Bats face an existential crisis, a new study offers hope
UC ecologist and bat expert Joesph Johnson weighs in on a new bat study featured in Salon
Bats are an essential part of the ecosphere that currently need human protection, says Joseph Johnson, an ecologist and assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati who studies the little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) — an endangered bat species in Ohio.
Johnson was recently interviewed by Salon for his opinion on a new bat study out of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The study found that the fungal disease (called White-nose syndrome, which has been culling several species of bat populations since 2018) can be detected at the cellular level and is not as destructive when bats are active.
Calling the study “an exciting piece of work,” Johnson says it is also important to also impart the significance of the dwindling bat populations to lay persons, as bats tend to roost in tress, attics and barns during the spring when they give birth.
"Many people have such maternity roosts on their property. And it is here that populations grow each year and provide the possibility of recovery from [white-nose syndrome],” he says.
Johnson, in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, is the recipient of a grant from USFW to continue a 2021 bat project at UC, which he participated in while on faculty at Ohio University.
He joined UC’s School of Information Technology, in the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services, in the fall of 2022.
Featured image at top of little brown myotis by Keith Christenson.
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