Research by U.S. Forest Service scientists forecasts profound changes over the next 50 years in the summer range of the endangered Indiana bat. In an article published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, Forest Service Southern Research Station researchers Susan Loeb and Eric Winters discuss the findings of one of the first studies designed to forecast the responses of a temperate¹ zone（温带） bat species to climate change. The researchers modeled the current maternity² distribution of Indiana bats and then modeled future distributions based on four different climate change scenarios³. "We found that due to projected changes in temperature, the most suitable summer range for Indiana bats would decline and become concentrated in the northeastern United States and the Appalachian Mountains," says SRS research ecologist Loeb. "The western part of the range (Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio) -- currently considered the heart of Indiana bat maternity range -- would become unsuitable under most climates that we modeled. This has important implications for managers in the Northeast and the Appalachian Mountains as these areas will most likely serve as climatic refuges for these animals when other parts of the range become too warm."

 

In general, bat species in temperate zones such as Indiana bats may be more sensitive than many other groups of mammals to climate change because their reproductive cycles, hibernation⁴（冬眠） patterns, and migration⁵ are closely tied to temperature. Indiana bat populations were in decline for decades due to multiple factors, including the destruction of winter hibernation sites and loss of summer maternity habitat.

 

Due to conservation efforts, researchers saw an increase in Indiana bat populations in 2000 to 2005, but with the onset⁶ of white-nose syndrome⁷ populations are declining again, with the number of Indiana bats reported hibernating⁸ in the northeastern United States down by 72 percent in 2011. The study predicts even more declines due to temperature rises from climate change, with much of the western portion of the current range forecast to be unsuitable for maternity habitat by 2060.

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