Bat Acoustic Monitoring

All of the bat species that reside in Alaska use echolocation to locate and capture their prey. Bat detectors convert the high-frequency calls that bats make to a lower-frequency sound within the range of human hearing, allowing us to “eavesdrop” on bats while they forage.

A new nationwide program for monitoring bats is starting up in 2014. The program will use acoustic driving transects to monitor population trends. Transects are driven at 20 mph, with a bat detector mounted on the roof of the vehicle to record the bat calls and a GPS to record the location. We are recruiting volunteers to help us conduct these surveys once a month from April through September.

Contact us if you are interested in driving an acoustic transect in your community.