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Publish Year |
Description |
Filename |
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Conservation of Bats and their Habitat in Clowhom Watershed - FWCP Project No. COA-F20-W-3117
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2020
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This report summarizes work during the first year of a three-year project. Our objectives in 2019-2020 were: (1) To improve and increase bat roosting habitat; (2) To increase the number of protected maternity roosts and hibernacula; (3) To undertake White-nose Syndrome surveillance; (4) To provide scientific information to guide conservation of bats; and (5) To undertake public outreach and engagement. To improve bat roosting habitat, we repaired damaged roosting boxes and worked with community members to build and install additional bat houses. To identify and protect bat roosts, we surveyed buildings and bat houses in Clowhom, met with stakeholders and residents in the watershed, and reached out to citizens in the wider Sunshine Coast community. To undertake White-nose Syndrome surveillance, we collected records of dead and winter-flying bats, submitted bat carcasses for health testing, and carried out roost emergence counts. To provide scientific data, we conducted acoustic surveys and roost counts, collected guano samples, monitored bat house occupancy, and installed temperature loggers in key bat houses. To engage community members in bat conservation, we carried out diverse outreach activities. In all, we documented 74 newly identified bat roosts in 2019, including one maternity colony supporting over 400 bats, and worked with landowners to protect and maintain these sites. Together with community volunteers, we built and installed 45 bat houses, assessed occupancy of 33 bat boxes, and carried out 159 emergence counts at 106 bat roost sites, including 5 sites in Clowhom watershed and 101 in surrounding areas of the Sunshine Coast. Engagement activities included 7 bat house workshops, 8 outreach tables, 6 school programs, and 11 media articles.
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wsi_5316_rpt_2019-2020Bats.pdf
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Conservation of Bats and their Habitat in Clowhom Watershed, Year 2 - FWCP Project No. COA-F21-W-3273
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2022
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This report summarizes work during this second year of a three-year project. Our objectives are: (1) To improve and increase bat roosting habitat; (2) To increase the number of protected maternity roosts and hibernacula; (3) To undertake White-nose Syndrome surveillance; (4) To provide scientific information to guide conservation of bats; and (5) To undertake public outreach and engagement.
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wsi_5316_rpt_2020-2021.pdf
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Conservation of Bats and their Habitat in Clowhom Watershed, Year 3 - FWCP Project No. COA-F22-W-3529
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2023
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This report summarizes work carried out between April 2021 and March 2022 to help ensure the survival of bats and their habitat in the Clowhom watershed and in surrounding communities on the Sunshine Coast. Our objectives were: (1) to improve and increase bat roosting habitat; (2) to increase the number of protected maternity roosts and hibernacula; (3) to undertake WNS surveillance; (4) to provide scientific information to guide conservation of bats; and (5) to undertake public outreach and engagement.
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wsi_5316_rpt_2021-2022.pdf
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Conservation of Bat Roosting Habitat in Clowhom Watershed - FWCP Project No. COA-F24-W-3928
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2024
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Clowhom watershed is a very important site for bats on the Lower Sunshine Coast. Situated 32 km northeast of Sechelt at the head of Salmon Inlet, it provides important bat foraging habitat and is home to the two largest currently known bat maternity colonies in the entire Sunshine Coast Regional District. This report summarizes work carried out between April 2023 and March 2024 to help ensure the survival of bats and their habitat in the Clowhom watershed and in surrounding communities on the Sunshine Coast. Our objectives were: (1) to undertake white-nose syndrome surveillance; (2) to increase the number of protected bat maternity roosts; (3) to contribute data to guide conservation of bats; (4) to increase community awareness and participation in bat stewardship efforts; and (5) to improve and increase bat roosting habitat.
To undertake WNS surveillance in the summer, we conducted emergence counts from known bat roosts. Between June and September 2023, we carried out 57 roost counts at 28 Sunshine Coast roost sites, including 11 in Clowhom. Two roosts in particular, the Dick Main Cabin, an abandoned cabin on the shore of Clowhom Lake, and the Clowhom Lodge Main Bat Box Cluster, a set of six manmade bat boxes on posts, serve as important sentinel sites for WNS surveillance. Both these sites support hundreds of bats and have been monitored annually by our team since 2018. At the Clowhom Lodge Cluster, 759 bats were counted in June and 697 bats in July. At the Dick Main Cabin, 251 bats were counted in June and 1605 bats in July. To date, there has been no evidence of reduced bat numbers that would indicate WNS-related population declines.
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wsi_5316_rpt_2023-2024.pdf
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