{"id":2230,"date":"2022-09-01T11:29:18","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T17:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/?p=2230"},"modified":"2022-09-01T12:44:22","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T18:44:22","slug":"bats-a-new-home-on-the-prairie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wildlife\/bats-a-new-home-on-the-prairie\/","title":{"rendered":"Bats: A New Home on the Prairie"},"content":{"rendered":"

The black footed prairie dog is famous not only for kissing its family members hello, but also for digging a mansion of underground dwellings. Their burrows can have more than 70 rooms, including a nursery, toilet, and a listening post, among others. They not only have a back door, but also, for good reason, an escape route. There are a lot of species in the neighborhood eying the prairie dogs\u2019 real estate. As soon as they abandon their burrows, rabbits, badgers, birds, weasels, snakes, burrowing owls, black-footed ferrets, salamanders, insects, and even foxes might move in.<\/p>\n

And now, thanks to the work of biologist, Rick Adams, we might need to add bats to the list.<\/p>\n

Bats and Burrows<\/h2>\n

It turns out that prairie dog colonies are major hubs of bat activity. There\u2019s a reason for this: prairie dogs aren\u2019t just diggers of grand dwellings below the ground, they\u2019re also master landscapers on the surface, which is partly why they\u2019ve been dubbed ecosystem engineers.<\/p>\n

In order to create secure sight lines to their burrows, they clip down any vegetation taller than about six inches, which changes the temperature and moisture content of the soil. Clipping down the vegetation also makes the plants more nutritious and digestible by eliminating the nutrient decline associated with aging. Deer, bison, and pronghorn are thought to preferentially graze on this high-protein grass. Besides mowing the lawn, prairie dogs are big DIY renovators, often excavating new elements of their burrows, thus disturbing large quantities of soil. Insects can\u2019t get enough of this dirt extravaganza, which attracts\u2014you guessed it\u2014bats.<\/p>\n

At least that\u2019s what Adams and his team surmise. While analyzing the data from sonar surveys of bat activity at Hall Ranch Open Space and areas near Lyons, Adams found air-foraging species like big brown and hoary bats, but also, unexpectedly, forest-foraging species, like the fringed myotis and the small-footed myotis. Since the forest-foraging species rarely venture from the edge of the forest because of predators or competitors, it stands to reason that something good had their eye\u2014or sonar, as it were. It\u2019s even possible, because the small-footed myotis\u2019 pattern of activity at dawn and dusk, that they\u2019re using the prairie dogs\u2019 burrows as a nap joint, otherwise known to biologists as a day roost. This behavior hasn\u2019t been proven yet, but it\u2019s something thermal-imaging technology could confirm in the future.<\/p>\n

Guano is Gold<\/h2>\n

Bats have a bad street rep, but they\u2019re just as important as prairie dogs. Cave-roosting bats are considered a keystone species\u2014an organism that\u2019s the glue holding a habitat together. But instead of landscaping or burrowing, all they need to do to be critically important to their ecosystem is eat and poop. Every night, bats across the United States eat thousands of tons of mosquitoes, which turn into guano, and guano is gold\u2014not just fertilizer in our gardens. Guano drives the ecosystems of caves and mines, feeding micro-organisms and invertebrates, which in turn feed fish, salamanders, frogs, and other, larger animals. If that\u2019s not enough to turn you into a bat lover, if you\u2019re sort who likes a delicious, but well-priced ear of corn on the 4th of July, thank a bat. Bats eat enough pests to save the U.S. corn industry more than $1 billion per year in crop damage and pesticide costs. No big deal, just another day at the mine.<\/p>\n

\"brown<\/a>
Scientists were surprised to find that bats, along with several other species, use abandoned prairie dog burrows, which are “major hubs of bat activity,” according to Rick Adams, a biologist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The black footed prairie dog is famous not only for kissing its family members hello, but also for digging a mansion of underground dwellings. Their burrows can have more than 70 rooms, including a nursery, toilet, and a listening post, among others. 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From about mid-April to October, depending on the year\u2019s weather, you may find them along local trails, especially in grasslands, agricultural areas, or grassy meadow and rocky outcrops in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wildlife"","block_context":{"text":"Wildlife","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/category\/wildlife\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"bull snake","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/bullsnake.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/bullsnake.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/bullsnake.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/bullsnake.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/bullsnake.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/bullsnake.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":381,"url":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/nature-detectives\/badger\/","url_meta":{"origin":2230,"position":3},"title":"Dig Badger Dig","author":"Staff","date":"02\/28\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Badger ambled across the grassy field, pausing now and then to sniff the spring air. She smelled Coyote's scent on the breeze. Coyote wasn't far away, but he didn't worry her. Badger had a bold and feisty attitude. And, she had sharp, pointy teeth. She expected Coyote would back off\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Detectives"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Detectives","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/category\/nature-detectives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nature Detectives","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/nature-detective.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/nature-detective.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/nature-detective.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/nature-detective.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/nature-detective.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1472,"url":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wildlife\/back-from-the-brink-close-to-the-edge\/","url_meta":{"origin":2230,"position":4},"title":"Back from the Brink\u2014Close to the Edge","author":"Staff","date":"11\/27\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Endangered Species Act (ESA) created in the 1970s addresses an alarming loss of biodiversity. The ESA\u2019s primary goal is to prevent the extinction of imperiled plant and animal life, and also to recover and maintain those populations by removing or lessening threats to their survival. Also in the 1970s,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wildlife"","block_context":{"text":"Wildlife","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/category\/wildlife\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bald eagle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/bald-eagle.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/bald-eagle.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/bald-eagle.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/bald-eagle.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/bald-eagle.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1988,"url":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/park-visitors\/management-plan-carolyn-holmberg-preserve-at-rock-creek-farm\/","url_meta":{"origin":2230,"position":5},"title":"Management Plan: Carolyn Holmberg Preserve at Rock Creek Farm","author":"Staff","date":"06\/01\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Vision: Carolyn Holmberg Preserve at Rock Creek Farm is a working landscape of farming, ranching, irrigation features, and reservoirs, intertwined with critical wildlife, wetland, riparian, and grassland habitats, that preserves its distinct history and provides regional trail connectivity and recreational amenities for current and future generations. The Board of County\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Park Visitors"","block_context":{"text":"Park Visitors","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/category\/park-visitors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Stearns Lake","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/stearns-lake.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/stearns-lake.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/stearns-lake.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/stearns-lake.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/stearns-lake.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/stearns-lake.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2230"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2251,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2230\/revisions\/2251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}