Scientists have confirmed the migration of endangered Mexican long-nosed bats through southeastern Arizona using a novel, non-invasive method: analyzing saliva left on plants and hummingbird feeders.
Bat Conservation International collaborated with local residents in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas to gather saliva samples along potential bat migration routes. These samples were sent to Northern Arizona University, where Anna Riley, a microbiology major, extracted DNA to detect the presence of bats. The Mexican long-nosed bat, federally listed as endangered since 1988 and the only one in Arizona with such protection, is crucial for pollinating desert plants like cactus and agave.
Officials from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department celebrated this discovery, which increases Arizona's bat species count to 29. "If we were trying to identify the species in the absence of eDNA, biologists could spend hours and hours trying to catch one of these bats, and even then, you're not guaranteed to be successful," said Angie McIntire, a bat specialist. Kristen Lear, from Bat Conservation International, highlighted the success of eDNA in identifying wildlife presence, saying: "They do apparently leave behind a lot of spit on these plants and hummingbird feeders."
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Riley explained the process by saying: "There's a big database that has DNA sequences of not every animal but most species, and so we could compare our DNA sequences we got from these samples to what's in the database." The bats migrate from Mexico to the southwestern US every spring, following the nectar trail, and return in the fall. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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