Title:

COMMUNITY COUNTS: INTEGRATING COMMUNITY CONSERVATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ACOUSTIC CENSUSING METHOD

COMMUNITY COUNTS: INTEGRATING COMMUNITY CONSERVATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ACOUSTIC CENSUSING METHOD Megan Graham* University of New Hampshire, Sandra Houghton New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, Haley Andreozzi University of New Hampshire Extension, Laura Kloepper University of New Hampshire The ability to monitor bat populations is vital for their conservation, especially with threats like white-nose syndrome and climate change. With some colonies reaching into the thousands along with the unpredictability of where bats may exit at dusk, it is often impossible to rely on eyesight alone to count bats. The University of New Hampshire in partnership with New Hampshire Fish and Game is developing an acoustic method to integrate into NH Bat Counts, a citizen science project that tracks bat populations in our state using community volunteers. Pilot data has shown that taking acoustic recordings of emergences throughout the summer provides not only an accurate population estimate of roosts but also shows important population trends such as pup volancy and colony dispersal. Data validation is made possible by integrating community involvement to compare our acoustic outputs to counts taken by volunteers.

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