UBC researcher and bat enthusiast Julia Craig spent two years riding her bike around the metropolis — from the narrow paths of Stanley Park to the depths of the concrete jungle — mapping the location of different species of bats.
When she picks up the sound of a bat on high frequency detector equipment attached to her bike, often she’ll stop, look up, and just marvel at them flying above her head.Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion delivered straight to your inbox at 7 a.m., Monday to Friday.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails.
“They really like trees in open parks, as you might guess, and areas with open freshwater sources. So you would often find them around ponds and like little ravines and things like that around the city,” said Craig. She said there were a few challenges using a bike, such as picking up sounds in her ear buds from the disc brakes which can make ultrasonic noise, but the benefits definitely outweighed any issues. For example, cycling gave her access to many areas she probably wouldn’t have visited in a car like along beaches or through the narrow trails of Stanley Park and Pacific Spirit Park.
On the back of her bike, she attached a long pole with a microphone at the top, which was also connected to a detector device in a backpack. Craig makes recommendations in her research, with some making sense on several environmental levels, such as planting more trees, which can also help in the fight against the climate crisis. Other ideas include creating more freshwater sources to increase roosting and foraging opportunities, and introducing more traffic and light pollution mitigation strategies.
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