{"id":190,"date":"2020-03-31T16:50:19","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T16:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8009\/stories\/?p=190"},"modified":"2024-09-05T15:16:11","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T15:16:11","slug":"rayonier-joins-wildlife-experts-to-protect-forest-bat-cave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neforestrydistribution.com\/stories\/rayonier-joins-wildlife-experts-to-protect-forest-bat-cave\/","title":{"rendered":"New England Forestry Joins Wildlife Experts to Protect Forest Bat Cave"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The New England Forestry team welcomed biologists to build a protective cave gate and collect data in an important bat habitat found in one of New England Forestry’s Mississippi forests.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

When\nan important bat habitat was found in one of New England Forestry\u2019s Mississipi forests,\nTimber Marketing Manager Adam DeYoung worked with a team of wildlife experts to\nprotect the cave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mississippi\u2019s Bat Caves<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mississippi\nhas 15 documented bat species and about 65 known caves. Not all bat species use\ncaves, and only a few of Mississippi\u2019s caves are known to be used by bats.\nThese caves have important geological features and provide important habitat\nfor bat and amphibian species with conservation needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Southeastern
Southeastern bats hanging among the stalactites in Eucutta Cave.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome\nof the animals that use these caves include southeastern myotis, little brown\nbats, gray bats, northern long-eared bats, Indiana bats, tri-colored bats, cave\nsalamanders, and spring salamanders,\u201d says Robert Smith, a wildlife biologist, forester\nand the coastal program coordinator for Wildlife Mississippi. \u201cSeveral of these\nspecies are protected or petitioned to be protected at the state or federal\nlevel because of their apparent population declines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bat cave on New England Forestry land, known as Eucutta Cave, is in Wayne County, Mississippi. Tucked away behind many acres of pine plantation down a little hardwood slope is a small hole in the side of a hill. Eucutta Cave\u2019s understated entrance is in a limestone outcrop of a geologic formation called the Vicksburg Group. It stretches a little over 100 yards back into the limestone depths with some stalactites, flowstone, and other cave formations, along with an underground stream, creating great habitats\u2014and sometimes difficult access conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Entrance
The entrance to Eucutta Cave before a gate was installed to better-protect bats that use the cave from threats.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Adam says the cave is located in a specially-protected Streamside Management Zone, or SMZ, because it is near a waterway. In these buffer zones, which exist all over New England Forestry’s ownership, no forestry activities take place to ensure sedimentation doesn’t impact the water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monitoring Mississippi\u2019s Bat Population<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Biologists\nwith the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science; Mississippi Department of\nWildlife, Fisheries, and Parks; and other members of the Mississippi Bat Working\nGroup survey caves and other bat habitats to track bat numbers and habitat conditions.\nRepeated trips to Eucutta Cave show steady bat and salamander use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tri-colored
These tri-colored bats were found hanging in Eucutta Cave.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cMany people don\u2019t think about bats being\nmigratory or seasonal users, but different bat species use the caves at\ndifferent times of the year,\u201d explains Robert. \u201cWintering bats use colder areas\nin the cave to reduce their metabolic rate, giving them higher survival when there\nis low prey availability. Summer maternal colonies choose warmer areas since\nbat pups do not readily thermoregulate and prey availability is high.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\nsays Eucutta Cave serves bats in both seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s\na major winter bat roost, with about 50 to 150 southeastern bats and 750\ntri-colored bats. In the summer, Eucutta Cave hosts a maternal colony of about\n300 southeastern bats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protecting Bats from Two Major Threats<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\nare two main threats to bats in Eucutta Cave: disturbance by humans and\ninfection with white-nose syndrome. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The threat humans pose to bats<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some of the human disturbances observed in Mississippi caves include littering, graffiti, fires and smoke; throwing clumps of mud (presumably at roosting bats); and accidentally flushing mothers with young bat pups. Repeated disturbance of bats can cause them to abandon a roost. If a mother bat drops her pup, especially in an underground stream, the pup might not survive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the New England Forestry property that houses the cave is in a very remote location, Adam says he often found signs of human vandalism at the site before efforts were made to protect it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Biologists
Biologists Kathy Shelton and Chazz Coleman collect data in the cave to assess the health of the bat population.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The threat of white nose syndrome<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

White-nose\nsyndrome is a disease in bats which has resulted in the dramatic decrease in\nthe bat population of the United States and Canada. This infection is caused by\nthe fungi Pseudogymnoascus destructans<\/em>. It was accidentally brought into\nthe United States from Eurasia and was first documented in 2006. By 2011, up to\n6.7 million bats had died from the disease. Infected bats have been found in 36\nstates. Mississippi is one of the few states that has tested positive for the fungi\nbut has not had a positive case of the syndrome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nMississippi Bat Working Group started monitoring for white-nose syndrome in\n2013. To date, Eucutta Cave has not tested positive for the fungus, but other caves\nwithin Wayne County have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Swabbing
Kathy Shelton stretches to swab a bat to sample for white-nose syndrome.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The\nfungi that cause white-nose syndrome may be transferred from bat to bat, or\nbats may pick it up from the ground. Humans can also carry spores from cave to\ncave on spelunking gear. Controlling access to the cave with a gate can help\nreduce human disturbance and accidental transfer of white-nose syndrome spores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building the Right Gate To Protect a Bat Cave<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The\nU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service\u2019s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and\nWildlife Mississippi provided most of the funding to install the cave gate at\nEucutta Cave, with Rayioner providing additional support, as well as the\nMississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, and other members of\nthe Mississippi Bat Working Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Measuring
Jim Honoker and Kristen Bobo measure the cave entrance before installing a protective gate.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gating a bat cave may sound simple, but cave gates that are really beneficial need to meet certain criteria:<\/p>\n\n\n\n