Bats have long been feared as blood sucking creatures that fly through the night sky, tangling themselves in human hair and spreading rabies-induced delirium with their supposed bite.
But according to scientific studies and Los Alamos National Laboratory wildlife biologist Milu Velardi, these fears are completely unfounded — and likely rooted in the fact that the animals keep nocturnal hours, therefore remaining a mystery to many.
In reality, bats are critical to agricultural production as they pollinate certain crops, like agave, and feed on insects that sometimes cause infestations. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that “bats contribute up to $3 billion annually to American agriculture through pest control and pollination,” in fact. They also serve as indicators of a healthy ecosystem.
Velardi and the Lab’s Biological Resources group therefore work to protect these flying mammals, especially as their nationwide populations are decimated by habitat loss, climate change and a fungus called Pseudogymnoascus destructans, which thrives in caves and has led to the deadly white-nose syndrome, recently detected in New Mexico.
The Lab’s plan to combat threats against bats
Last month, Velardi drafted the Lab’s first Bat Management Plan that, once approved, would provide recommendations for protecting bats and their habitat. The guidance is primarily intended for those working on construction, maintenance and land management projects across the site.
Recommendations include maintaining a certain distance between outdoor work and locations where bats have been detected, how to preserve trees that contain bat habitat, and more.
Since there aren’t federally listed threatened or endangered bats on Lab property — for now, at least — the recommendations don’t have a regulatory driver and can’t be enforced, Velardi noted. Rather, they serve as guidance for stewarding the land the Lab is entrusted to manage. And if any of the 15 bat species that Velardi has identified across the site — through devices called autonomous recording units — decline further in population and require protection based on a federal ruling, the Lab will be well-positioned to meet that mandate.
Already, 11 species or subspecies of bats have been included on the threatened and endangered species list in the U.S. In New Mexico, the spotted bat has been added to the sensitive species list, and it’s been heard on Lab-wide recording devices.
“Spotted bats are absolutely fabulous little things,” Velardi said. “They’re fuzzy, with an off-white color, big black spots and adorable faces. They make sounds that are acoustic, not ultrasonic, so you can actually hear them chirp.”
Providing data for national organization
In addition to helping the Lab better understand the prevalence of bat species in its vicinity, Velardi shares her monitoring results with the North American Bat Monitoring Program, a nationwide organization dedicated to filling data gaps on bats to assess which species are declining in population and might warrant protection.
“Bats aren’t the creepy creatures they’re made out to be,” Velardi said. “They are simply misunderstood. When bats fly low over people's heads, they are usually chasing insects — they can eat up to 1,200 mosquitoes per hour, in fact — and they use echolocation to avoid obstacles like human hair. Less than one percent of them carry rabies. So don’t be fooled by all the bat-related lore this time of year. They’re extraordinary animals and are generally afraid of people. They mean you no harm.”
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