bat Cori
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    Current Research

    Long-Eared Bat Taxonomy in B.C.
    The Ministry of Environment in B.C. [Laura Friis, Purnima Govindarajulu] teamed up with B.C. bat biologists Cori Lausen, Dave Nagorsen and Doug Burles, to conduct a thorough investigation of long-eared bat species in the province. There has long been great difficulty in telling these species apart in hand, especially the red-listed Keen's Myotis versus the Long-eared Myotis. In the western part of the province there are 5 species of long-eared Myotis species. Using a combination of genetics, morphology and acoustics, the goal is to determine: 1) Are these similar looking bats separate species, or are they interbreeding?   2) If distinct species genetically, what traits or combination of traits can be used to tell them apart?

    Main study locations have included Haida Gwaii, Skagit Valley/Manning , Okanagan, Hazelton, Merritt, greater Vancouver, and the Columbia Basin. We are in our final year of research in this project - results are forthcoming. Collaborators include BC Habitat Conservation Trust, BC Forest Science Program, Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program Columbia Basin, Dr. Jan Zinck (Portland State University), Dr. Tanya Dewey [University of Michigan[, and Dr. Mike Russello [University of British Columbia, Kelowna].

    Winter Bat Hibernation and Flight
    Cori sets up a bat detector to record passively during the winter. Understanding why bats fly in winter is the focus of her research. As part of her PhD work, Cori discovered that bats fly during the winter, often in below freezing temperatures. Why do bats fly during the winter? What species tend to be most active? What do bats roost in during the winter [ie. what are they using as hibernacula]? Cori has begun winter bat research to try to answer these questions. In the winter of 2009-2010, work began in B.C. [currently in the west Kootenay region] and in Alberta [in Dinosaur Provincial Park].

    In B.C., passive acoustic monitoring took place across the area from Trail to Creston and as far north as Trout Lake in winter 2009-2010. Mist-net capture, and radiotelemetry in areas around Nelson and Salmo provided some interesting preliminary data.

    Likely in part due to the mild weather, bats were extremely active throughout the winter. Cori mistnetted bats at mine entrances like this one, below, in January-February, capturing California Myotis, silverhaired and Townsend's Big-eared bats, Corynorhinus townsendii [photo below, right].

    Corynorhinus townsendii captured in late February, 2010, flying into a mine near Creston, B.C.

    Net set at mine entrance in Creston area, late February 2010, resulted in the capture of a Townsend's Big-eared Bat.

    A bat fitted with a transmitter, captured while flying in January 2010, is about to be released to determine its winter roost.

    She discovered a mine with hibernating silverhaired and Townsend's bats, which was noteworthy given the threatened status of the latter species, and the typically migratory behaviour of the former. Hibernating silverhaired bats, like the one pictured just below, Hibernating silverhaired bat in a mine near Nelson, B.C. This species was detected flying in and out of mine openings throughout the winter of 2009-2010. have been documented in a few other areas of B.C.; this find confirms that although this species migrates south throughout the rest of its range in Canada, silverhaired bats are year-round residents in B.C.

    In the far right photo, Cori fits a bat with a transmitter. Through radiotracking of a silverhaired bat in January, Cori found that snags are also used as roosts in winter. To what extent this "migratory"/"hibernating" species depends on mines versus snags during a typical winter is yet to be determined.

    In Alberta, with the help of friends and family, Cori installed a heated water tank (photo 4900) to begin the process of testing whether bats fly during the winter due to dehydration. To read more about this winter work, see the Gallery & Projects section of this website, or visit the Dinosaur Provincial Park's website. Heated trough provides an open water source throughout the winter.

    Because the devastating White Nose Syndrome affects bats during hibernation, it is critical that bat behaviour during winter is understood and hibernacula are discovered. Read more about this on the White Nose Syndrome page of this site.