BRN 9-2 (uncompressed) - Flipbook - Page 66
Updates and Tidbits
Bats
In our July 2025 issue we published a
survey of the Bat species found in our
area. The following tidbits and
updates have come to light since
then.
Wind turbines kill an inordinate
number of bats every year. In
fact, it is posited that they are the
single greatest cause of bat
deaths every year. But why? Per
Kristin A. Jonasson et al.
(Jonasson Kristin A., Corcoran
Aaron J., Dempsey Laura, Weller
Theodore J. and Clerc Jeff. 13
August 2025 "Bats ßying through
a Y-maze are visually attracted to
wind turbine surfaces" The Royal
Society Biology Letters. http://
doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.
0242) it is the light reßecting off
the blades. Bats are attracted to
light at night, wind turbine
blades are massive, spin very fast
(when looking at a wind turbine
blade, look at the tip of the blade
to determine its speed) and
reßect moon (or any other kind
of) light. Bad news for the bats.
The conclusions of the study are
not based on the correlation of
data sets but rather very rigorous
experimentation.
One of the bat species found in
our area is the Big Brown Bat,
Eptesicus fuscus (Beauvois,
1796). The genus has been split
into three. The change does not
affect the Latin binomial of the
species found here. The Mammal
Diversity website notes:
ÒWhether E. fuscus as currently
deÞned represents a species
complex is needed (to be
determined) before species are
split from it; E. fuscus is retained
in the genus Eptesicus, while all
other species in the genus have
been moved to Neoeptesicus
(American species) or Cnephaeus
(Afro-Eurasian species).Ó
Whether or not Eptesicus fuscus
is split into multiple species
awaits further research.
LiveScience (commercial site) has
recommendations on ÒBest bat
detectors in 2025 Ñ Hear bats
and their echolocationÓ. We do
not endorse this article but rather
provide this link to present the
ÒwhatÕs possibleÓ.
Photoluminescence is being
discovered everywhere. Later in
this edition of ÒUpdates and
TidbitsÓ we report on research
Þndings of ßuorescence in Longeared Owls. (Photoluminescence
is a broad category which
includes ßuorescence, lightscattering, and phosphorescence.)
B. J. Roberson, S. Perea, D.
DeRose-Broeckert, and S. B.
Castleberry reported Þnding
ßorescence in six species of
North American Bats. (ÒGlowing
Green: A Quantitative Analysis of
Photoluminescence in Six North
American Bat SpeciesÓ, Ecology
and Evolution e71885, https://
doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71885,
28 July 2025.) Three of the bat
species were included in our
survey of the bats of the Black
Range; Eptesicus fuscus (Big
Brown Bat), Tadarida brasiliensis
(Mexican Free-tailed Bat), and
Lasiurus borealis (Eastern Red
Bat).
The authors noted that: ÒWe
used museum specimens to
examine wavelength at peak
photoluminescent emission,
within and among species. We
observed green photoluminescence on the wings, uropatagium, and hind limbs of all
60 museum specimens
examined. Spectral scans
revealed a consistent emission
peak between 520 and 552)nm
corresponding to the observed
green color. We found no
differences in wavelength
between species or sexes.
Wavelength was not related to
specimen age, supporting the
use of museum specimens for
detection of photoluminescence.
Our results suggest the potential
for photoluminescence to be
homologous in origin among the
species we examined. We
emphasize the need for further
exploration into potential
evolutionary and functional roles
of photoluminescence across
mammalian taxa.Ó
Most research in this area is
focused on the what rather than
the why at this point.
Caption from the article: Specimens of, Lasiurus borealis (gÐi) and Eptesicus
fuscus (jÐl). Specimens were illuminated under 410)nm light and
photographed under UV light alone (left column), under Þltration using
yellow-tinted UV-Þltering lens (center column), and under Þltration using a
470)nm longpass Þlter (right column). Both the graphic and caption have
been modiÞed to focus on species of the Black Range.
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