Latest news with #BatConservationInternational
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bats, the sun and a 'Lion King': 7 events for this week
Jul. 9—Perhaps nothing is more apropos in summer than learning about our sun. You can this weekend at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. Or check out these other bright events. Got an event we should know about? Reach out to features@ Feeling batty Learn about Bat Conservation International and the work they are doing to conserve and monitor nectar feeding bats in the Gila region of the state from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, July 12. BCI will discuss their community science program collecting DNA from hummingbird feeders and agave flowers, talk about upcoming regional conservation projects and more. The event is being held at Whiskey Creek Zócalo, 11786 U.S. 180 East, Arenas Valley. Remembering history The Placitas Community Library is showing part one of the PBS documentary "The Bomb" at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 13, in conjunction with the 80th anniversary of the Trinity Test. The library is located at 453 Highway 165 in Placitas. Free tunes The Vandoliers are bringing its brand of Texas country meets punk rock to ReUnity Resources Farm at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 12. The Hill Country Devil will open. The concert is free. To reserve a spot visit ReUnity Resources Farm is located at 1829 San Ysidro Crossing in Santa Fe. Strike a chord Brooklyn-based Americana/bluegrass trio Damn Tall Buildings are coming to the San Miguel Mission at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 17. Tickets are $29.86-$40.48 at The San Miguel Mission is located at 401 Old Santa Fe Trail in Santa Fe. Artistic legacies The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center is hosting the Pueblo Pottery Arts Celebration and Gathering Weekend on Friday, July 11, through Sunday, July 13. The event will feature panel talks and demonstrations from artists including Barbara Gonzales and Cavan Gonzales, Sage Mountainflower, Marita Hinds Sonny Ray Olguin and more. Tickets are $15-$30 at The IPCC is located at 2401 12th St. NW. Sun's out Chris Lowder will be at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science to discuss NASA's PUNCH mission (Polarimeter to UNify the Corona and Heliosphere) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 17. The constellation of four satellites are working together to observe the sun's inner heliosphere and how it impacts solar wind and the impacts space weather has on Earth. Admission is $5-$8 at The museum is located at 1801 Mountain Road NW. Long live 'The Lion King' Head to Tiguex Park for a free "Movies in the Park" screening of "Mufasa" at 8:30 p.m. Friday, July 11. Tiguex Park is located at 1800 Mountain Road NW. —
CBS News
10-02-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Endangered Mexican long-nosed bats now being tracked via "eDNA" using their saliva
Flagstaff, Arizona — Scientists have long suspected that Mexican long-nosed bats migrate through southeastern Arizona, but without capturing and measuring the night-flying creatures, proof has been elusive. Researchers say they now have a way to tell the endangered species apart from other bats by analyzing saliva the nocturnal mammals leave behind when sipping nectar from plants and residential hummingbird feeders. Bat Conservation International, a nonprofit group working to end the extinction of bat species worldwide, teamed up with residents from southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico and west Texas for the saliva swabbing campaign. The samples of saliva left along potential migration routes were sent to a lab at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where researchers looked for environmental DNA - or eDNA - to confirm that the bats cycle through Arizona and consider the region their part-time home. The Mexican long-nosed bat has been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 1988 and is the only one in Arizona with that federal protection. It's an important species for pollinating cactus, agave and other desert plants. Officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department announced the discovery in late January. While expanding Arizona's list of bat species to 29 is exciting, wildlife managers say the use of this novel, noninvasive method to nail it down also deserves to be celebrated. "If we were trying to identify the species in the absence of eDNA, biologists could spend hours and hours trying to catch one of these bats, and even then, you're not guaranteed to be successful," said Angie McIntire, a bat specialist for the Arizona's Game and Fish Department. "By sampling the environment, eDNA gives us an additional tool for our toolkit." Every spring, Mexican long-nosed bats traverse a lengthy migratory path north from Mexico into the southwestern U.S., following the sweet nectar of their favorite blooming plants like breadcrumbs. They return along the same route in the fall. The bat conservation group recruited ordinary citizens for the mission, giving them kits to swab samples from bird feeders throughout the summer and fall. Inside the university lab, microbiology major Anna Riley extracted the DNA from hundreds of samples and ran them through machines that ultimately could detect the presence of bats. Part of the work involved a steady hand, with Riley using a syringe of sorts to transfer diluted DNA into tiny vials before popping them into a centrifuge. Sample after sample, vial after vial, the meticulous work took months. "There's a big database that has DNA sequences of not every animal but most species, and so we could compare our DNA sequences we got from these samples to what's in the database," Riley said. "A little bit like a Google search - you've got your question, you're asking Google, you plug it into the database, and it turns up you've got a bat, and you have this kind of bat." Kristen Lear, of the conservation group, said the collection of eDNA has been used successfully for determining the presence of other kinds of wildlife in various environments, so the group proposed trying it with bats. "They do apparently leave behind a lot of spit on these plants and hummingbird feeders," Lear said.
Al Arabiya
10-02-2025
- Science
- Al Arabiya
Mexican long-nosed bats are no strangers to southeastern Arizona, proof is in the saliva
Scientists have long suspected that Mexican long-nosed bats migrate through southeastern Arizona, but without capturing and measuring the night-flying creatures, proof has been elusive. Researchers say they now have a way to tell the endangered species apart from other bats by analyzing saliva the nocturnal mammals leave behind when sipping nectar from plants and residential hummingbird feeders. Bat Conservation International, a nonprofit group working to end the extinction of bat species worldwide, teamed up with residents from southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and west Texas for the saliva swabbing campaign. The samples of saliva left along potential migration routes were sent to a lab at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where researchers looked for environmental DNA – or eDNA – to confirm that the bats cycle through Arizona and consider the region their part-time home. The Mexican long-nosed bat has been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 1988 and is the only one in Arizona with that federal protection. It is an important species for pollinating cactus, agave, and other desert plants. Officials from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department announced the discovery in late January. While expanding Arizona's list of bat species to 29 is exciting, wildlife managers say the use of this novel, noninvasive method to nail it down also deserves to be celebrated. 'If we were trying to identify the species in the absence of eDNA, biologists could spend hours and hours trying to catch one of these bats, and even then you're not guaranteed to be successful,' said Angie McIntire, a bat specialist for the Arizona's Game and Fish Department. 'By sampling the environment, eDNA gives us an additional tool for our toolkit.' Every spring, Mexican long-nosed bats traverse a lengthy migratory path north from Mexico into the southwestern US, following the sweet nectar of their favorite blooming plants like breadcrumbs. They return along the same route in the fall. The bat conservation group recruited ordinary citizens for the mission, giving them kits to swab samples from bird feeders throughout the summer and fall. Inside the university lab, microbiology major Anna Riley extracted the DNA from hundreds of samples and ran them through machines that ultimately could detect the presence of bats. Part of the work involved a steady hand, with Riley using a syringe of sorts to transfer diluted DNA into tiny vials before popping them into a centrifuge. Sample after sample, vial after vial, the meticulous work took months. 'There's a big database that has DNA sequences of not every animal, but most species, and so we could compare our DNA sequences we got from these samples to what's in the database,' Riley said. 'A little bit like a Google search – you've got your question you're asking Google, you plug it into the database and it turns up you've got a bat and you have this kind of bat.' Kristen Lear of the conservation group said the collection of eDNA has been used successfully for determining the presence of other kinds of wildlife in various environments, so the group proposed trying it with bats. 'They do apparently leave behind a lot of spit on these plants and hummingbird feeders,' Lear said.
The Independent
10-02-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Mexican long-nosed bats are no strangers to southeastern Arizona. The proof is in the saliva
Scientists have long suspected that Mexican long-nosed bats migrate through southeastern Arizona, but without capturing and measuring the night-flying creatures, proof has been elusive. Researchers say they now have a way to tell the endangered species apart from other bats by analyzing saliva the nocturnal mammals leave behind when sipping nectar from plants and residential hummingbird feeders. Bat Conservation International, a nonprofit group working to end the extinction of bat species worldwide, teamed up with residents from southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico and west Texas for the saliva swabbing campaign. The samples of saliva left along potential migration routes were sent to a lab at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where researchers looked for environmental DNA — or eDNA — to confirm that the bats cycle through Arizona and consider the region their part-time home. The Mexican long-nosed bat has been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 1988, and is the only one in Arizona with that federal protection. It is an important species for pollinating cactus, agave and other desert plants. Officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department announced the discovery in late January. While expanding Arizona's list of bat species to 29 is exciting, wildlife managers say the use of this novel, noninvasive method to nail it down also deserves to be celebrated. 'If we were trying to identify the species in the absence of eDNA, biologists could spend hours and hours trying to catch one of these bats, and even then, you're not guaranteed to be successful,' said Angie McIntire, a bat specialist for the Arizona's Game and Fish Department. 'By sampling the environment, eDNA gives us an additional tool for our toolkit." Every spring, Mexican long-nosed bats traverse a lengthy migratory path north from Mexico into the southwestern U.S., following the sweet nectar of their favorite blooming plants like breadcrumbs. They return along the same route in the fall. The bat conservation group recruited ordinary citizens for the mission, giving them kits to swab samples from bird feeders throughout the summer and fall. Inside the university lab, microbiology major Anna Riley extracted the DNA from hundreds of samples and ran them through machines that ultimately could detect the presence of bats. Part of the work involved a steady hand, with Riley using a syringe of sorts to transfer diluted DNA into tiny vials before popping them into a centrifuge. Sample after sample, vial after vial, the meticulous work took months. 'There's a big database that has DNA sequences of not every animal but most species, and so we could compare our DNA sequences we got from these samples to what's in the database," Riley said. "A little bit like a Google search — you've got your question, you're asking Google, you plug it into the database, and it turns up you've got a bat, and you have this kind of bat.' Kristen Lear, of the conservation group, said the collection of eDNA has been used successfully for determining the presence of other kinds of wildlife in various environments, so the group proposed trying it with bats. 'They do apparently leave behind a lot of spit on these plants and hummingbird feeders,' Lear said. ___ ONeil reported from Las Vegas. Gabriel Sandoval, a corps member for the Associated Press/ Report for America Statehouse News Initiative, in Phoenix contributed to this report.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Mexican long-nosed bats are no strangers to southeastern Arizona. The proof is in the saliva
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Scientists have long suspected that Mexican long-nosed bats migrate through southeastern Arizona, but without capturing and measuring the night-flying creatures, proof has been elusive. Researchers say they now have a way to tell the endangered species apart from other bats by analyzing saliva the nocturnal mammals leave behind when sipping nectar from plants and residential hummingbird feeders. Bat Conservation International, a nonprofit group working to end the extinction of bat species worldwide, teamed up with residents from southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico and west Texas for the saliva swabbing campaign. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. The samples of saliva left along potential migration routes were sent to a lab at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where researchers looked for environmental DNA — or eDNA — to confirm that the bats cycle through Arizona and consider the region their part-time home. The Mexican long-nosed bat has been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 1988, and is the only one in Arizona with that federal protection. It is an important species for pollinating cactus, agave and other desert plants. Officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department announced the discovery in late January. While expanding Arizona's list of bat species to 29 is exciting, wildlife managers say the use of this novel, noninvasive method to nail it down also deserves to be celebrated. 'If we were trying to identify the species in the absence of eDNA, biologists could spend hours and hours trying to catch one of these bats, and even then, you're not guaranteed to be successful,' said Angie McIntire, a bat specialist for the Arizona's Game and Fish Department. 'By sampling the environment, eDNA gives us an additional tool for our toolkit." Every spring, Mexican long-nosed bats traverse a lengthy migratory path north from Mexico into the southwestern U.S., following the sweet nectar of their favorite blooming plants like breadcrumbs. They return along the same route in the fall. The bat conservation group recruited ordinary citizens for the mission, giving them kits to swab samples from bird feeders throughout the summer and fall. Inside the university lab, microbiology major Anna Riley extracted the DNA from hundreds of samples and ran them through machines that ultimately could detect the presence of bats. Part of the work involved a steady hand, with Riley using a syringe of sorts to transfer diluted DNA into tiny vials before popping them into a centrifuge. Sample after sample, vial after vial, the meticulous work took months. 'There's a big database that has DNA sequences of not every animal but most species, and so we could compare our DNA sequences we got from these samples to what's in the database," Riley said. "A little bit like a Google search — you've got your question, you're asking Google, you plug it into the database, and it turns up you've got a bat, and you have this kind of bat.' Kristen Lear, of the conservation group, said the collection of eDNA has been used successfully for determining the presence of other kinds of wildlife in various environments, so the group proposed trying it with bats. 'They do apparently leave behind a lot of spit on these plants and hummingbird feeders,' Lear said. ___ ONeil reported from Las Vegas. Gabriel Sandoval, a corps member for the Associated Press/ Report for America Statehouse News Initiative, in Phoenix contributed to this report.
