Mountain Times - Volume 49, Number 21 - May 20-26, 2020

Columns
24 • The Mountain Times • May 20-26, 2020
Bats emerge from hibernacula
As spring arrives, so do… bats. Like many
other naturalists, I spend lots of time during this season
looking for migrating salamanders and blossoming
bloodroot. I’ve never thought much about what bats
are doing this time of year. It turns out these flying
mammals, who retreated into hibernation
back in the fall, are emerging from April
through May, as the weather grows
consistently warmer and insects again fill
the air.
During summer, bats spend their waking
hours – generally during twilight and dark
– foraging for food. They hunt on the wing,
using echolocation to nab tiny insects, from
agricultural and forest pests to mosquitoes.
Bats eat up to half their body weight daily
and consume literally millions of insects
each summer. As winter sets in and insects
become scarce, six of the nine bat species
in New England seek out hibernacula: caves, mines,
rock crevices, even our attics and barns. Many bats are
susceptible to white nose syndrome during hibernation,
when they share space with hundreds or even many
thousands of bats of various species.
Like other hibernators, including black bears,
bats enter a sleep-heavy torpor state. A bat’s body
temperature may drop to near freezing, and its heart
rate decreases from a rate of 200-300 beats per minute
to as low as 10 beats per minute. During hibernation, a
bat cycles through periods of torpor lasting from days
to weeks. This is interrupted by brief periods of arousal,
during which a bat’s temperature rises back to normal
for a few hours.
While occasional emergence from torpor is normal,
however, researchers believe white nose syndrome
causes disruption to hibernation cycles, leading
Flowers give pleasure not only to the one who plants
them but also to those who view
them.
I learned that firsthand recently
on a couple of occasions. A young
local artist, Carrie Pill, asked if she
could paint one of my gardens. It
is near the city sidewalk making it
highly visible to anyone passing by.
Of course, I said, “Yes”! A few days
later Carrie arrived with her easel Looking
and paints. She stationed herself Forward
near the sidewalk and worked By Mary Ellen Shaw
on her creation for about three
hours. I got to see the painting as it progressed. The finished
The Outside
Story
By Olivia Box
affected bats to prematurely expend precious energy
reserves they need to survive the winter. First identified
in a cave near Albany, New York, in 2007, white nose
syndrome has expanded to bat colonies in nearly half
of U.S. states and parts of Canada. This fungal disease
spreads easily and has decimated bat populations in the
Northern Hemisphere.
Because the fungus can remain in a cave even after
bats are gone, it is transmissable between colonies.
The fungus grows on the skin of bats and it makes them
more likely to wake early and erratically. As they burn
through their fat reserves, bats can starve and die. All
six cave bats living in New England are now state-level
or federally endangered. Populations of the little brown
bat and northern long eared bat have declined 90% due
in large part to white nose syndrome.
Bats that are able to survive white nose syndrome
during hibernation may recover during the summer,
when high temperatures kill the fungus. According
to Katherine Ineson, a PhD candidate and wildlife
biologist at the University of New Hampshire who
studies white nose syndrome in the Northeast, “The
fungus damages their wings. But unless the damage is
extreme, the bats are able to clear the infection and heal
their wings within several weeks of emerging
from hibernation.”
Female bats generally leave hibernacula
earlier than males, who emerge shortly after
and aren’t involved in raising pups. During
spring and summer, female bats gather in
maternal colonies, congregating in trees,
attics, or barns. Summer colony size varies
by species and location. Little brown bat
colonies may number in the thousands,
while other colonies, particularly bats that
roost in trees, typically contain fewer than
100 bats.
Although bats from most species mate
in the fall, females are able to store sperm and delay
fertilization until spring. Each female typically gives
birth to a single pup. Pups are able to fly when they are
about a month old, but continue to use the maternal
roost as they learn to forage on their own.
I have yet to see a bat silhouette moving quickly
across a dusky sky this spring, but I’ve added them to
my list of things to look for during this season. Their
presence – while so fleeting in the night –is a welcome
one.
Olivia Box is a freelance writer and a graduate student
at the University of Vermont, studying forests threatened
by climate change and invasive pests. The illustration for
this column was drawn by Adelaide Tyrol. The Outside
Story is assigned and edited by Northern Woodlands
magazine and sponsored by the Wellborn Ecology Fund
of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation: nhcf.org.
product is now hanging in our home as I feel that’s where it
belongs!
Carrie thanked me for the inspiration that came to her
each time she walked or rode past the garden.
Another experience with a stranger enjoying this same
garden came when I was sitting tucked away behind a
nearby fence reading my book. I heard some young voices
and then that of an adult male telling the children to walk
carefully down to the hyacinths, which are just a few feet
from the sidewalk, and smell them. My first reaction was
one of surprise because most men would have no idea what
that flower is. My husband wouldn’t have a clue and he has
watched me plant gardens for 45 years! With youngsters
being schooled from home these days their experience with
my flowers could qualify as a lesson in botany. They learned
Life as we know it has changed dramatically during 2020.
As the coronavirus spread across the United States, cities
and states issued shelter-in-place
orders to slow the spread of the
coronavirus and prevent healthcare
facilities from being overwhelmed
by critically ill patients.
In May, when states started
to reopen, Americans began to
return to work with eagerness and
Money
Matters
By Kevin Theissen
The pleasure of flowers
Life and finances in
a pandemic world
trepidation. Many were happy
to leave isolation and reconnect
with friends and colleagues at a
safe social distance. However, they
were also concerned about being
exposed to the coronavirus.
American workplaces tend to feature shared workspaces,
shared desks, shared equipment, and shared bathrooms.
We share a lot at work. Since no one wants to share
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, companies
have been encouraged to adopt new policies and procedures
that will protect workers.
Implementing workplace social protections
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
and the Department of Labor (DOL) have issued guidance
for employers who are preparing for employees to return
to work. Both recommend businesses develop infectious
disease preparedness plans. Sound plans will identify
where and how employees may be exposed to the virus and
then take steps to prevent exposure. The guidance issued
recommends:
• Organizing flexible worksites and work hours to
ensure social distancing
• Discouraging sharing of offices, desks, work tools,
and/or equipment
• Implementing routine deep cleaning and sanitization
of workspaces
• Providing personal protective equipment when
people work in close proximity
• Requiring workers to wear masks
• Making hand sanitizer readily available in many
locations
• Establishing and encouraging handwashing breaks
• Creating isolation areas for employees who show
symptoms
Embracing new approaches to work
Some employers may encourage some employees to
continue to work from home because they have discovered
it improved productivity. For instance, 53,000 employees
of the Social Security Administration have been working
from home. Statistics show the agency has been processing
claims for new benefits and appeals at a faster pace than
Money matters > 27
firsthand the name of the flower and its scent. Maybe some
future gardeners were born that day!
I purposely placed the hyacinths close to the sidewalk
as they have a lovely fragrance and I wanted passersby to
enjoy that experience. Apparently my theory is working!
There have been numerous people who have pulled
out their cell phones and snapped pictures of this garden
from the sidewalk. My guess is that when they look at their
photos they will see a sign of peace and hope in this topsyturvy
world. The garden is about 50 feet long with yellow
daffodils and pink, purple and blue hyacinths providing a
sea of color. With this spring’s cool weather these flowers
lasted longer than usual.
As I age I wonder if it’s worth the effort to plant 100 or
more bulbs every fall. I don’t think I will have any doubts
Looking forward > 27