First State RC&D and Delaware State University Create Bat Habitat

Seated - Dr. Kevina Vulinec, Assistant Professor and Project Leader, Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Delaware State University. Standing left to right – Dr. Kenneth Bell, Dean of Delaware State University’s College of Agriculture and Related Sciences; Jon Hall, State Conservationist, US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service; Gary Smith, President, First State Resource Conservation & Development Council; and Terry Pepper, Supervisor, Kent Conservation District.

Bat and Habitat Study

Have you ever seen bats at night and instincts told you to run? Delaware State University (DSU) is here to set the record straight and put your fears to rest.

The University’s Smyrna Outreach and Research Center is the site for the $30,000 scientific study of bat activity and bat habitat restoration. The project is funded and sponsored by the First State Resource and Development Council (RC&D), USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the Kent Conservation District. The project provides an opportunity for students to research bats and their impact on habitat and the ecosystem.

“Horror movies have given bats a bad name,” said Dr. Kevina Vulinec, assistant professor at DSU. “Bats are extremely important to the ecosystem.”

Bats are a critical part of Delmarva’s natural environment. They prey on night flying insects helping to control insect populations. “They can eat the equivalent of their weight in insects each night,” said Vulinec.

“Bats naturally control the mosquito population,” said Terry Pepper, Board Supervisor, Kent Conservation District.

The presence of bats indicates the health of the ecosystem. Creating and improving habitat for bats will also provide habitat for other wildlife. These are some of the factors that led the university to study bats and their impact on a healthy environment.

Over the years, the bat population has been steadily declining. This is partially due to declining habitat. The Delmarva Peninsula is losing woodlands and agricultural lands to growing development and urbanization. Because of this, growing efforts to preserve agriculture and wildlife habitat have become prevalent throughout the state. “Part of preserving habitat is understanding impacts that individual species have on the environment”, said Jon Hall, NRCS State Conservationist. “In this case, the species are bats.”

“I agree,” echoed Dr. Kenneth Bell, Vice President and Dean for DSU’s College of Agriculture and Related Sciences. “This study will benefit our environment, and will strengthen cooperative conservation efforts among our partners, the school and our community.”

This project will get students involved in wildlife and ecosystems, and will show how dynamic one organism is to our habitat. Bat boxes will be placed at the farm and monitored and studied for activity. The goals are to get students excited about Delaware’s wildlife and to increase public awareness of the importance of bats.

“The collective efforts of the partners make this project feasible,” said Gary Smith, President, Board of Directors for RC&D. “We hope this project will have positive environmental impact.”
For more information on the project, contact Dr. Vulinec at 302-857-6457, or William Bell, First State RC&D Coordinator, at 302-678-4169.

Bats and Rabies

• May be found in wild animals such as raccoons, skunks, foxes, coyotes, groundhogs and bats.

• Rabies occurrences are uncommon.

• More people are killed by lightning strikes and dog attacks than rabid bats.

• Bats lessen the need for pesticides

• Save U.S. farmers $4 billion/year

• They are such efficient hunters, that they can catch up to 1,000 insects per hour.