behavior and ecology to evolution and adaptive radiation,” said Fenton, a leading bat biologist and a BCI Science Advisor. “We will also consider interactions between bats and people and conservation issues involving bats.” The one-semester course, designated Biology 3224a, will include weekly “virtual classroom discussions,” and lectures and lab presentations will be available online as PowerPoint presentations with voice-over. Students must register at the University of Western Ontario and prerequisites include at least one upper-division biology course or permission of the instructor. “I hope to attract students from far and wide,” Fenton said.
The class begins in September. Additional information is available at the university’s web - site, www.uwo.ca , or email Fenton at [email protected] . research site in Tanjung Puting National The training manual (or buku pand - Park. Since then, BCI’s support allowed uan ), has been written in both English me to expand bat-survey training to and Indonesian with help from Mulawarman University and The Nature Rakhmad Sujarno. The identification Conservancy in East Kalimantan, Fauna keys draw heavily from information in Flora International in West Kalimantan, Payne & Francis’ The Mammals of and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences. Borneo , but with important updates Along the way, we have seen support from our surveys in Kalimantan. It has from other bat researchers in Indonesia: been freely distributed to workshop par - Dorothea Pio, Ibnu Maryanto and ticipants, universities, conservation Agustinus Suyanto. groups and others throughout the region The Kalimantan Project has now con - and is now used in field studies in Java, ducted bat surveys at 10 sites. Hands-on Sumatra and Brunei Darussalam, as well training of Indonesian undergraduates One of the primary requirements for as Kalimantan. was an integral part of each survey, and six building a sustainable bat research and con - One of the most important findings servation community in Indonesia was solid university students have based their biolo - information in the local language. This bat- of the research in Kalimantan is that gy theses on the research. We have research field manual helps meet that need. harp traps are required to accurately expanded the known ranges of many of describe forest bat diversity. Our surveys Borneo’s bats and updated the island’s bat list to 97 species. were the first to use harp traps in Indonesian Borneo, and These include the first record of the Krau woolly bat ( Kerivoula those traps, left with several local institutions, continue to be krauensis ) outside of peninsular Malaysia. used in bat surveys today. The team conducted three training sessions to teach The Kalimantan Bat Conservation Project was a vital step researchers and students about bats and how to study them. in developing a sustainable bat-research and -conservation Workshop participants – researchers, teachers, students and effort in Indonesia and has now expanded to a Borneo-wide nature club members – learned about the ecological and eco - venture. The team especially hopes its field manual will nomic importance of bats and the threats they face; the basics encourage others to continue to work in this remarkably of humanely handling bats and collecting scientific data; and diverse region and is particularly keen to hear from anyone how to set and use harp traps in forest and cave settings. interested in Borneo’s bats. Our experience with the workshops showed that sustainable bat conservation in Indonesia is unlikely without a basic knowl - Matthew Struebig is a postdoctoral conservation researcher cur - edge of what species are present and the threats they face. Few rently based at Queen Mary University of London and the scientific publications or teaching resources have been written University of Brunei Darussalam. or translated into the national language, so information on wildlife is often inaccessible to many Indonesian researchers and BCI’s Global Grassroots Conservation Fund plants and nurtures students, who may avoid research or conservation careers as a the seeds of bat conservation around the world. Your support can result. To this end, our bat field manual, written in the nation - make a real difference. Support Global Grassroots at www.bat - al language, provides an important foundation for Indonesian con.org/grassroots. bat conservation.
BATS 16 SUMMER 2009 Volume 27, No. 2 NEWS AND NOTES Colombia’s first TWhe ISH LIST Your help with any of these special needs will directly improve BCI’s ability to protect bats and bat habitats. To contribute or for bat conference more information, contact BCI’s Department of Develop ment at he first national conference of bat researchers in Colombia (512) 327-9721 or [email protected]. Tbrought together more than 90 biologists and students in Door-to-Door for Fruit Bats Bogotá to share data and experiences and coordinate future projects. The two-day session last year was supported in part by Bat The most effective conservation outreach Conservation International’s Global Grassroots Conservation Fund. empowers local people to teach and influence their Fundación Chimbilako, the conservation group that organized neighbors on a personal level. The “Friends of the two-day session, Fanihi” hope to tap that personal touch to slow the described it as “a turning rapid decline of the Mariana fruit bat, known in the point for research groups Mariana Islands as fanihi. Illegal poaching is a pri - mary culprit. The island of Rota has the last viable across the country.” More population of fruit bats in the southern Marianas. than 20 universities, The Friends of Fanihi are requesting support from institutes and nonprofit BCI’s Global Grassroots Conservation Fund to train organizations were repre - selected residents of Rota to conduct door-to-door sented. Speakers from outreach to increase awareness of these bats’ val - Co lom bia, Venezuela, ues and raise support for their conservation. Rota is Mex ico and Bolivia des- a very close-knit community, where residents feel accountable to each other – but less so toward out - CourTesy of fuNDaCióN ChimBilako cribed their latest research and conservation initia - side agencies or institutions. Friends of Fanihi tives, while 15 short papers and 18 posters demonstrated the grow - requests $3,500 for this innovative project. ing breadth of bat research in the nation. They also demonstrated the need for more research into the impacts of human activity on bat Protecting Big-eared Bats populations. Participants agreed on the need for additional symposia every two BCI and the Land Trust of Tennessee are working to three years. They also created a Colombian bat-conservation pro - to protect one of the largest maternity colonies of gram based on the experiences of similar programs in other countries. Rafinesque’s big-eared bats in Tennessee. After Fundación Chimbilako will develop the framework for the project, more than a decade of negotiations with a private with an emphasis on workshops and community education. landowner, the Land Trust has negotiated a conser - Fundación Chimbilako was also charged with coordinating a vation easement to protect the 240-acre tract, includ - national meeting with top bat researchers to set priorities for ing the bat colony, surrounding habitat and a number research and conservation needs throughout Colombia. of caves, plus a rare assemblage of organisms that require the cave ecosystems for survival. The stew - ardship fee needed to complete the easement is BCI Member Snapshot $4,000. Contributions to this effort will help protect this special bat colony and the important ecological CI members Steve Saylor diversity of the site. Band his son, Garrett, (back row, far left) donated a bat house to Delores Smith, who Training in Paraguay teaches gifted-and-talented Building on the success of our Spanish-language classes at Valley Springs field workshop in Nicaragua in January 2009, BCI School in Valley Springs, and the U.S. Forest Service International Programs Arkansas. Mrs. Smith and are preparing a workshop in Paraguay this her students plan to use the September. The session led by BCI President bat house in the natural Emeritus Merlin Tuttle will emphasize bat identifica - outdoor classroom they are tion and biology, as well as survey techniques and building. conservation issues. Paraguay is a small but diverse country with a range of biomes and at least 54 Share a snapshot of your species of bats. Deforestation remains a major bat activities with fellow issue. The workshop needs 24 mist nets for training members: Email it to [email protected] or mail it to in humane bat capture and handling techniques. Snapshot, Bat Conservation International, The nets will be left behind for local use. The aver - PO Box 162603, Austin, TX 78716. age cost per net is $108.
Volume 27, No. 2 SUMMER 2009 17 BATS NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID AUSTIN, TEXAS P.O. Box 162603 PERMIT NO. 1530 Austin, TX 78716-2603 U.S.A.
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED