#Project Myotis | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

f1rstwatch · 1 year ago

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SORRY IF I CONFUSE YOU WITH MY TAGS ON YOUR POST!

This is a "tagging my OCs" blog run by @sunstartle! I just like sorting, mostly. Sorry.

So, who are these characters?

Glad someone would definitely willingly ask that! The characters focused on here are from the FirstVerse: my superhero worldbuilding project that I’ve been working on for ~3-4 years.

I plan on doing something with it but that goal is a very moving target and I change my mind on it all the time. I'm mostly set on the fact that it will be something 3D, though.

The First Watch takes place on a fictionalized Earth in 2022 & revolves around the titular First Watch, a team of teenage superheroes who defend their city, Wynsbury, from evil, and especially from the supervillain organization the SeaSong Network.

It is largely unfinished, but if you are someone interested in specific worldbuilding details (I am very flattered!) my work-in-progress worldbuilding document can be found here. You can also find sketches, fun stuff, etc here!

MAIN CAST:

Annulet (16, she/her), professional anxious perfectionist & team leader of the First Watch. Her tag is #c.annulet.

180 (16, she/her), ball of energy with questionable decision-making skills & member of the First Watch. Her tag is #c.180.

Kudzu (17, she/her), cuttingly practical lone wolf & member of the First Watch. Her tag is #c.kudzu.

Sunstrike (15, he/him), slightly off-putting sweetheart & the youngest member of the First Watch. His tag is #c.sunstrike.

… & Nox (???, mirrored pronouns in universe & they/them in narrated text), their mandatory Little Creature Guy! Their tag is #c.nox.

MAJOR SIDE CHARACTERS:

Rowan (16, he/him), Kudzu’s adoptive brother & source of her powers. His tag is #c.rowan.

Fern (20, she/her), Rowen’s eldest sister & the unofficial second in command of the Woodfolke. Her tag is #c.fern.

Lull (16, they/them), chronic insomniac & chronic pessimist working part-time as a superhero for the Polis Guard. Their tag is #c.lull.

Dashtag (18, they/them in uniform only), overprotective adrenaline junkie & part-time superhero with the Polis Guard. Their tag is #c.dashtag.

Flashfire (18, they/them in uniform only), mysterious & often-gloomy part-time superhero for the Polis Guard. Their tag is #c.flashfire.

Siren (38, she/her), The Big Bad; the CEO of the SeaSong Network. Her tag is #c.siren.

Divinity (19, he/him), charming egomaniac demigod & semi-supervillain ‘unwillingly’ working for the SeaSong Network. His tag is #c.divinity.

Sly Fox (16, he/they), cat (fox?) burglar supervillain working for the SeaSong Network. His tag is #c.slyfox.

Lady Laia (~200ish at time of death, she/her, deceased), Holy One of Sonnets who died to win the Second Revolution on Fyolynd. Her tag is #c.laia.

Lord Azbithe (~20ish at time of death, he/him, deceased), Fyrefolke who died to win the Second Revolution on Fyolynd. His tag is #c.azbithe.

Noctim, the Kingslayer (~3000, they/them), Holy One of the Night. Killed their own brother. Their tag is #c.noctim.

OTHER CHARACTERS:

Polis Guard: Kinetika (x), Vivo (x), Scarlet Signal (x), Rover (x), Jamboree (x).

SeaSong Network: Micheal Smith (x), Quinten Bel (x), Mecha (x), Switcheroo (x), Vice (x), Versa (x), Myotis (x).

Misc: Ophelia (x), Thyme (x), Kindness (x), Sentry (x), Mahogany (x), Motiantoze (x), Nikian (x), Lyrian (x), Aularka (x), Hoka (x).

There are others! So many others that I do not have the energy to write out as such. If/when they get tags, they will be tagged as c-dot-their name, like the others!

RELATIONSHIP TAGS:

If a post concerns the relationship between two characters, I will be tagging it with a specific relationship tag to help filtering. Relationship tags will not be added if the post applies to both/all of the tagged characters separately, only if it specifically concerns their intrapersonal connection(s).

The vast majority of the relationship tags are PLATONIC!

Annulet & 180: #r.flipmoth . Annulet & Kudzu: #r.anzu . Annulet & Sunstrike: #r.dawn

180 & Kudzu: #r.flipivy . 180 & Sunstrike: #r.eightsun

Kudzu & Sunstrike: #r.solzu

Entire Team: #r.fw

Annulet & Micheal: #r.mothsibs . Annulet & Noctim: #r.nightmoth . Annulet & Sly Fox: #r.foxmoth . Annulet & Myotis: #r.batnmoth

180 & Lull: #r.technicolor

Kudzu & Rowan: #r.kudrow . Kudzu & Fern: #r.sprout . Kudzu & Rowan & Fern: #r.ivyleague

Sunstrike & Rowan: #r.woodsmoke . Sunstrike & Dashtag: #r.dashstrike . Sunstrike & Flashfire: #r.eclipse . Sunstrike & Dashtag & Flashfire: #r.takethree . Sunstrike & Divinity: #r.waxwings . Sunstrike & Sly Fox: #r.slysun

Rowan & Fern: #r.fernrow . Fern & Dashtag: #r.dashfern

Dashtag & Flashfire: #r.dashflash . Dashtag & Divinity: #r.angelchase

Flashfire & Divinity: #r.tropic . Siren & Divinity: #r.angelangel

Lady Laia & Lord Azbithe: #r.lazbithe

I will add any additional relationship tags as they come up / if needed!

FACTION TAGS:

If a post involves one or more members of an organization, the organization will receive an H-tag.

#h.firstwatch | #h.polisguard | #h.seasong

If a post directly concerns the organization itself, the organization will receive an O-tag.

#o.firstwatch | #o.polisguard | #o.seasong

OTHER TAGS:

#a.bestfit is for posts that I consider (subjectively) to be the "best fits". Not necessarily 'faves' but posts I find to be the most consistent with the tagged character(s).

POST SORTING:

Sorting tags are S-tags! They define the type of post and also how I am interpreting it.

#s.mine: Posts I have made / written myself; non-reblogs. Planned to be largely uncommon.

#s.myart: Again, not planning on posting much/any of this, but if I do, art I have drawn myself will go here.

#s.ask: If anyone sends asks here (which you are more than welcome to do!), they will be posted under this tag.

#s.info: Any informational posts written by me -- such as this one!

#s.ooc: Posts about writing, character creation, etc that I feel apply to the tagged character(s).

#s.fits: Posts that could apply to or be talking about the tagged character(s) and do not refer to anyone involved as fictional.

#s.ic: Posts I can imagine actually being written or said by the tagged character(s).

#s.aesthetic: Moodboards or general images fitting the aesthetic vibes of the tagged character(s).

#s.energy: Typically images of the unhinged variety that carry the energy or vibes of the tagged character(s).

And I think... that might be all! Thanks so much to anyone who actually read this and I'm sorry if this blog still manages to be a disorganized nightmare even with this system... lol.

#s.mine #s.info

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eternaljourneytmbr · 5 days ago

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To add to this (or, on a side note), something I am quite scared about are bats. Or, rather, the conservation of bats (not being scared of the lil'sky kittens/sky dogs).

WNS is spreading onto the Western Seaboard despite efforts to contain it - and, arguably, I'm starting to suspect purposeful intent behind such contamination events.

Why?

Pesticides. Not as much because of pesticides, but that the presence of bats/bat colonies means the companies that make pesticides lose out on a percentage of potential profits. If companies in the wind energy sector already would rather continue killing bats en masse during operations - and especially during migration season - instead of accepting a ~1% loss of revenue (and potentially increasing the service life of a wind station in the process), and this is while there exists at least some attempt at oversight of those companies (even if actually attempting to enforce consequences on them seems to be absolutely frickin' toothless)... ... like, these pesticide companies have an incentive to potentially wipe out as many insectivorous bat colonies, if not entire species, as they can. (Perimyotis subflavus/tricolored bats have lost almost 97% of their pre-WNS recorded population. Myotis lucifugus/little brown bats; about 90%...)

---

...And then there's the prospect of state-level polities/significantly-sized paramilitary organizations potentially restarting Project X-Ray. Potentially for destroying the weaponized bats' own colonies. At least, the wild ones - demented minds could simultaneously set up a program for breeding contained populations for the purposes of weaponization/warfare.

'Cause Project X-Ray is a frickin' terrifying concept.

---

anyway, just going to end this fear vent with a pair of rage-invoking videos on a related topic re: Myotis septentrionalis. WNS hit that population hard too. Somewhere in between PESU and MYLU tolls.

youtube

Planet's Fucked: What Can You Do To Help? (Long Post)

Since nobody is talking about the existential threat to the climate and the environment a second Trump term/Republican government control will cause, which to me supersedes literally every other issue, I wanted to just say my two cents, and some things you can do to help. I am a conservation biologist, whose field was hit substantially by the first Trump presidency. I study wild bees, birds, and plants.

In case anyone forgot what he did last time, he gagged scientists' ability to talk about climate change, he tried zeroing budgets for agencies like the NOAA, he attempted to gut protections in the Endangered Species Act (mainly by redefining 'take' in a way that would allow corporations to destroy habitat of imperiled species with no ramifications), he tried to do the same for the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (the law that offers official protection for native non-game birds), he sought to expand oil and coal extraction from federal protected lands, he shrunk the size of multiple national preserves, HE PULLED US OUT OF THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT, and more.

We are at a crucial tipping point in being able to slow the pace of climate change, where we decide what emissions scenario we will operate at, with existential consequences for both the environment and people. We are also in the middle of the Sixth Mass Extinction, with the rate of species extinctions far surpassing background rates due completely to human actions. What we do now will determine the fate of the environment for hundreds or thousands of years - from our ability to grow key food crops (goodbye corn belt! I hated you anyway but), to the pressure on coastal communities that will face the brunt of sea level rise and intensifying extreme weather events, to desertification, ocean acidification, wildfires, melting permafrost (yay, outbreaks of deadly frozen viruses!), and a breaking down of ecosystems and ecosystem services due to continued habitat loss and species declines, especially insect declines. The fact that the environment is clearly a low priority issue despite the very real existential threat to so many people, is beyond my ability to understand. I do partly blame the public education system for offering no mandatory environmental science curriculum or any at all in most places. What it means is that it will take the support of everyone who does care to make any amount of difference in this steeply uphill battle.

There are not enough environmental scientists to solve these issues, not if public support is not on our side and the majority of the general public is either uninformed or actively hostile towards climate science (or any conservation science).

So what can you, my fellow Americans, do to help mitigate and minimize the inevitable damage that lay ahead?

I'm not going to tell you to recycle more or take shorter showers. I'll be honest, that stuff is a drop in the bucket. What does matter on the individual level is restoring and protecting habitat, reducing threats to at-risk species, reducing pesticide use, improving agricultural practices, and pushing for policy changes. Restoring CONNECTIVITY to our landscape - corridors of contiguous habitat - will make all the difference for wildlife to be able to survive a changing climate and continued human population expansion.

**Caveat that I work in the northeast with pollinators and birds so I cannot provide specific organizations for some topics, including climate change focused NGOs. Scientists on tumblr who specialize in other fields, please add your own recommended resources. **

We need two things: FUNDING and MANPOWER.

You may surprised to find that an insane amount of conservation work is carried out by volunteers. We don't ever have the funds to pay most of the people who want to help. If you really really care, consider going into a conservation-related field as a career. It's rewarding, passionate work.

At the national level, please support:

The Nature Conservancy

Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Cornell Lab of Ornithology (including eBird)

National Audubon Society

Federal Duck Stamps (you don't need to be a hunter to buy one!)

These first four work to acquire and restore critical habitat, change environmental policy, and educate the public. There is almost certainly a Nature Conservancy-owned property within driving distance of you. Xerces plays a very large role in pollinator conservation, including sustainable agriculture, native bee monitoring programs, and the Bee City/Bee Campus USA programs. The Lab of O is one of the world's leaders in bird research and conservation. Audubon focuses on bird conservation. You can get annual memberships to these organizations and receive cool swag and/or a subscription to their publications which are well worth it. You can also volunteer your time; we need thousands of volunteers to do everything from conducting wildlife surveys, invasive species removal, providing outreach programming, managing habitat/clearing trails, planting trees, you name it. Federal Duck Stamps are the major revenue for wetland conservation; hunters need to buy them to hunt waterfowl but anyone can get them to collect!

THERE ARE DEFINITELY MORE, but these are a start.

Additionally, any federal or local organizations that seek to provide support and relief to those affected by hurricanes, sea level rise, any form of coastal climate change...

At the regional level:

These are a list of topics that affect major regions of the United States. Since I do not work in most of these areas I don't feel confident recommending specific organizations, but please seek resources relating to these as they are likely major conservation issues near you.

PRAIRIE CONSERVATION & PRAIRIE POTHOLE WETLANDS

DRYING OF THE COLORADO RIVER (good overview video linked)

PROTECTION OF ESTUARIES AND SALTMARSH, ESPECIALLY IN THE DELAWARE BAY AND LONG ISLAND (and mangroves further south, everglades etc; this includes restoring LIVING SHORELINES instead of concrete storm walls; also check out the likely-soon extinction of saltmarsh sparrows)

UNDAMMING MAJOR RIVERS (not just the Colorado; restoring salmon runs, restoring historic floodplains)

NATIVE POLLINATOR DECLINES (NOT honeybees. for fuck's sake. honeybees are non-native domesticated animals. don't you DARE get honeybee hives to 'save the bees')

WILDLIFE ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER (support the Mission Butterfly Center!)

INVASIVE PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIES (this is everywhere but the specifics will differ regionally, dear lord please help Hawaii)

LOSS OF WETLANDS NATIONWIDE (some states have lost over 90% of their wetlands, I'm looking at you California, Ohio, Illinois)

INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE, esp in the CORN BELT and CALIFORNIA - this is an issue much bigger than each of us, but we can work incrementally to promote sustainable practices and create habitat in farmland-dominated areas. Support small, local farms, especially those that use soil regenerative practices, no-till agriculture, no pesticides/Integrated Pest Management/no neonicotinoids/at least non-persistent pesticides. We need more farmers enrolling in NRCS programs to put farmland in temporary or permanent wetland easements, or to rent the land for a 30-year solar farm cycle. We've lost over 99% of our prairies to corn and soybeans. Let's not make it 100%.

INDIGENOUS LAND-BACK EFFORTS/INDIGENOUS LAND MANAGEMENT/TEK (adding this because there have been increasing efforts not just for reparations but to also allow indigenous communities to steward and manage lands either fully independently or alongside western science, and it would have great benefits for both people and the land; I know others on here could speak much more on this. Please platform indigenous voices)

HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS (get your neighbors to stop dumping fertilizers on their lawn next to lakes, reduce agricultural runoff)

OCEAN PLASTIC (it's not straws, it's mostly commercial fishing line/trawling equipment and microplastics)

A lot of these are interconnected. And of course not a complete list.

At the state and local level:

You probably have the most power to make change at the local level!

Support or volunteer at your local nature centers, local/state land conservancy non-profits (find out who owns&manages the preserves you like to hike at!), state fish & game dept/non-game program, local Audubon chapters (they do a LOT). Participate in a Christmas Bird Count!

Join local garden clubs, which install and maintain town plantings - encourage them to use NATIVE plants. Join a community garden!

Get your college campus or city/town certified in the Bee Campus USA/Bee City USA programs from the Xerces Society

Check out your state's official plant nursery, forest society, natural heritage program, anything that you could become a member of, get plants from, or volunteer at.

Volunteer to be part of your town's conservation commission, which makes decisions about land management and funding

Attend classes or volunteer with your land grant university's cooperative extension (including master gardener programs)

Literally any volunteer effort aimed at improving the local environment, whether that's picking up litter, pulling invasive plants, installing a local garden, planting trees in a city park, ANYTHING. make a positive change in your own sphere. learn the local issues affecting your nearby ecosystems. I guarantee some lake or river nearby is polluted

MAKE HABITAT IN YOUR COMMUNITY. Biggest thing you can do. Use plants native to your area in your yard or garden. Ditch your lawn. Don't use pesticides (including mosquito spraying, tick spraying, Roundup, etc). Don't use fertilizers that will run off into drinking water. Leave the leaves in your yard. Get your school/college to plant native gardens. Plant native trees (most trees planted in yards are not native). Remove invasive plants in your yard.

On this last point, HERE ARE EASY ONLINE RESOURCES TO FIND NATIVE PLANTS and LEARN ABOUT NATIVE GARDENING:

Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation Resource Center

Pollinator Pathway

Audubon Native Plant Finder

Homegrown National Park (and Doug Tallamy's other books)

National Wildlife Federation Native Plant Finder (clunky but somewhat helpful)

Heather Holm (for prairie/midwest/northeast)

MonarchGard w/ Benjamin Vogt (for prairie/midwest)

Native Plant Trust (northeast & mid-atlantic)

Grow Native Massachusetts (northeast)

Habitat Gardening in Central New York (northeast)

There are many more - I'm not familiar with resources for western states. Print books are your biggest friend. Happy to provide a list of those.

Lastly, you can help scientists monitor species using citizen science. Contribute to iNaturalist, eBird, Bumblebee Watch, or any number of more geographically or taxonomically targeted programs (for instance, our state has a butterfly census carried out by citizen volunteers).

In short? Get curious, get educated, get involved. Notice your local nature, find out how it's threatened, and find out who's working to protect it that you can help with. The health of the planet, including our resilience to climate change, is determined by small local efforts to maintain and restore habitat. That is how we survive this. When government funding won't come, when we're beat back at every turn trying to get policy changed, it comes down to each individual person creating a safe refuge for nature.

Thanks for reading this far. Please feel free to add your own credible resources and organizations.

#climate change #wildlife #enough species have gone extinct let's not accelerate that #climate crisis #climate catastrophe #ecosystem destruction #ecosystem health #save earth's biosphere #save earth's biodiversity #bats #great concern #vent post #tw vent #resources #signal boost #signal boosting the original post

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atlanticcanada · 2 years ago

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Feds dedicate $27M to protect endangered species

Prince Edward Island’s landscape took a beating from post-tropical storm Fiona in September. Now, new funding has been dedicated to protect habitats and species on the island and across the country.

On Friday, the federal government announced $27 million would be set aside for conservation projects. The funding is slated to benefit 67 projects across the country in 11 priority places for species at risk.

"Prince Edward Island has diverse wildlife and a vibrant natural landscape,” Malpeque MP Heath MacDonald said in a Friday news release. “It is vital that we protect and preserve it for generations to come.”

Recognizing P.E.I.’s forested landscape as an area high in biodiversity and a habitat for species at risk, three projects received a total of up to $2.75 million in funding over four years.

That includes the Island Nature Trust, a not-for-profit P.E.I. land protection group, that will receive $600,000 to protect forested wetlands and coastal forests, an important habitat for at-risk species.

The area is home to at least 13 species at risk, including the little brown and northern myotis bat species and the Canada warbler.

"As we face the twin crises of rapid biodiversity loss and climate change, efforts to conserve and restore nature are incredibly important,” said Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault in the release. “The Priority Places for Species at Risk funding helps enable these efforts in communities across the country."

The P.E.I. Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action and the Abegweit Conservation Society is also set to receive continued support for existing projects in the P.E.I. Forested Landscape Priority Place.

“With the effects of biodiversity loss and climate change now plain for all to see, we are supportive of the Government of Canada's meaningful stance on protecting biodiversity and habitat for species at risk,” said Bianca McGregor, executive director for Island Nature Trust, in the release.

“On P.E.I., this funding will mean that Island Nature Trust can provide resources and support to private landowners looking to protect their own land, while enhancing the Trust's potential to acquire and protect ecologically sensitive land for the benefit of both Islanders and wildlife. "

Other priority places in Atlantic Canada include Kespukwitk in Southwest Nova Scotia, Wolastoq and the Saint John River, and the St. Lawrence Lowlands.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/yaAxU0f

#new brunswick #prince edward island #nova scotia #news #politics #canada #CTVAtlantic

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duraxxor · 5 years ago

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Prelude of Myotis - Finale

Entry 207 - Several weeks had passed since the intriguing rebirth of Oscar, a geist who was like any other until he came into contact with the compound known as Sanguinite. The Sanguinite appears to violently altar one's state based off of what it is they may desire with the cost of their own former will. This is something I wish to avoid considering that I already struggle to hold a grasp upon who I am to start. But the results themselves are rather lovely in all honesty. I feel as though Oscar has become one of my Eyes. He shows a great increase in both strength and intelligence. Yet, his loyalty tethers him to both my own plans and with the assistance of his unholy master, Dathuro Deathcleave. The Sorceress' theory proved to be true on the nature a geist shares with their master. As if I doubted her from the start. The repaired muscle and tissue seems to be quite flexible, perhaps even malleable. Proper test were administered and every result has surpassed all my expectations. But I cannot rest here, not when there is so much more to be done.

Entry 213 - One of my fellow cohorts I worked alongside within a former organization has willingly taken it upon herself to be my second test. She is a unique specimen not only because she is a living organism, but because this experiment will be a fusion rather than a escalation. Miah Ambershade has decided that Subject Talyn and her cannot exist without one another, which is something even I knew from the start. Oh well, it was worth a shot. Once again, two beings went into the chamber containing the Sanguinite. Unlike the Oscar, who had collapsed onto the floor before his reanimation, both Miah and Talyn held through despite the agonizing symphony they created. Their bodies gave off this illuminating light that appeared to scorch one's sockets with crimson fire. But I even I knew it was from the Light's doing as this was something quite abominable. Even through the practically, air-thin walls, I could feel the aroma of boiling blood tickle my nostrils. Their bodies twisting, perhaps writhing into what appeared to be a miasma. A Miasma? Perhaps that is what I will call her should she live through this experience.

Entry 214 - Miah and Talyn have successfully fused into what appears to be a feminine being. While there are not any type of issues in both skeletal structure, scorched flesh was evident and quite possibly a given. Subject 2 or Miasma gave me a quick demonstration of her speed and strength. She sprinted down a mile-long network within less than six minutes. When she came across a sealed vault, rather than trying to turn the circular, locking mechanism, she decided to use brute force and ripped the entire vault door from it's hinges. That massive seal was about one thousand pounds. Power came with a price as her muscle structure reestablished itself and hunger began to settle within her abyss. Luckily for her, I gave her the four options: A Sin'dorei, a Ren'dorei, a Kal'dorei, and a Human. She devoured both Sin'dorei and Kal'dorei without so much as a second thought, leaving only a few scraps so the reality could settle within the minds of the latter. She then displayed a sense of pride by tearing the Ren'dorei's bonds and dragging her off to her quarters, leaving the human to rot in his own urine. I know not what she did within her chambers but I cannot help but at least enjoy the amount of thought she placed into her choices. Sadistic and Cruel. My guess is the void elf maiden would likely be a main course for her to take in slowly because of the latent magics. After all, the Sanguinite itself does contain contents of shadow magic within. Let's just hope it doesn't counter balance and turn into some sort of void fiasco. Overall, I'd say another success.

Entry 217 - I am a man of my word. Benjamin Lewinters would have a means to physical function again. As many know, the former magi's body had began to succumb to decay and his ability to even walk was become quite difficult to maintain. I appreciate his patience with me, as always. And not a moment to soon when I realized that his mind was beginning to deteriorate. Despite what I felt could be a risk, Lewinters volunteered to be the next step in my plans. Willingly taking on the role of Subject 3, a wheelchair was provided so that no risk would be taken against any other individual who remained pure or had already been touched by Sanguinite. For nearly seven minutes, Benjamin stared into the crimson jewel with both fascination and thought. I could see the dim energies of his eyes speaking to both myself and the crystalline substance. " How far have I fallen? " I knew he would always have his doubts but not because I was untrustworthy, but rather because of the reckless history the two of us share. But despite this, the wheels began turning and as I was distracted by a distant memory of the days of the living, he placed his hand upon the substance. Once again, the shimmering light of scarlet heat began to engulf his form, but not in the same manner as the first two. No, this light was calm and gentle with his transformation. Perhaps the Sanguinite's responses were based upon the bidder's emotion? Oscar was a being forged of instability. Miah was a living being seeking a purpose while Talyn sought the power to destroy, but both sought to thrive and survive. But Benjamin's motivations were self-preservation.

Entry 218 - Something changed in Benjamin's evolution. Rather than having a dramatic spike in regeneration, his bonds of flesh were burned away, all the way to the bone. And as I watched in surprise, I truly thought that something had gone wrong. I quickly activated the mechanism to veil the jewel from sight and tore the double doors wide open with a strong sense of urgency. I had thought that the Sanguinite had robbed him of everything, tearing his flesh and blood all the way to the marrow of his bones. But the energies that coursed through this skeleton proved that death wasn't the affliction. In fact, the bones were carefully placed in a perfected fashion. I called to him and the eyes sockets began to blaze with crimson energies whilst Lewinters as a whole levitated before me. A fume of similarly-colored substance responded with a chilling voice. " Lord Daevara. You mustn't worry so much for me. I have been given exactly what I want. Why rebuild that which burdens me when I can shed my flesh and live as that which I once feared? " A lich. Benjamin Lewinters had chosen to become a Lich of both his and my own design. Once the two of us had time to process this change, Lewinters displayed the ability to create an shrouded illusion of himself much like the portal keeper he normally would portray. He only requested that he be given time to think and research what documents I had. I do hope that this newly awakened lich doesn't have any intent to overthrow me as most would suspect. Perhaps he will be tested by the best Herself.

Entry 224 - Subjects 1 through 3 appear to be operating at a decent pace. Not signs of any sort of betrayal or even a hint of madness. Oscar trained with his geist brothers and sisters and in the process learned that he could enhance them with his own latent energies. This ability was as enticing as it was threatening due to the nature of the corruption itself. Let us hope that he does not turn into some sort of fiend that seeks to spread his own virus. Miasma remains unchanged other than her strengths enhancing over time. Lewinters had fashioned his own garb for when he wasn't wasting his mana or energies on projecting the illusions of a mortal shell. Yet, Dathuro Deathcleave refuses to partake in any of this. He speaks as if he would rather continue perfecting his works of art within the Blood Forge. Perhaps he isn't as power hungry as Subject 2 or 3? I know Deathcleave, he clings to the old ways of wanting to die in the field of battle. A death that he was robbed of. And I will honor his choice so as long as he continues to craft such beautiful designs for me. And who knows, a time for battle may come sooner than we suspect?

Entry 225 - Another has been added to the collection under the same negotiations as Subject 4. However, due to her existence as of being an undead construct, Subject 4 is the remnants of an artificial creation from another tasked with the harvesting of various souls. Wires, threads, and 'electrical' currents, I shall call her Tesla. one could wonder just what exactly drove her to her submissive servitude. Nonetheless, the results have been particularly promising as she follows every order without question. She's the perfect servant and I would see to what exactly her limitations are and will be. A unique development has occurred that she has bound herself to me in such attachments that one cannot help but feel that there is something deep within her that no even she is aware of. I shall monitor her carefully.

Entry 229 - The time has finally come. After carefully measuring and tampering with the Sanguinite's properties, I believe we have finally done it. To any who read this should I not recover from this experiment, I ask that you do not replicate this compound. For if this plan doesn't work correctly, death may not be the worst thing to happen to this thrice-damned corpse. Not very many are aware of the segregated substance I have added to it. A single strand of purified-hair of Hir'eek. If you are not familiar with troll lore, that is the Bat Loa who was worshipped by trolls as the Midnight Sky. A single strand of hair can contain many latent energies known as mojo. Of course, this substance had to be tested for impurities due to the loa's corruption through G'huun. Something I would rather not repeat. Either way, if anyone aside from myself is reading this without my permission, I have either died or gone completely mad.

It was the eve of the new year, and Mr. Myotis had finally finished all of the necessary preparations. Miasma had successfully kidnapped and obtained the lord's former wife after a long period of time. To his dismay, Telondra Daevara was nothing more than a broken husk of what she once was, filled in by the void energies that the Ren'dorei clung to. And while it made the monster sick to his stomach upon how pathetic is truly was, there was a humanity in him that reared it's ancient skull. An old compassion for his first wife that was not long for this world. How he had wished that she had come sooner than later. How she did not bare the insidious mark that plagued his family bloodline. Why couldn't things be different? Why did the path always seem to tread down the means of cutting individuals down to put them out of their own misery?

Despite all of this, the Faceless could not dwell on such trivialities. No, he had to lead this prospering organization with strengthened resolve. He wasn't alone anymore and had to accept such things. Two servants directly bound to him that he had dubbed Miasma and Tesla. Miasma had bore him the fruits loyalty and lessons that he himself had to relearn through concrete thought. Meanwhile, Tesla provided him as a servant who would do his bidding without question as to what or who it benefitted most. To him, Duraxxor Daevara was a god amongst monsters. The two creations contrasted quite differently in identity that he could not help the bemusement that swelled within him as he tread down the halls of his secret hideaway. He had told Miasma (Miah) that he was heading to his coffin for a dark meditation. But one could not rest after what had transpired in the past several days. So many wonderous possibilities that were weaved within the mind. And yet, the same word still hung in the ceiling of his cranium much like the avian nightwing.

Evolution.

Stripped of his armor, Duraxxor stepped through the doorway that seethed with the energies of the malevolent void. A shroud covered the entire torso as he left nothing more than pant leg upon his body. Crimson eyes peered around the incoming room as technologies of a vast variety beeped and hummed with the electrical machinations of a engineer's work. A laboratory that carried the various scent of putrid chemical beakers that stung mortal nostrils with disgust. Chemical equations and schematics veiled the paint job of the walls as critical thinking was clearly applied in this specific area. But who could have done such a thing?

" Ah, Mr. Daevara. I wasn't expect you to be back so soon after our little... meeting. " A violet-haired elf peered through his safety goggles without a single care in he world. Gloved fingers adjusted a nearby microscope as he examined a dark red substance beneath the sample. " You've come just in time, I was just examining the Hir'eek sample you had delivered to me. " The violet tresses trailed down his spine with a hint of red behind the dominate sheen, hinting that the Ren'dorei was original a crimson-haired fox. A lab coat stained with various colors delicately hung over the back of his spinning chair. Thoughtful humming continued as his void-tainted orbs bore witness to cellular acceptance. Duraxxor spared no pleasantries as he cared little for idle chit-chat when progress was in the making. " And, what have you found? Is it compatible? Or am I wasting my time? " The white-haired devil stood there as his own stare looked to the microscope, as if he could feel each cell within the sample writhe like a worm in an aquatic puddle.

The void elf pulled his visions from the studies so that he could look upon the monster he was quite familiar with. " Not even a playful retort? I trust that your evening hasn't been the most pleasant of memories, aye? Well, luckily for you, you have Dr. Solexstras Sunflare as your physician this evening. " A balled fist was brought to contain the clearing of his throat from extending any further. " It took some time but yes, the compound infused with the samples you provided has shown to prove that you and the DNA are able to adapt and meld together. " Crimson beads stared into the doctor's with narrowed vision, hinting at some form of paranoia that sought to see that he possessed little to no doubt in his own mind. " And will they consume a vessel? Because the last thing I want is to no longer possess a will of my own because something went wrong, Doctor... " The ragged tone of his voice only added to the amount of anger he would possess if something were to go wrong.

Dr. Sunflare's features seemed to hesitate from the piercing gaze that Daevara was notorious for drilling into the souls of those that were weakened over time. " The drawback is that if you take everything in at once, it very well could inevitably mutate your own cellular code. While yes, you are a creature of the undead, mutation and even some form of decay isn't an impossibility. Any type of flesh matter can be manipulated, that is why necromancy has become a practice derived from the Shadowlands itself. " Hopping down from his chair, light feet strolled onward towards a certain machine that contained a set of opening doors within. The idle beeping as he began to punch in a numerical code slowly brought the entryway to click, causing said doors to open and reveal four crystalline shards that hummed with crimson concentration. Each one was large enough to fit within the palm an average sized hand perfectly. " Through the process of cryomancy and hemomancy, you have provided me with enough specimens to filter out and readjust the chemical compound without removing the threads of energy that lay dormant within. Luckily for you, I possess a collection of soul shards to empower the rituals necessary for such a thing. Now then, my advise is to take one of these every three days so that your body can adjust to the changes slowly. "

Impatience began to settle within Dura's features while the wrinkles of caution began to dominate his expression. " I understand what you are saying. Last thing I want to do is overload myself and fall into pieces. I have quite the group that would be most unpleased if I was to... fuck myself over. " A faint laugh was given as he removed the shroud that wrapped around his shirtless form. Stone-colored skin marked by the testaments of his own personal trials reflected the various lights within the room. Darkened veins pulsed with the magics and essence that he had drained to insure his self-preservation.

The Doctor had never seen him without some form of armor veiled over his body and could not help but approach more thoroughly on the matter. " You've been busy, I see. When you said that you devoured more than just blood, I'll admit I couldn't take you seriously... but now I see that you harbor... power. " The last word was uttered in a feather-soft tone. Nervousness enveloped the normally well-poised doctor as he understand that any sort of trouble that would merit to a true threat to his grand design. Hands fidgeted as he proceeded to pull a hidden drawer underneath the protective display. The energies sizzled and static streaked towards the thick glass in response to the nearby familiar that possessed similar magics within him. The Doctor rose up and presented him with a metallic box, offering it to the Myotis with care. " Tread lightly, Mr. Daevara, crush the stone when you are ready and do try not to exhaust yourself. Return to me when the seventy-two hours is up. " He bowed his head as Daevara took the box. " There is a chamber you may use before you leave. " A swift gesture towards the doorway with only one way out.

Slowly, Duraxxor took the offered box and with a nod, he traveled to the nearby chamber, shutting the door behind him. However, just because the door was the only entryway did not mean that the Doctor could not monitor him from the outside. A camera's image was brought up on an interface. A blank room created for nothing more than containment of raw energies and instabilities. Dura would've been lying if he didn't possess some sort of nervousness about his mind. All he could think about was how much a change like this may affect him. So many people to consider in the moment. " Miah... Malice... Ryssa... Teremath... Caine... Luminarra... Malakortana... " Their names were uttered within his mind as well as the images of the memories that were forged in this twelve month period that was about to come to an end. A single hand was placed upon the top of the box as he hesitantly grasped upon the clasps, snapping each with delicate care.

A batling suddenly flapped it's way into the room from a ventilation shaft, landing carefully upon the Doctor's shoulder with a chittering. Violet eyes looked towards the avian creature with care as he provided a single finger to brush across the messenger that bore a note between his little toes. " I know, you are nervous for daddy, aren't you? He's going to be just fine... " The soothing voice of the void-tainted played across the batlings ears as his vision stared into the bright screen with a wince.

" If all truly accept me for the choices that I make, then let this New Year but the year that I, Duraxxor Daevara, will have his vengeance and the world will know of the name... Myotis! " The words were shouted, like a dark incantation to a spell that would be cast, enveloping his resolve as he tore open the lid to reveal the catalyst that would begin his journey anew. The various wounds seeped with blackened, vaporous tendrils of his own essence sought to place their grasp upon the prized jewel within. A crimson ruby that seethed with the same radioactivity as it's siblings of creation. Duraxxor's left hand grasped as his own goals and motivations strengthened his will. " Give me the power... of evolution! " One final shout was made as he clutched the sparking substance. A scarlet mist began to expel from within as a brilliance of the same hue hummed with vibration. The faint sound of shrieking was heard as the energies placed in it's creation was released, sending electrical pulses directly into the man's arm as he clutched desperately to keep his grip upon it. The gritting of fanged teeth noted the struggle as it brought him to his knees. Now he understood exactly why the doctor had warned him with caution to only take so much at a time. The size disguised the potency within. Both hands now clutched it towards the Myotis' hearth now as he the solidified source slowly and painfully seeped into his flesh.

The black smog of energies violently spewed from his form as he felt his own flesh begin to change and adapt to the substance he was taking in. This wasn't just raw energy that one could suckle on. No, this was the essence of a powerful being that identified as a patron deity to some. Despite the amount, Hir'eek's chittering voice could be heard within his ears as one by one, deceased cells felt something latch upon them, birthing a hybridized state of unlife. The crystal had been completely absorbed into his being but the changes continued. The sharpened talons landed onto the ground as he stood on all fours. A violent spasm in each and every muscle as he felt the manipulation of his skeletal structure begin to change within his spine. A series of pops and cracks as shoulder blades began to extended past the flesh. A instant rip and tear unveiled a pair of large, skeletal wings that began were covered in a bright, crimson essence. Such a painful sight forced a bellow of pain from within the now shining creature that could feel other changes taking place. An opening of his eyes brought about a thought to renew the shifting resolve. " Not yet... I mustn't... give... in! " This shout brought about the reconquering of his physical shell so that no other bodily changes would take place. The wings had been enough to suffice as he did not want to lose himself in the moment. Talons dug along the metals as the pulsing energies began to dim, placed within the inner recesses of his own reserves for later.

And so, Duraxxor arose. A new set of wings lay upon his shoulders as their flesh began to regenerate with the threads of lifeblood to fuel such a drastic change that took place. The winged harbinger of Myotis panted unendingly from the amount of toll that such a thing took upon his body. The raw magics had left a blemish upon his chest that still steam with the searing of flesh in the shape of a jagged 'M'. Slowly but sure, he made his way towards the doorway, limping in the process.

Before he even had a chance to touch the knob, the Doctor immediately had himself full covered and prepared for the potential energies that may leak out and seek to corrupt another. Both hands, despite his lack of physical strength attempted to hold him up so that he did not fall. " Mr. Daevara... How are you feeling? " The hazard suited figure questioned whether or not he was alright, wondering if he was even there anymore.

A fang-filled grin slowly blossomed on the dark individuals features. The winged cloak that had finally finished it's work soon retracted back into his flesh as a means to provide secrecy. A crimson stare was afforded as he looked towards the doctor before gesturing his sight to his winged messenger that bore a message for him to take into his palm. " That was... one hell of a show... what have you got there for me... little one? " Careful to not bring harm to his bat child, he took the note carefully and opened it up to read it's contents. The eyes of the creature scanned each and every line before the smiling expression began disappear. A rumbling growl was the only indication that he was most unpleased about the choices made in the way this note was written to him. " If you will excuse me, Doctor. I have business that needs my attention... " Stabilizing his body now, he would hobble his way towards the door with the batling a fluttering beside him.

The doctor quickly began to retort to his dismissal. " Not even a thank you. The least you could do is give it five extra minutes before you go rushing off! " Despite his protests, the Doctor knew it was useless when it came to Daevara's own stubbornness. In fact, the Myotis was already out the door with a resolve that would reach new levels. " Why do I even bother... Shadows protect you, Mister Myotis. "

[ mentions big or small: @sanguinesorceress @miah-ambershade @blacksorrow-wra @ryssa-ravensdawn @swiper-lussy @igniting-the-dawn @hollow-shadow-puppet ]

[ also tagging for guild relevancy: @onyxwra @kira-seastar @gravekeeper-anna and @the-golden-flash-blog ]

#Duraxxor #Project Myotis #Conclusion of Prelude #A new beginning

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violetsandshrikes · 4 years ago

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“It's a spectacular animal. It has this bright-orange fur, and because it was so distinct, that led us to realize it was not described before.”

"In addition to the Lamotte's roundleaf bat, it's possible Myotis nimbaensis could be the second bat species found only in this particular mountain range," said Jon Flanders, Bat Conservation International's director of endangered species interventions.

This study is part of an ongoing effort critical in helping the Nimba Mountain bats survive. Bat Conservation International and SMFG have already started working together to build new tunnels, reinforced to last for centuries and in habitat away from the mining project, for the Lamotte's roundleaf bat. And although little is known yet about the population and range of Myotis nimbaensis, efforts like this will likely help it as well.

#NEW BAT DROPPED #bats #zoology #wildlife #conservation #news

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originalclintbarton · 6 years ago

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My brain when I'm handling the bats for my proj: smol fluffy squeaky thing kiss it

Me: we can't it will bite, see its mouth is open its angry

Brain: okay put finger in its mouth

if i were a zookeeper my intrusive thoughts would be wild

#myotis macropus #bats #biology #i honestly love my project but damn they are too cute my dumb bitch brain wants to do so many dangerous things with us #theyre basically pingpong ball sized fluffy and insane #i love them

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cellimagelibrary · 4 years ago

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Image of the Week – June 22, 2020

CIL:11397 - http://cellimagelibrary.org/images/11397

Description: Figure 218 from Chapter 7 (Mitochondria) of 'The Cell, 2nd Ed.' by Don W. Fawcett M.D. The typical structural organization of mitochondria is revealed in this longitudinal section of a mitochondrion and surrounding cytoplasm from pancreas of the bat, Myotis lucifugus. It is bounded by a smooth outer membrane about 7nm thick. An inner membrane has infoldings called cristae that project into the interior of the organelle.

Author: Keith Porter

Licensing: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives: This image is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives License

#science #cell #biology #microscopy #teaching #mitochondria #mitochondrion #cristae

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fatehbaz · 5 years ago

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experienced heartbreak in full view of other persons while out in public today thinking about bats. i was reading about the white-nose syndrome epidemic and how an infection can cause fungal growth on the bat’s skin surface. this is irritating, so bats will wake up from their sleep to remove the growth and groom themselves. and - in addition to the other ways in which the fungus affects the immune system and causes mortality - many bats will actually die from sheer exhaustion or starvation because they lose sleep and spend so much energy desperately trying to keep their fur/skin clean.

Generalized spread, over time, of white-nose syndrome [Source: “First Detection of Bat White-Nose Syndrome in Western North America.” mSphere - American Society for Microbiology. Lorch et. al. 2018]:

Recent (2018) presence of white-nose syndrome detection in counties or districts across North America [Source: NCompass Technologies, and Ray Grumney for Minneapolis Star-Tribune.]:

Number of bat species living in regions affected by white-nose syndrome [Source: Map by C. Bradley and J. Boyd, Center for Biological Diversity, using data from PA Game Commission.]:

Thing I did:

Little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus). [Source: Kristi DuBois, Montana Natural Heritage Project.]

#my account/blog got termianted/deactivated while i was trying to post this so now i'm sharing to be defiant on principle

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ezatluba · 3 years ago

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Hot houses: the race to save bats from overheating as temperatures rise

Chimneys for bat boxes and a flying fox heat stress forecaster are among efforts to prevent deaths from effects of climate crisis

Isabelle Groc

24 Feb 2021

Steve Latour and his wife were enjoying their usual early morning coffee in the sun outside their lake house in the Kootenay region of British Columbia when they heard noises coming from the bat box attached to the side of the house. Every summer, about 150 Yuma myotis bats return to the box, using it as a maternity colony to give birth to pups and take care of them until they are ready to leave for hibernation in the autumn.

“We noticed that as soon as the sun hit the bat box, they would become agitated. We could see them come down to the bottom of the box, trying to cool down and get fresh air,” says Latour.

One summer morning, he discovered 28 dead pups underneath the box and realised they had succumbed to excessive heat. So Latour initially draped the box with a bed sheet to shade it, and later installed a blind that he could open and close to keep the sun off the box in the early morning. The fix worked. “Once they were back in the shade, everybody would shut up for the day and we did not hear them move around in the morning any more.”

Bats play an important role in the ecosystem. As voracious predators of insects, for example, they help to control crop pests, reducing the need for pesticides on agricultural land. So, over the years, animal lovers, conservation organisations and naturalist groups have installed artificial bat boxes to replace lost buildings and natural roosts where the bats come back year after year.

But scientists are now discovering that in a rapidly warming climate, overheating bat boxes can be a death trap.

Female bats rely on the surrounding air temperature to maintain their body heat and need a warm environment to raise their pups. “Bat boxes can be beneficial as they can help pups grow faster and females gather the energy they need for lactation,” says Joy O’Keefe, an assistant professor who studies the roosting and ecology of bats at the University of Illinois department of natural resources and environmental sciences.

But if the roost is too hot the bats become heat-stressed. “Bats walk a tightrope because a few degrees change can make a difference as to whether they live or die,” says Cori Lausen, a bat biologist with Wildlife Conservation Society Canada.

Bats walk a tightrope because a few degrees change can make a difference as to whether they live or die

Cori Lausen, bat biologist

In the wild, bats frequently move between rock and tree crevices to find the right temperature – not too cold and not too hot. Lausen found that a colony of female big brown bats she studied in Alberta used 72 different rock-crevice roosts during the summer. “If you think of a colony in nature needing that many roosts to find the just right temperature every day to raise their pups, how can we possibly give them just one bat box? We can clearly see that they need a lot of choices,” Lausen says.

When they take up residence in the attic of an old building, bats can move inside the space. But they can’t do this as easily in a small bat house. They become more vulnerable to overheating and dehydration.

In June 2019, Susan Dulc, a master’s student at British Columbia’s Thompson Rivers University, received a call from a landowner who had noticed that bats were flying during the daytime, leaving the bat box that had been installed on the property for the shade of a nearby walnut tree. Dulc, who is comparing the microclimate conditions in bat boxes and buildings in the Kootenay and Okanagan regions of the province, discovered that the temperature was more than 42C inside the box with 100% humidity – a lethal threshold for the Yuma myotis bat and the little brown bat species that Dulc is monitoring. “We found that bat boxes are much warmer than ambient temperatures,” she says.

As temperature records are broken and heatwaves become more frequent and longer lasting, the problem of bats overheating has become a global concern. In the Catalonia region of Spain, Carles Flaquer, a bat research group coordinator for the Natural History Museum of Granollers, documented 797 overheating events during a bat-box monitoring programme over a period of 150 days, with temperatures reaching more than 40C. “We have seen amazing increases in temperatures in Catalonia, and the episodes of overheating have been terrible for the bats,” he says.

Wildlife rehabilitation centres are receiving large numbers of grounded bats suffering from dehydration during the breeding season, not just those roosting in boxes but also in buildings. In the UK, 63 pipistrelle bat pups were rescued in the Manchester area after falling to the ground from a building roof that had become too hot during a heatwave in July 2020. “Every year, temperatures are rising a bit more and we are reaching a critical phase where heatwaves are becoming at a level that is a danger for bat populations,” says Orly Razgour, senior lecturer in ecology at the University of Exeter.

Razgour is studying how the distribution of bats in the UK will be affected by the climate crisis in the future. “Over the next 30 years we will see reduced climatic suitability across many parts of the UK, in particular in the most southeastern parts. Put on top extreme heat events and it will happen a lot more rapidly,” she says. “Bats have a very slow reproductive rate and when those extreme heat events start to happen more frequently, bat populations will find it more difficult to recover.”

In the meantime, as temperatures continue to rise elsewhere in Europe, the UK can expect more bat visitors, says Carol Williams, director of conservation at the Bat Conservation Trust. “We will start to see the UK become more important for a larger number of species of bats.” For example, the grey long-eared bats that are among the UK’s rarest mammals, with fewer than 1,000 individuals, are expected to struggle in the increasingly hotter climates of Spain and Portugal and may find more suitable conditions in the UK.

But the unimproved grasslands that grey long-eared bats rely on have declined by more than 92% in the past 100 years, says Williams. The Back from the Brink project aims to change this and works with landowners to retain and enhance habitats for the bats. “We need to make sure our landscapes allow the species to fare well,” she says.

The impact of heatwaves has been particularly dramatic in Australia, causing mortality among flying foxes almost every year. Justin Welbergen, associate professor of animal ecology at Western Sydney University and president of the Australasian Bat Society, found evidence that at least 226,000 flying foxes had died during extreme heat events since records began, with 196,000 mortalities since 2008.

In south-east Queensland, at least 45,500 flying foxes died on one scorching day in January 2014. In November 2018, temperatures exceeding 42C in Australia’s north wiped out 23,000 spectacled flying foxes over two days. In December 2019 and January 2020, more than 65,000 flying foxes died in a series of extreme heat events.

“Since the 1970s, the chance of a grey-headed flying fox encountering temperatures greater than 42C has increased about threefold,” says Welbergen. “As climate change is progressing and these events become more common, this is going to put a lot of pressure on flying fox populations.”

The animals are already vulnerable to other threats, including habitat loss and persecution, but climate breakdown is now a leading concern for the survival of some of the species. “There is a real present risk that the spectacled flying fox and possibly the grey-headed flying fox will go extinct in Australia by the end of the century purely because of the effect of temperature extremes,” Welbergen says.

Flying foxes play an important ecological role as pollinators and seed dispersers. “They provide the glue that keeps the increasingly fragmented forest of Australia together,” he adds.

Scientists and conservationists are now investigating solutions to help bats cope with heatwaves. Teams from Western Sydney University and the University of Melbourne led by Welbergen have developed a flying fox heat stress forecaster that predicts the roost (or “camp” as they are called in Australia) locations where flying foxes are likely to experience extreme heat, up to 72 hours in advance. The tool helps wildlife carers, land managers and other stakeholders take action to limit flying fox die-offs.

In the US, researchers are testing various bat box designs and locations with different solar exposures to see which are best for the endangered Indiana bat. They recorded temperatures as high as 52C in some boxes but found that modifications such as adding a chimney or a water chamber, or painting the boxes in lighter colours, could help stabilise temperatures.

The bats, however, may not be able to spot the difference between box designs. “If you put a box up in the right spot, bats might be just using it because of where it is on the landscape, not necessarily because of the microclimate a particular box design provides,” says Reed Crawford, a PhD student at the University of Illinois who is studying Indiana bat roosting preferences. “Unfortunately, you get a lot of mortalities when people put out bad designs in good places.”

As location seems to be a bat’s mantra when it comes to choosing the right piece of real estate, Lausen is working on a set of guidelines to help landowners and wildlife managers in British Columbia install appropriate boxes. “We need to step back and think about how we can make these boxes better and safer for our bats,” she says.

Lausen encourages people to place several boxes in different spots – sunny, mixed sun and shade – to offer as many microclimates as possible so that bats have several options to choose from that are a short flight away. “Over the years, landowners have chased bats out of their attics and put up bat boxes instead, but that’s giving them one tiny portion of what they used to have,” Lausen says. “We know a single bat box is not going to meet the needs of a bat colony throughout the season.”

Lausen also promotes a bat-friendly approach in the neighbourhood. “Everybody needs to start talking to their neighbours and look beyond their back yard because bats are community resources,” she says. “It takes a village to raise bats.”

This article was amended on 26 February 2021. Cori Lausen originally said a one-degree change could affect whether bats live or die, but she later indicated the measure was likely to be slightly more than one degree. Also, the photo of the awning was taken by Susan Dulc, not Steve Latour. These have been corrected.

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akhylsthebat · 4 years ago

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A Big Day for Bat Facts!

Today is a Big Day for Bat Facts! Why, you might ask? Today, I have officially reviewed 100 bats! I started this small project a year ago, and never did I think it would become something like this. I hope you all have enjoyed what I do so far, as there is more stuff in store! Below is a list of all bats that I have reviewed, in case you are curious! Here’s to 100 more <3 ~ Akhyls ~ Common Vampire Bat (TBT done) Pallid Bat (TBT done) Seminole Bat (TBT done) Hoary Bat (TBT done) The Painted Bat (TBT done) Desert Long-Eared Bat (TBT done) Spotted Bat (TBT Done) Little Brown Bat (TBT Done) Honduran White Bat (TBT Done, 5 parts) Ghost Bat (TBT Done) Northern Ghost Bat (TBT Done) Pied Bat (TBT Done) African Straw-Colored Fruit Bat Rodrigues Fruit Bat Lesser Short-Nosed Fruit Bat Egyptian Fruit Bat Grey-Headed Flying Fox Big Brown Bat Tri-Colored Bat Eastern Red Bat Eastern Small-Footed Bat Evening Bat Gray Bat Indiana Bat Mexican Free-Tailed Bat Virginia Big-Eared Bat Northern Long-Eared Bat Northern Yellow Bat Rafinesque’s Big-Eared Bat Silver-Haired Bat Southeastern Bat Greater False Vampire Bat Lesser False Vampire Bat Hardwicke’s Wooly Bat White Throated Round Eared Bat Pygmy Round-Eared Bat Niceforo’s Big Eared Bat Southern Yellow-Eared Bat Dark Fruit-Eating Bat Great Stripe-Faced Bat Great Roundlead Bat Dusky Leaf-Nosed Bat East Coast Free-Tailed Bat Chocolate Wattled Bat Arnhem Land Long-Eared Bat Bare-Rumped Sheathtail Bat Greater Long-Eared Bat Abo Bat Christie’s Big-Eared Bat Banana Bat Chapin’s Free-Tailed Bat Van Gelder’s Bat Parti-colored Bat Lesser Bamboo Bat Black-Bearded Tomb Bat Little Bent-Wing Bat Black Flying Fox Diadem Leaf-Nosed Bat Eastern False Pipistrelle Eastern Free-Tail Bat Gould’s Wattled Bat Inland Broad-Nosed Bat Hill’s Sheathtail Bat Large-Eared Horseshoe Bat Large Forest Bat Little Forest Bat Northern Blossom Bat Northern Broad-Nosed Bat Orange Leaf-nosed Bat Semon’s Leaf-nosed Bat Southern Forest Bat Eastern Broad-nosed Bat White-striped Freetail Bat Yellow-Bellied Sheathtail Bat Common Bent-wing Bat Common Sheathtail Bat Coastal Sheathtail Bat Brazilian Brown Bat Argentine Brown Bat Northern Bat (Common) Serotine Bat Japanese House Bat Azores Noctule Bat Greater Noctule Bat Common Noctule Fish-Eating Bat Large-footed Myotis Alcathoe Bat Whiskered Bat Bechstein’s Bat Lesser Mouse-Eared Bat California Myotis Long-Fingered Bat Cryptic Myotis Pond Bat Daubenton’s Bat Geoffroy’s Bat Hodgson’s Bat Hairy-Legged Myotis Keen’s Myotis

#batfacts #bats #bat #akhyls #education

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marybromley · 4 years ago

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Stanley Park’s aquatic life on ‘red alert’: ecology report

youtube

Stanley Park’s tree cover is growing, but aquatic life in Beaver Lake isn’t doing very well at all, according to a new report on the park’s ecological health.

The report by the Stanley Park Ecological Society found that the park has 1,031 native species that include 239 birds, 27 mammals and two reptiles. The biggest group are invertebrates and zooplankton at 325.

The 46 native species at risk include western grebe, double crested cormorant and little brown (myotis) bats.

Ariane Comeau, conservation projects manager, said that between 2013 and 2015 the park’s tree cover increased by eight per cent because 15,000 trees and shrubs were replanted to replace more than 10,000 trees lost during the windstorm of 2006.

“It’s really great to see,” Comeau said in an interview. “The tree cover has significantly increased in the blow-down areas.”

The report, however, issued a “red alert” for fresh water ecosystems such as Beaver Lake and Lost Lagoon.

“Water temperatures are high in Beaver Lake and Lost Lagoon and oxygen levels are exceptionally low in Beaver Lake to the point they are reaching lethal levels for salmonids and amphibians,” the report summary says.

“Without proper intervention, the situation is expected to worsen.”

Comeau said what the SPES is seeing are more invasive species such as carp and three-spined stickleback.

“Both are known at being able to survive in harsh conditions,” she said.

“The fact that these are the only ones we’re seeing recently is quite alarming.”

One of the native species that hasn’t been seen in fresh-water areas for decades is the northern red-legged frog.

Conditions are changing rapidly at Beaver Lake because of pink and white water lilies that were introduced in 1938 to celebrate the 40th anniversary jubilee of Dutch Queen Wilhelmina.

By summer, water lilies cover almost all of the water’s surface. Whey they die, they produce so much biomass they’re filling up the lake and making the water shallower. When that happens, the water can warm dramatically, especially during summer months.

In 1938, Beaver Lake was 6.7 hectares in size; today, it’s less than 3.9 ha.

Each spring, classes of students release salmonids into Beaver Lake as part of a Department of Fisheries and Oceans initiative. But warming conditions mean it’s not safe for the salmonids to survive.

After the last report on the ecological health of the park in 2010, the park board developed an ecological action plan for Stanley Park that included dredging parts of Beaver Lake to create deeper, cooler areas. But as yet no dredging has taken place.

Comeau is releasing the full State of the Park Report for the Ecological Integrity of Stanley Park 2020 on Wednesday prior to the ecological society’s virtual annual general meeting at 8 pm.

While the park’s seawall is a major tourist attraction, it also affects the park’s ecosystem by limiting nutrient exchange between the intertidal areas and the land.

The report says that the the future, the seawall will amplify negative affects of climate change by contributing to coastal squeeze: as ocean levels rise, the size of intertidal area will be reduced which will in turn lead to a reduction in food sources for mammals and birds.

Some of the park’s ecological restoration and habitat enhancement initiatives since 2010 have included building a boardwalk in Cathedral Trail, installing 23 nest boxes for swallows and wood ducks in Lost Lagoon and Beaver Lake, and removing more than 800 cubic metres of invasive plants.

“The main goal is really to have a better idea of what exists, how things are doing, how things are changing ecologically,” Comeau said about the report.

“Having this information helps stewardship or management plans to better protect ecosystems and species in the park.”

When the next report is released in 2030, the ecological society hopes to include traditional ecological knowledge of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations. The new report says that “knowledge” would encompass “a more holistic picture of the park’s ecological integrity,” which would take into account the use of the land in pre-park times.

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Look up. Look way, way up: Beaver Lake hopes for stargazing designation

Stanley Park finds fruitful bounty with bananas

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Stanley Park’s aquatic life on ‘red alert’: ecology report published first on https://weedkillerguide.tumblr.com/

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ndowne · 4 years ago

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What I’ve been up to recently

Courses I’ve taken

In 2019/2020 I took these Stanford classes as a JSK fellowship affiliate:

Ornithology (BIO221)

Conservation photography (BIO53)

Evolution (BIO85)

Ecology and Evolution of Animal Behaviour (BIO245)

Applied Ecology at Jasper Ridge preserve (BIO205)

Geology, Landscapes and Tectonics of the SF Bay Area (GEOLSCI42)

Concepts in Environmental communications (EARTHSYS 291)

Ecology (BIO81)

Introduction to Earth Systems (EARTHSYS10)

Other classes and trainings I have taken during this time:

Weekly Spanish classes since March 2019

Pat Brown’s 3 day residential desert bat class in July 2019 in the Mojave Desert

Drones in Conservation workshop, week long class by The Wildlife Society in April 2019.

Defensive driving class March 2019

Advanced animal care training with the Marine Mammal Center 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

Marine Mammal Center advanced education and tour guide training Feb 2019 (also many other in-the job advanced education training courses)

Elephant seal progression trading with the Marine Mammal Center, January 2019

Giving psychological first aid in a disaster, with SF fire department and NERT, Jan 2019

Two day Marine Mammal Center docent and education training, October 2018

3 day residential class on nudibranchs with Alison Young and Dr Rebecca Johnson, the California Acadamy of Sciences and the Jepson Herbarium in Half Moon Bay, California, July 2018

Week long naturalist kayaking trip in Baja, Mexico to learn about whales, Feb 2018

Two day ham radio class with the San Francisco Radio Club, June 2017

Week-long residential bat acoustics workshop (using Sonobat) by Dr. Joe Szewczak, Leila S. Harris and Jill Carpenter and the Wildlife Society. June 2017 in the San Jacinto Mountains, California.

California naturalist residential course in 2017

The Wildlife Society day/long bats and white nose syndrome workshop

Bat banding radio tagging class with Dave Johnston in September 2017

NERT graduate class in Pet disaster response and first aid, Feb 2017

NERT graduate class in Emergancy communications, Feb 2017

Neighborhood Emergency Response Training with the San Francisco Fire Department (NERT) January 2017

Marine Mammal Center animal care and advanced animal care, and elephant seal progression training.

Conferences I went to during this time:

Science Hackday October 2019, 2018 and 2017

The Wildlife Society and American Fisheries Society annual conference in Cleveland Ohio September 2019

California Bat Working Group summit Feb 2019 and Feb 2018

Wildlife Conservation Network Spring and Fall Expo 2018

California Naturalist Regional Rendezvous where I have a talk on white nose syndrome in bats

The Wildlife Society Annual Conference in New Mexico September 2017

Wildlife Conservation Network Spring Expo 2017

Pybay Python regional conference August 2016

Naturalist training and Bat experience

I qualified as a California Naturalist in 2017 through through the University of a California Agricultural College and Camp Ocean Pines. My final project was a bat walk and a presentation about bats. This was such a huge success that I was invited back to the 2018 class to give a paid talk on bats and guided bat detecting walk.

I put this training to good use encouraging friends and organising many trips to help spark that passion for nature (bats and otherwise!). I believe in getting people on that first rung of the stewardship ladder where to care and protect for the environment you first have to be exposed and get interested in nature.

I volunteer with the California Acadamy of Sciences on occasion to help perform biodiversity analysis on the tidepool reef at Pillar point in Half moon bay under the direction of Alison Young and Rebecca Johnson. I have also taken their 3 day residential class on Nudibranchs with the Jepson Herbarium.

I collaborated with leaders in the California Bat Working Group to specify, design and build a website for the group and the logo/branding:

https://www.calbatwg.org

Simon and I also built this Bat website with iNaturalist data to help people realise that awesome bats are around them everywhere!

https://www.batsnearme.com

I attended the residential workshop put on by The Wildlife Society and run by Dr. Joe Szewczak, Leila S. Harris and Jill Carpenter in the San Jacinto mountains, June 2017. We did a deep dive into the biomechanical process of echolocation, diffeeent species of bats, the physics of sound and in teams of 4 we designed, ran and analysed the results of a survey with a Sonobat detector. Paying special attention to where we placed the sensor, what types of bats we thought we might get then learning to analyse the sonogram waveforms for heuristic patterns to identify individual species of bat. We did some mist netting, I helped get a tangled June bug successfully out of the net.

At Pat Brown’s 3 day residential Desert bat class in the Mojave Desert, 2019, I got my first bat handling experience under supervision of Jill Carpenter. I assisted with the construction and breakdown of the netting sites. Record keeping and I held and helped measure several California Myotis and helped get a Canyon bat and two Palid bats out of the net. (I have a recent Rabies Titer)

In February 2020 I had the opportunity to volunteer for Gabe Reyes with the USGS mist netting bats in Marin. I managed the survey record keeping, helped with construction and breakdown of 6 mist nets. I handled some California Myotis and helped measure weights and wingspan, assisted with the removal of one bat from a net and helped release a few after we had surveyed and radio tagged them. More winter survey dates were planned but the global Coronavirus pandemic stepped in the way.

I took a week long drones in conservation workshop with the Wildlife Society where learned to plan routes, fly drones, environmental and wildlife considerations and regulations and how to analyse and collate imagery and geo reference to a map using ArcGIS. We also used ArcGIS for our project in which find a number of hidden plastic turkeys with drone imagery from a route that we planned and executed in teams of 3.

Science communication and Docenting/Guide experience

I have been working with the Scientific community on twitter to support and boost the engagement in science communication games (eg #cougarOrNot / #CrowOrNo #barkingUpATree etc).

I used Python to automate a Twitter bot that retweets science communication games:

https://natbat.github.io/scicomm-calendar/

I have also worked extensively with the iNaturalist API. Simon and I just launched MVP of the site we’ve been working on for the last few days. It’s a site to get people interested in Tidepooling and help figure out the best low tides to visit in the next month that are in daylight hours.

https://www.rockybeaches.com/us/pillar-point

Another site we launched was for the Super Bowl / Superb Owl

https://www.owlsnearme.com

I am working to publish and create a library of nature videos for the Bay Area.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCu_N3UP2o8JdnNmGAhYRijQ

Here is the educational video of me talking about how 50% of all Californian Sealions are born on June 15th and the rest are born that week:

https://youtu.be/Z2B_cbp34D8

youtube

My educational video on redwood trees:

https://youtu.be/3DzN2De9ANc

youtube

I have been a volunteer Docent/Guide at the Marine Mammal Center for a year, I have done nearly 100 hours of Docenting. This involved customer engagement through storytelling to help spark people’s passion about marine mammals and lead them into behavioural change to save the oceans and the planet. (See below for more details and recommendations I have received on this role). I have also taken the tour guide training and was in the process of graduating as a tour guide when the pandemic temporarily closed the Center.

I took part in Science Hackday 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Marine Mammal experience

I have been volunteering at The Marine Mammal Center in Marin, California on the animal care crew (Tuesday daytime topside) more details on this can be found in the volunteering section of my LinkedIn profile.

In summary this consisted of in-pen experience with marine mammals such as Elephant Seals, Northern & Guadalupe Fur Seals, California & Stellar Sea lions. Working as part of a team to follow protocols (such as tube feeding), do detail oriented work and care for the animals in a high stress, high risk environment.

I trained in ‘Elephant Seal progression’ which involved direct interaction with young & yearling Elephant seals 'fish school' monitoring their behaviour and teaching them to activate their instincts to recognise fish as food & overcome gag reflex to swallow and eat fish on the pen floor & in the pool. I spent several seasons as part of the Fish school team. Part of this work required detailed charting of observations and behaviours for continuity between teams and vet-staff to be informed.

The Fish kitchen experience (both participating in and running fish kitchen) involved, organising orders, labels and buckets, measuring quantities, performing quality assurance & adding medication to fish, making measuring and drawing up fish mash and electrolytes.

I ran the fish kitchen operation on several occasions, organising, prioritising and managing teams to take the fish to the pens, taking reports of the feeds/observations and charting this for vet staff.

I helped release Elephant Seals to the wild which is an incredibly magical experience knowing you have helped these animals recover. I have participated as part of the release team on two releases at Chimney rock which is a different sort of high-stress/risk environment because you are out in the wild and there are adult elephant seals around on the beach.

I've taken the Animal care class & the Advanced animal care class yearly and the Elephant Seal Progression class.

Neighborhood campaigns and local politics

I have been campaigning with some friends and neighbors to save trees in Hayes Valley, this included putting out petitions, posters, social media campaigns, surveys, writing speeches, and speaking out at public meeting city hearings and appeals (both for hayes valley and other neighborhoods) and negotiating for terms of replacement trees directly with the Bureau of Urban Forestry.

For more information on our campaign’s achievements: https://blog.natbat.net/post/623649015818485760/hayes-valley-trees

Ham Radio and Disaster response experience

I trained with the SF fire department Neighborhood Emergancy Response Team (NERT predecessor to the CERT programs elsewhere in California) in 2017. This was a 3 day program with a license for 2 years and I have renewed again in 2019. I have attended a NERT Drill and have done three graduate NERT classes, psychological first aid, pet preparedness and first aid and Emergency Communications.

I took a Ham Radio class with the SF Ham Radio Club in June 2017. I arranged study groups with some friends. I took the exam for the Technical License and passed first time with a score of 34/35. In September 2017 I passed my General License (Intermediate) exam. My callsign is KM6LCB.

I volunteered at the San Francisco Marathon on the communications team on the part of the route that blocked in the SF blood bank. I’ve taken part in two treasure hunt style simplex competitions with friends, run by a friend who used to write the MIT treasure hunt.

Expeditions

Simon and I went on a week long kyacking and camping expedition in Baja Mexico in with Naturalists and Guides from Seatrek to find Blue and Grey whales in n Feb 2019

I planned and organized a 4 week expedition to Madagascar in September 2019. I wanted to see as many Lemurs in the wild as possible so my plan took me to a distribution of biodiversity hotspots all over the country (some of which were very hard to get to and involved chartering boat or hiking for miles).

I worked with an independant local guide and together we booked accomodations and arranged logistics around constraints of time, budget route and amount of lemurs. We saw 28 (of the hundred or so extant) different species of Lemur in the wild. Hiked twice a day including a lot of night hikes to see bats and nocturnal lemurs and fosa fusana. I learned enough Malagasy to communicate basic needs and facts about animals!

#personal #tech #conference #naturalist #docent #marine mammals #bats #tidepooling #ham radio #expeditions

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