BOONE, N.C. — Lurking among the many bat species that make the Blue Ridge Parkway area their home — the eastern red bat, the big brown bat and the silver-haired bat, to name a few — is a silent killer known as white-nose syndrome (WNS).
Dr. Mark Spond, Appalachian State University’s liaison to the National Park Service (NPS), was awarded $8,098 in NPS funding to conduct a noncontact survey — specifically, an acoustic survey — of bats in the Blue Ridge Parkway area in fall 2018. An acoustic survey involves monitoring bat activity by listening to and/or recording the ultrasound — sound with a wave frequency higher than the human ear can detect — the bats produce.