Use of Innovative Technology to Deter Bat Bridge Use Prior to and During Construction

White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) is estimated to have killed more than 5.7 million bats in eastern North America since it was identified in New York in 2006. Due to WNS and increased disturbance of habitats used by bats for roosting and foraging, there has been a growing concern about the bat population in the United States in the last decade. Due to the steep decline in bat population, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) listed the northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act in 2015. Additional bat species are anticipated to be listed in the coming years. During the summer months, bat species may utilize bridges as day-time roosting habitat, and may also use them as places to form maternity colonies where they give birth and raise their young. Bridge repair and replacement projects are required to follow additional regulatory requirements to avoid and minimize impacts to the bats, when protected bat species are present on bridges. Some of these requirements (e.g., timing restrictions) are challenging to implement given Minnesota’s short construction season. This project seeks to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of deploying non-lethal ultrasonic acoustic devices in the field to temporarily deter bats from roosting on bridges ahead of construction or maintenance activities, while minimizing harm to bats and non-target species. Test sites will be located in Minnesota or areas with similar bat species and habitats.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $143,290.00
• Contract Numbers:

  1003320 WO#9

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Minnesota Department of Transportation

  395 John Ireland Boulevard
  St Paul, MN  United States  55155
• Performing Organizations:

  Iowa State University, Ames

  Institute for Transportation
  2711 South Loop Drive, Suite 4700
  Ames, Iowa  United States  50010-8664
• Principal Investigators:

  Bektas, Basak

• Start Date: 20190415
• Expected Completion Date: 20201031
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acoustic equipment; Bridges; Ultrasonics; Wildlife
• Identifier Terms: Endangered Species Act
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Environment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01685154
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Minnesota Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: 1003320 WO#9
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Nov 8 2018 10:18AM