Location: Cayoose Creek Indian Band Office, Lillooet, BC
Dates: 15-21 July, 2023
Cost: $1,800 CAD
*Please note: This course has a high instructor to student ratio (1:3)
If you have any questions or trouble registering, please email dblouin@wcs.org
We reserve the right to cancel this event before May 15, 2023 and also reserve the right to cancel at any time due to events out of our control (e.g. wildfire, Covid)
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There will be classroom each day, with varying hours. We start the morning of the 15th and end in the afternoon of the 21st. A more detailed schedule will be sent out closer to the course, along with a list of recommended reading.
Course Overview:
- identifying species of BC – morphology, acoustics (overview of acoustics, not in-depth acoustics analysis per se)
- ecology of bats in BC – includes foraging and roosting behaviours in relation to morphology
- underlying principles of bat physiology (which drives behaviour)
- principles of capture – including types of nets to buy for varying situations/species; where to set nets and why; landscape and species considerations; do’s and don’ts; lures; etc.
- species-specific capture – how to target each species with mistnets/harp-traps
- sampling – genetics (guano, wing biopsy, swab), wing swabs, hair sampling for isotopes
- marking – banding, PIT tagging
- radiotelemetry – types and fundamentals of transmitters; attaching transmitters; fundamentals of tracking
- how do deploy mistnets and harp-traps
- how to extract and handle bats
- protocols and bat health – WNS, COVID-19, rabies, histoplasmosis, winter vs summer capture protocols
- other: ectoparasites, pit-falls (e.g. capture myopathy)
The field work in this course is extensive with hands-on experience each night (6 nights, weather permitting), and includes the following:
- determining where to set a net, how to deploy it properly for the site/weather/target species;
- setting nets including quad net set-ups;
- removing bats from nets, handling, measuring, sampling bats.
- There will be some hands on with banding, attaching transmitters and PIT tagging, although it may be with dead bats. We may to attach 1 or 2 transmitters at the end of the course to captured bats in the field, and spend an optional day at the end tracking them to their roosts if we can find them relatively quickly (without helicopter!). We have done this in the past, but have not yet confirmed logistics for this summer. And because we also do not have a PIT tag reader system set up at a colony in Lillooet, all PIT tagging will be on dead bats.
Species that have been captured in this area in previous inventories:
Spotted bat
Western small-footed myotis
Fringed myotis
Long-eared myotis
Big brown bat
Little brown myotis
Yuma myotis
California myotis
Hoary bat
Silver-haired bat
Long-legged myotis
Townsend's big-eared bat
Attendees must bring:
- headlamp (at least one), good for distance (bright), and all batteries they will need. Brand new if coming from Washington or from the SW mainland or from eastern NA; but well decontaminated otherwise.
- optional: leather gloves that fit tight but allow finger mobility (e.g. deerhide) and are brand new or never used on bats before.
- small backpack or hip bag that can be easily decontaminated
- large-medium backpack for carrying gear
- a change of field clothes including any coat and boots/shoes, as the clothing worn in the field cannot be worn in vehicles; eg. arrive at site, change, and then change again at end of night. OR arrive in clean field clothes, and change at end of night.
- clean chestwaders and rubber boots (hip waders are optional but are unlikely to be sufficient for the water sites)
- optional: coveralls (it may be too hot for these)
- optional: hardhat/caving helmet (a mine may be accessed, TBA)
- optional: A computer (PC) is optional to visualize and process acoustic recordings of bats
Attendees MUST show proof rabies vaccination or sufficient blood titre within the past 2 years, AND proof of Covid-19 vaccination (as per BC Gov permitting requirements). YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO HANDLE BATS WITHOUT THIS.
Attendees are strongly encouraged to gradually change sleep patterns prior to the course, generally not going to sleep until midnight at the earliest and getting up around 9 am or later.
Food is not supplied in this course, and breaks during the classroom day will be short, so plan to bring snacks – after Day 1 note that specific meal-times will become less obvious as the course goes along!
Participants should bring at least 3 boxes of disposable latex, or vinyl gloves of the appropriate size for them
Because mistnets are easily snagged, please consider your field clothing carefully: avoid shirts that have buttons on sleeves, bags/backpacks with buckles, etc.
Cancellation
Cancellation with full refund is available until June 1, 2023.
WCSC reserves the right to cancel the course up to 30 days before the start date.
