Researchers raise concerns about health of P.E.I. bat populations

Researchers are raising concerns about Prince Edward Island's already reduced bat populations.

The number of bats on P.E.I. has dropped drastically in the last decade, and there is little indication that they will recover.

There are four different species of bats on the Island. Two of them migrate south for the winter, while the others hibernate here — or at least, they're supposed to.

Darrian Washinger, the Atlantic bat conservation project technician with the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, said there is a fungus pushing bats out of hibernation.

"White-nose syndrome is caused by a fungus that gets into the cave systems and can kill up to 95 to 99 per cent of the bats there," Washinger said.

"We've seen these huge collapses in the populations of both the northern myotis and the little brown myotis."

Little brown myotis, or little brown bats, and northern myotis, also known as northern long-eared bats, contract white-nose syndrome when fungus in their hibernation area causes them to wake up, burn energy, and go out into the cold looking for food. They quickly die from exposure.

Then, it's likely a slow road to recovery for the overall population.

"Once they're gone, they have to come back naturally. There's not really anything we can do on our end to bring them back, other than support healthy habitats," Washinger said.

She also said some researchers are worried about regional extirpation, which basically means the hibernating bats won't be found in the region anymore.

As insectivores, P.E.I.'s bats play a vital role in the food chain.

"They eat insects, and I know a lot of people are not happy about mosquitoes, and a great thing to keep the mosquito population down are bats," Washinger said.

In addition to retaining tracts of forests, not cutting down dead standing trees with cavities and putting up bat boxes, Islanders can also call a toll-free number to report bat sightings. There's particular interest in winter sightings of bats, as those often indicates the presence of white-nose syndrome.

The P.E.I. Watershed Alliance has been out looking for abandoned wells because hibernating bats sometimes use them as an alternative to caves.