I live in the East Bay Area in California, and every night a little after dark I can hear my local bats flying out en masse looking for bugs with their echolocation.
And I’m just wondering, is there someone on the board here who knows whether bats are flourishing or languishing in the modern ecosystem? Do they have a harder time finding bugs in winter? Are they having a harder time finding roosts?
Well, bats have always had a hard time finding bugs in the winter, that’s one of the reasons they hibernate, so they don’t need to find bugs that aren’t really there.
Some species are doing OK, some are endangered. This is my husband’s favorite bat website which may have some of the information you’re seeking.
“White-nose syndrome” (a fungal disease) is posing a significant threat to northeastern US bats.
Is there a map or chart or something showing what species of bats inhabit which parts of the US?
Last year I heard that on major group was dying in the USA. You might wish to google for that.
They are now pretty sure bats might be the animals that harbor ebola and marburg