Bats in Vancouver: UBC researchers to study secret city nightlife
An adult female Yuma myotis bat captured in the Lower Mainland in 2023. (Photo: Aaron Aguirre)
May 8, 2023
They live among us and eat pesky insects, but unless you’re armed with an ultrasonic microphone you may never notice our nocturnal neighbours: bats.
CSFS Associate Dr. Matthew Mitchell (Faculty of Land and Food Systems) and Aaron Aguirre (Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability) want to bring these fascinating creatures out of the shadows, and will spend the summer collecting data on bats in Metro Vancouver.
“In Vancouver, bats are not well-studied, and we need to know where they live, forage and how they use the urban landscape. This information will help us compare differences in their ecology and life histories across the province, and help inform conservation efforts,” said Dr. Mitchell.