Page 10 - OutdoorOK-2023-September-October-Low

THESE SPECIES PUT THE EEK! IN ECOLOGY

BY JENA DONNELL, COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION SPECIALIST

Ecology — a branch of science that focuses on how around the body, making it virtually undetectable. To
organisms interact with each other and fit in their envi- study their habits, researchers have captured flying
ronment — shapes much of the Wildlife Department’s bats in specialized nets, attached small radio trans-
studies and management decisions. As Halloween mitters, and tracked the bats back to their roosts.
season nears, we thought it appropriate to share eco- During colder periods, red bats may retreat to leaf
logical stories of a few eek-worthy species found in piles that are 2.5-inches deep to better avoid the ele-
Outdoor Oklahoma. ments. While this tactic can be risky — a prescribed
SETH SCHUBERT/READERS' PHOTO SHOWCASE 2020 sive parenting skills; most least two times faster with smoke and sounds of fire
or natural fire may burn through the litter while the
Invertebrates aren’t
well-known for their exten-
bats are in torpor — a study found the bats stirred at
than they did without the fire cues.
employ a strategy that
involves producing large
Learn more about Oklahoma’s bat community in
the Wildlife Department’s Bats of Oklahoma Field
numbers of offspring but
providing little to no care.
Decomposers such as turkey vultures may not have
The expectation is that
the most glamorous ecological story, but these scav-
the fittest young will sur- Guide, available at wildlifedepartment.com.
vive the odds without any enging birds do
additional investment of have several traits
Wolf spider — EEK! STEPHEN OFSTHUN
the adults. Wolf spiders, a family of spiders that actively that make them
hunts their prey instead of snaring food items in a web, well-adapted to
deviate slightly from that loose rule. their eek-worthy
Instead of using their spinnerets to spin webs, role. They feed
female wolf spiders use the structures to attach their largely on wild or
egg sacs to their bodies. When the spiderlings are domestic carrion,
ready to hatch, the female makes a tear in the egg sac with a slant toward
and dozens of young spiders emerge. They scramble dead mammals.
onto the female’s back, layer upon layer, where they The bald head
stay for at least a week. After that brief brooding helps keep feath-
period, spiderlings will move away from the female ers from fouling
and begin hunting on their own. while the birds
Your sightings of spiders — of the non-plastic feed on decaying
variety — can be shared on free nature website such Turkey vulture — EEK! carcasses, and the
as iNaturalist. open sinuses may also help with post-meal cleanup.
The eastern red bat may be Oklahoma’s most com- Turkey vultures rely on their highly developed
mon bat, but its ability to disguise itself as a curled or sense of smell to find food; once a carcass is found,
dead leaf has presented the birds may gorge and then go days without feed-
JENA DONNELL/ODWC undeniable challenges ing. The birds’ strong stomach acid helps with diges-
for ecologists who want
tion and may lead to a resistance to bacteria and
to describe this spe-
birds feed upon.
cies’ winter habitat use. viruses that may be present in the carcasses these
This “tree bat” roosts Hear the turkey vulture’s formidable “hiss” and
among the leaves, with learn more about the birds with the Cornell Lab of
its furred tail wrapped Ornithology’s online guide.

Eastern red bat — EEK!

8 OFF THE BEATEN PATH