| Worldwide, bats perform many significant ecological roles, including insect consumption, pollination, seed dispersal, and nutrient cycling. Their low rates of reproduction, tendency of many species to roost in large numbers, and extreme sensitivity to disturbance make bat populations especially vulnerable to a variety of threats: habitat loss and fragmentation, climate change, pesticides, toxic wastewater, persecution by humans, wind farm development, and the fungal disease white-nose syndrome. The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) conducted a study of bat distribution and abundance between 2004 and 2017. A total of 19 visual and acoustic bat surveys were conducted periodically between April and November at 10 locations. The study confirmed the presence of seven genera and eight species of bats, including two California Species of Special Concern, the Pallid Bat (Antrozous pallidus) and Townsend's Big-Eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii). |