Bats: Not just for Halloween

Join us at noon for this brown bag lunch talk at the Bent Creek Training Center. Please register to attend. Space is limited to 50 participants.

Bats are associated with Halloween – but why? And, should forest managers and wildlife biologists care about them? This talk will cover the important ecosystem services provided by bats, the threats they are facing which has resulted in significant declines in their populations, and ways forest managers can improve habitat for bats while also meeting their forest management goals.

Susan Loeb is a research ecologist with the Upland Hardwood Ecology and Management Research Unit. She has been with Forest Service Research & Development for 36 years and is located in Clemson, SC where she serves as an adjunct professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation. She has been studying bats for the past 25 years. Her research has focused on the ecology and conservation of threatened and sensitive species, the effects of forest management and other disturbances on bat populations, the responses of southeastern bats to white-nose syndrome, and development and testing of monitoring programs for bats.