Freeze Samuel R, Deeley Sabrina M, Litterer Amber S, Freeze J Mark, Ford W Mark
Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Conservation Planning Assistance, Chesapeake Bay Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Annapolis, MD 21401, USA.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Aug 21;15(16):2458. doi: 10.3390/ani15162458.
Bats are a taxa of high conservation concern and are facing numerous threats including widespread mortality due to White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) in North America. With this decline comes increasing difficulty in monitoring imperiled bat species due to lower detection probabilities of both mist-netting and acoustic surveys. Lure technology shows promise to increase detection while decreasing sampling effort; however, to date research has primarily focused on increasing physical captures during mist-net surveys using sound lures. Because much bat monitoring is now performed using acoustic detection, there is a similar need to increase detection probabilities during acoustic surveys. Ultraviolet (UV) lights anecdotally have been shown to attract insects and thereby attract foraging bats for observational studies and to experimentally provide a food source for WNS-impacted bats before and after hibernation. Therefore, we constructed a field-portable and programmable UV lure device to determine the value of lures for increasing acoustic detection of bats. We tested if the lure device increased both the echolocation passes and feeding activity (feeding buzzes) across a transect of bat detectors. There was an increase in feeding activity around the UV light, with a nuanced, species-specific and positionally dependent effect on echolocation passes received. The UV light lure increased echolocation passes for the eastern red bat (), little brown bat (), and evening bat (), but decreased passes of the North American hoary bat (). The northern long-eared bat () showed a negative response within the illuminated area but increased echolocation activity outside the illuminated area during lure treatment and activity was elevated at all positions after the lure was deactivated. Our study demonstrates some potential utility of UV lures in increasing the feeding activity and acoustic detection of bats. Additional research and development of UV lure technology may be beneficial, including alternating on and off periods to improve detection of light-averse species, and improving echolocation call quality along with the increase in received passes.
蝙蝠是一类受到高度保护关注的生物分类群，正面临着众多威胁，包括北美因白鼻综合征（WNS）导致的广泛死亡。随着这种数量下降，监测濒危蝙蝠物种变得越来越困难，因为雾网捕获和声学调查的检测概率都降低了。诱饵技术有望在减少采样工作量的同时提高检测率；然而，迄今为止，研究主要集中在使用声音诱饵增加雾网调查期间的实际捕获量。由于现在许多蝙蝠监测是通过声学检测进行的，因此在声学调查中也有类似的需求来提高检测概率。据传闻，紫外线（UV）灯已被证明能吸引昆虫，从而吸引觅食的蝙蝠用于观察研究，并在实验中为冬眠前后受WNS影响的蝙蝠提供食物来源。因此，我们构建了一种便于携带且可编程的紫外线诱饵装置，以确定诱饵对增加蝙蝠声学检测的价值。我们测试了该诱饵装置是否能增加蝙蝠探测器横断面上的回声定位次数和进食活动（进食嗡嗡声）。紫外线灯周围的进食活动有所增加，对接收到的回声定位次数有细微的、物种特异性的和位置依赖性的影响。紫外线诱饵增加了东部红蝙蝠、小棕蝠和夜蝠的回声定位次数，但减少了北美毛蝙蝠的回声定位次数。北方长耳蝠在光照区域内表现出负面反应，但在诱饵处理期间，光照区域外的回声定位活动增加，诱饵停用后所有位置的活动都有所增加。我们的研究证明了紫外线诱饵在增加蝙蝠进食活动和声学检测方面具有一定的潜在效用。紫外线诱饵技术的进一步研发可能会有益处，包括交替开启和关闭时段以改善对避光物种的检测，以及在增加接收到的回声定位次数的同时提高回声定位叫声质量。
