Tracking, Foraging and Migration Behavior of Northern Long-Eared Bats on and around Martha's Vineyard, MA

About This Grant

This is an announcement for issuing a single source financial assistance award to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst for a period not to exceed two years. This announcement is for notification purposes only. No additional proposals are being accepted for this funding opportunity. Description of Funding OpportunityThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is proposing a collaborative effort to investigate on-shore and off-shore movement of the proposed endangered Northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis, MYSE) and off-shore movement of tree bats on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. In 2014, the Service funded a pilot mist-netting survey of Martha's Vineyard to ascertain if MYSE were present on the island post-White-Nose Syndrome (WNS). Our results indicate that this species is still present on the island, and may occur in numbers greater than are encountered on the mainland in areas heavily affected by WNS. Preliminary data indicates that the capture rate on Martha's Vineyard is similar to the capture rate of MYSE in New York pre-WNS.To follow up on last year's effort, the Service, in partnership with BiodiversityWorks (a local non-profit environmental organization) is pursuing additional mist-netting efforts this summer, with the objective of radiotracking bats to identify roost trees and roost site characteristics. We will be using nanotag series coded radio transmitters for this effort to track bat movement using a combination of hand held and tower -based receivers. Using nanotag transmitters will enable us to combine this research with additional concurrent bat research for on-shore and off-shore bat movement. The receiving stations proposed to be funded by the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM) and others will be able to collect data on all nanotagged bats. Moreover, researchers will collaborate on data collection and analysis and may assist in locating bats on the ground.We anticipate installing radio telemetry receiving towers on Martha's Vineyard and one on Naushon Island (part of the Elizabeth Island chain). The combination of hand held and stationary receiver coverage should provide valuable information for both on-shore and off-shore activity. We will be partnering with research proposed by the University of Massachusetts and USGS to investigate off-shore movement of bats in Maine and Massachusetts. Combining our efforts will allow us to pursue bat movement on multiple fronts without the need for additional equipment and staff.II. Award InformationThe Service, Region 5 intends to make a single-source award of a cooperative agreement to UMass Amherst, a partner in the Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit. The