The central great plains have been home to peripheral populations of the northern long-eared BAT, the little brown BAT, and the tricolored BAT, all of which are severely impacted by white-nose syndrome

This $195,000 federal Project Grant award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the White-nose Syndrome National Response Implementation program (CFDA 15.684) will fund a two-year continuous monitoring project to characterize critical habitats and roosting areas for three bat species impacted by white-nose syndrome in the central Great Plains along the Missouri River. The project will acoustically monitor 15 core sites year-round and survey an additional 90 summer sites to document species presence and distribution in the region. The results are expected to verify the persistence of these white-nose syndrome-impacted species in the Great Plains during both winter and summer and identify microclimate drivers enabling their survival. The award was granted to the University of Nebraska, a prominent federal research partner, to conduct this work from April 2025 through June 2027.

Since white-nose syndrome arrived in the central great plains, there has been limited baseline monitoring in the region, as reflected in the north american BAT monitoring program database. Research on critical habitats for overwintering bats in this region has not been conducted since white-nose syndrome was first detected around 2016, and summer acoustic data are also lacking. Biologically, peripheral populations may utilize habitats and resources differently from core populations, making the knowledge generated on these white-nose syndrome-affected species in the eastern united states less applicable for local conservation and management efforts. The conservation and management challenge is further complicated by differences between forest and grassland ecosystems. Therefore, we propose a two-year continuous monitoring project to characterize critical habitats and roosting areas in the central great plains along the missouri river (nebraska, south dakota, iowa, missouri) for both winter and summer seasons, targeting white-nose syndrome-impacted species. We will monitor 15 core sites acoustically year-round, collecting species presence data. In the summer, we will use a stratified sampling design to survey 90 additional sites near core sites (6 per core site) to better document species distribution. The north american BAT monitoring program stationary point survey protocol will be used for the summer sites, allowing data to be contributed to the north american BAT monitoring program national database. We expect the project to verify the persistence of white-nose syndrome -impacted species in the great plains during both winter and summer. Based on winter habitat information, we anticipate identifying microclimate drivers that enable white-nose syndrome-impacted species to overwinter in the great plains. From summer habitat information, we expect synthesis of how forest patches and waterways affect BAT habitat quality in the grassland ecosystem, contributing to conservation management strategies for forest and riparian habitats in grasslands.