Bats & Dark Skies
Bats are amazing! They have lived on Earth for more than 50 million years. There are over 1,400 different species of bats, making them the second largest order of mammals. Bats are extremely adaptable and can be found in forests, wetlands, deserts, prairies, urban areas, and even cold places like Alaska and Siberia, and they are found on every continent except Antarctica.
Bats are nocturnal. They do vitally important ecosystem work when no one is watching. Bats provide pest control. It’s estimated that insect-eating bats may save U.S. farmers $23 billion each year by reducing crop damage and the need for pesticides. On average, many of these bats are eating up to half their body weight each night. Pregnant and nursing mothers will eat even more, up to 100% of their body weight. All bat species found in Ohio are insectivores. Bats pollinate over 500 plant species. Nectar-feeding bats range from tropical rainforests to deserts. The plants they pollinate often have pale nocturnal flowers that are large and bell-shaped. As they feed their body picks up pollen which they carry to the next flower. Some bats like the Ecuador tube-lipped nectar bat and the Mexican banana bat evolved incredibly long tongues so that they can reach the nectar at the bottom of the flowers they feed on. You can thank a bat the next time you eat a banana or sip on tequila. Bats play a critical role in seed dispersal for plants and trees. In areas where rainforests are cleared for logging and ranching, fruit bats are helping in their restoration. These bats are used to flying large distances and across open areas. And, because they poop in flight, they spread more seeds during flight than birds do. In fact, seeds dropped by bats make up 95% of the first new growth for these forests.
Bat populations are declining worldwide. The primary causes include habitat destruction, hunting and persecution for sport and meat, growing use of wind turbines, proliferation of harmful myths and use of artificial light at night. Bats adapted to a life of darkness partly to avoid predators. Artificial light interferes with feeding, can cause roosts to be abandoned and can make bats more visible to predators. To help our hard-working bats we need to preserve the dark of night by making dark sky-friendly lighting choices and turning out lights when they’re not needed.
Want to learn more about bats? Register to attend our August 9 Bat Program and Survey with telescope observing after and our Bats of the Night program on August 24.