OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Researchers have five detectors they are using for periods of six nights spaced out across the Omaha metro to measure activity. What they're finding, bats are just about everywhere.
- More than 170 people volunteered to participate in the research.
- Native habitat with high quality vegetation is important for bats.
- Bats eat insects and reduce the risk of insect-borne diseases.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
In this backyard near 168th and Fort, eight different types of bats have been found to visit here at night and chances are your backyard has bat activity too. To learn about bats and urban habitats, one local group is deploying bat detectors across the metro to see how we can all help bats thrive.
Hear that? That's the sound of a big brown bat. One of 9 different species of bats found in eastern Nebraska.
To learn what helps bats thrive, UNO professor Dr. Han Li and the nonprofit Grasslands Unlimited are working to understand what type of backyard habitat bats prefer.
The one thing they're learning is that based on a sample of around 20 backyards so far, in Omaha bats are just about everywhere.
"What that really underscores is the importance of making sure that as many areas as possible provide native habitat with high quality vegetation to provide the insects and the roosting habitat for the bats,” said Trevor Pellerite with Grasslands Unlimited.
Bats are beneficial to our environment because they eat insects and reduce risk of insect-borne diseases.
Here in Omaha - with all the grassland we have, Dr. Li says cities provide the type of ecosystem bats need to thrive.
“A lot of the vertical structural complexity you can find in the city and that complexity is essential for bats,” said Dr. Li.
That's why studying what bats prefer in urban areas is important to Dr. Li because backyards can vary based on things like light pollution, how many trees there are and water supply.
“Where they can get water and what kind of water they drink would impact their health,” said Dr. Li.
Researchers have five detectors they are using for periods of 6-nights spaced out across the Omaha metro to measure activity.
They've found that many Omahans are interested in participating, with over 170 people signing up to be a part of the project.
"I mean, I think growing up, I got the idea that bats are creepy. And I think it's like a lot of things that when we learn about the benefits, we can, you know, think differently about things,” said Tara Scrogin, a neighbor participating in the research.
The project will continue on into the fall and then resume once again in the spring when bar activity picks up again.
