All of the bats living in Canada eat insects; however, we have very poor knowledge regarding the specific species of insects that they eat. One of the objectives of this project is to increase our understanding of the insects that bats eat by examining their feces, which is commonly referred to as guano. Some parts of bats are not digestible by bats, and thus, these undigested pieces can be seen in guano. By determining the insects that bats eat, we may be able to take conservation measures to protect the food of bats. Moreover, this information can also be used to predict the insect populations that are likely to increase due to declining populations of bats.
Are you interested in sampling guano for our project? Just follow the protocol found here.