Bat Count Down 58% In Bergen County, NJ In One Year - Down 30-40% Across 9 NJ Counties

[hatrack]

The bat population was down 58 percent in Bergen County this summer, according to new research that reinforces fears that many of the state's bats were wiped out last winter by a fungus linked to the deaths of a million bats in nine states.

The summer bat count showed population down an average of 30 percent at 40 summer roost sites in nine counties, mostly in North Jersey. Of the 23 sites that showed a noticeable decrease in bat population, some roosts were entirely empty, said MacKenzie Hall, a biologist with the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey. The group managed the count for the state Department of Environmental Protection. But the count also found a dozen sites where the bat population remained stable, and five roosts showed population increases.

"The data definitely shows a trend, but there's still a lot we don't know. We were expecting the numbers to indicate a real slaughter, but the numbers we got back showing only an average 30 percent decline were actually heartening," Hall said. "Hopefully the fungus won't spread more this winter, but the syndrome is still so new, we're not sure what to expect."

Several previously robust summer roost sites in Mahwah and Allendale were nearly vacant this year. The three largest known summer roosts in Sussex County saw declines of 61, 81 and 85 percent. Morris County's summer bat population was down 85 percent. Passaic has only one known roost site that is monitored; there were four bats counted in 2008 and none this year.

EDIT

http://www.northjersey.com/news/environment/local_environment/66778407.html

[Beetwasher]

1. I Hope The Fungus Has Run It's Course

And natural selection has worked it's magic. These critters are a valuable part of the local ecosystem and serve as an important control on the mosquito population.

[kristopher]

2. Anecdotally

I live in a rural area across the mouth of the Delaware Bay from NJ and we usually have a lot of bats feeding above the fields around our house. This year I haven't seen a single bat. That could be a result of poor sampling, but I don't think so.

[LiberalEsto]

3. The mosquitoes must be out of control

Without bats to eat the skeeters, I hate to think what it must have been like outdoors this summer.