The Canyon Bat. Photo by J. Scott Altenbach.
Fall is in full swing in Orange County, bringing cooler weather, crisp air and early sunsets to the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks. With the sun setting earlier, you may notice more sightings of nocturnal animals roaming the Landmarks. Species of animals like bats often get a bad reputation thanks to spooky tall tales, but these flying mammals play a critical role in the local ecosystem.
The Canyon Bat is one of the many bat species that can be found on the Landmarks, as they establish their homes in deserts, woodland, and shrubland habitats. Canyon Bats are not known to migrate far distances and often stay in the same area throughout the year, roosting in burrows, among boulders or cracks and crevices of rocks. This bat species is identified by their dark face, ears and wings, with light-colored fur that can range from a pale yellow to orange-yellow and gray-brown.
The Canyon Bat is one of the many bat species that can be found on the Landmarks, as they establish their homes in deserts, woodland, and shrubland habitats. Canyon Bats are not known to migrate far distances and often stay in the same area throughout the year, roosting in burrows, among boulders or cracks and crevices of rocks. This bat species is identified by their dark face, ears and wings, with light-colored fur that can range from a pale yellow to orange-yellow and gray-brown.
Even though bats are often portrayed as blood-sucking creatures who emerge in the darkness of night, the bats in North America are actually feasting on small insects such as moths, beetles and mosquitoes, not humans, and are estimated to save farmers in the US approximately 35 million USD per year in pest-control services! Bats even have a bridge named after them on the Landmarks! Travelers on Santiago Canyon Road will drive under the “Bat Bridge'' near the Augustine Staging Area, which was a temporary bridge used during a construction project but was kept in place to spare thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats that began to roost there.
Irvine Ranch Conservancy’s mission to protect, restore and preserve Orange County’s urban wildlands also extends to the native animal species that are found across the Landmarks. IRC staff recently teamed up with Dilly Hoyt, a master’s student from the University of Exeter, UK, to investigate the effects of wildfire on bats within the Mediterranean-type ecosystems of southern California. The research focused on 11 bat species living in oak woodland, chaparral, scrub and grassland habitats on the Landmarks and used acoustic detectors to collect data relating to the echolocation calls of bats across the landscape.
“Our main findings showed the importance of these oak habitats, where bat activity was significantly greater as compared to any other habitat type,” said Dilly. “In addition to this, we found that too frequent wildfire can have negative effects on some bats, where their activity is reduced in areas that burn more frequently, although this is also dependent on the habitat type. So, although fire is important in maintaining fire-adapted ecosystems like the ones managed by IRC, too frequent wildfire can have devastating consequences for all biodiversity, not just bats!”
Dilly’s research also found that the canyon bat’s activity on the Landmarks decreased in areas closer to roads in addition to being vulnerable to the effects of too frequent wildfire, causing activity to be significantly reduced within scrub habitats that burn frequently.
For more information about native wildlife on the Landmarks, visit IRConservancy.org or follow the Landmarks on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Irvine Ranch Conservancy’s mission to protect, restore and preserve Orange County’s urban wildlands also extends to the native animal species that are found across the Landmarks. IRC staff recently teamed up with Dilly Hoyt, a master’s student from the University of Exeter, UK, to investigate the effects of wildfire on bats within the Mediterranean-type ecosystems of southern California. The research focused on 11 bat species living in oak woodland, chaparral, scrub and grassland habitats on the Landmarks and used acoustic detectors to collect data relating to the echolocation calls of bats across the landscape.
“Our main findings showed the importance of these oak habitats, where bat activity was significantly greater as compared to any other habitat type,” said Dilly. “In addition to this, we found that too frequent wildfire can have negative effects on some bats, where their activity is reduced in areas that burn more frequently, although this is also dependent on the habitat type. So, although fire is important in maintaining fire-adapted ecosystems like the ones managed by IRC, too frequent wildfire can have devastating consequences for all biodiversity, not just bats!”
Dilly’s research also found that the canyon bat’s activity on the Landmarks decreased in areas closer to roads in addition to being vulnerable to the effects of too frequent wildfire, causing activity to be significantly reduced within scrub habitats that burn frequently.
For more information about native wildlife on the Landmarks, visit IRConservancy.org or follow the Landmarks on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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