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New Jersey Fish and Wildlife conducting mobile acoustic bat surveys in Hunter County
Summary
A presenter described a New Jersey Fish and Wildlife program using vehicle-mounted Peterson detectors and stationary monitors to record bat echolocation across 12 statewide grid cells; surveys begin shortly after sunset and run about an hour to 90 minutes.
New Jersey Fish and Wildlife is conducting mobile acoustic bat surveys in Hunter County, a presenter said, using vehicle-mounted detectors to record bat echolocation that researchers will later analyze to identify species. "So tonight, we're going out to do some mobile acoustic bat surveys in Hunter County," the presenter said.
The presenter said the agency’s statewide monitoring design includes 12 grid cells — "6 in the North, 6 in the South" — and that each grid cell receives two mobile surveys during the summer in addition to a stationary acoustic monitor that is left in place for four nights. "Each grid cell during the summer has 2 mobile surveys and, an acoustic stationary monitoring site that we leave out for 4 nights to get an idea of what bats are using those habitats," the presenter said.
On vehicle setup, the presenter described mounting and recording procedures: "The microphone is attached to the driver's side window pointing to the front of the vehicle and is attached to this Peterson bat acoustic detector." When a bat’s echolocation call triggers the detector’s microphone sensitivity, the call is recorded onto a CF card for later processing, the presenter said. "When the bat's echolocation triggers the sensitivity in the microphone, the call is recorded on a CF card in the bat detector. And later on, after the surveys are completed, we'll download this data and run it through an analysis program to see what calls those species match up with."
Survey operations are timed to begin about 15 minutes after sunset and last roughly 60 to 90 minutes. The presenter advised keeping vehicle speed below 50 mph to avoid wind noise that can trigger the microphone: "Generally, we have to keep the speed under 50 miles an hour or that wind noise will trigger the mic." The presenter characterized the work as an opportunity to document local bat biodiversity and noted a side benefit for drivers: seeing nocturnal wildlife while conducting surveys.
The presentation described monitoring methods, equipment, and timing; no policy decisions, votes, or funding details were included in the remarks. Data collected during these surveys will be downloaded and analyzed after fieldwork concludes.
