Drought leaves 1.5 million hungry bats in Austin

Expert: ‘Fear is that this is not a regular drought, but could be indicative of change coming’

msnbc

We’ve got about 2.5-3 million bats in Austin if you count all of our bridge-dwelling colonies. They are a central part of the local ecosystem (and I thank them daily for all the mosquitoes they eat). If this year’s extreme temperatures (and they ARE extreme, hence me writing this from the Rockies) continue to wipe out their food source, their populations may fall.

This could lead to increases in pests, disease, threats to agriculture and many angry Austinites swatting bugs like they never thought possible. Worse, if this is the beginning of some unpredictable cycle of heat and drought, the largest urban bat population may just become a historical entry on Austin’s Wikipedia page instead of the most important part of its biological balance. 

We don’t know if this year’s temperatures and record (oh the humanity) drought are a result of man-made climate effects. Let’s hope the bats don’t find out the hard way.

(via brooklynmutt)

(via jtotheizzoe)