Acoustic Monitoring Survey for Iowa's Nine Bat Species

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University are looking for volunteers interested in performing night time surveys for bats in several Iowa counties:

• Benton/Linn
• Boone
• Dubuque
• Mahaska
• Sac/Calhoun
• Sioux

he survey monitors bat occurrence in key areas of the state. It began in response to declining bat populations from White Nose Syndrome and other challenges.
We use acoustic recording equipment mounted on top of a car to detect bats along specific routes. Data has been collected on some of these standardized survey routes for the 10+ years!  

Volunteers will be responsible for conducting the driving survey and in some areas may also be responsible for setting up and then retrieving equipment at a nearby site as a stationary data collection location.

To participate, you will need a vehicle and a partner to run the driving survey with and you must be available for at least two nights during a specified two week period in July. The driving survey begins 45 minutes after sunset and takes roughly 60 to 90 minutes not including the commute to the route location.

Equipment for the stationary data collection sites is put out prior to the first driving survey and left out until the second driving survey has been completed (a minimum of 4 nights).

The total time commitment, including some online training, the two surveys, placing and retrieving stationary equipment and picking up and dropping off equipment, is roughly 12 hours in July.

More details can be found at the Volunteer Wildlife Monitoring Website as well as a volunteer interest form that can be filled in electronically.