SPEAKER: Susan Loeb, Southern Research Station, U.S. Forest Service, Clemson

TITLE: Challenges in Managing a Wide-Ranging “Endangered” Species in the Southeast 

ABSTRACT: Tricolored bat populations in eastern North America have been greatly impacted by white-nose syndrome (WNS), a deadly fungal disease that infects bats when they are in their cold winter hibernacula. Consequently, this species is likely to be listed as threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. However, many parts of the Southeast are WNS-free. This talk will discuss research conducted by the Clemson Bat Lab to understand tricolored bats’ responses and potential responses to this disease throughout the Southeast and discuss possible management strategies.

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY: Susan Loeb has been a Research Ecologist with the US Forest Service, Southern Research Station and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation at Clemson University since 1988.  She received her B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford University and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Ecology at University of California, Davis. For the past 25 years she has been studying the ecology of Southeastern bats, focusing on TES species, effects of forest management and other disturbances on bats, responses of bats to white-nose syndrome, and developing and testing monitoring programs for bats, including the development of the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat).

EVENT DETAILS: Faculty, students, and the public are invited to attend this program. Advanced registration is not required. Refreshments will be available after the seminar. Parking is available on the third and fourth floors in the South Quad Parking Deck across from the CFWE Building on Duncan Drive. To receive announcements about future seminars, download the 2024 Fall Seminar Calendar or request to join our email list at cfwecom@auburn.edu.

Contact the seminar host or Robert Gitzen at rag0012@auburn.edu if you would like to attend via Zoom or access a recorded version of the seminar.