The winter is a time when many of us settle in for some quieter time, rest and relaxation. Researchers from Trent University, including graduate students, along with partners at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), are exploring the same trends in wildlife, including flying squirrels and brown bats, and how they weather the frostier months in Canada.

Trent University wildlife research into the habits of flying squirrels and brown bats was recently featured on CBC’s The Nature of Things.

Monitoring of these tiny Canadian critters has shown two very different habits for these two animals. Flying squirrels need to stay light and nimble to glide from tree to tree and uncover food that they have cached for the winter. How do they stay warm without some extra winter weight? Research shows that they often gather as neighbours to cuddle up in treetop dens.

As for the bats, they are able to bring their body temperatures to ambient temperatures in order to save their fat reserves as they hibernate for the winter. And when they awaken, they shiver – much like humans do – to raise their body temperatures.

“The first thing that hits us when we walk into a cave or mine in winter are the stable conditions that make them good hibernation sites for bats. We'll walk from a dry, sunny, -30 degree afternoon into a dark tunnel that's just above freezing, with such high humidity that tiny droplets condense on the bats' fur, and glitter like rhinestones in the light of our headlamps,” notes Dr. Christina Davy adjunct professor in Trent’s Biology department, who works to monitor the wintering mammals. “It honestly feels like entering a sacred site – and we make sure we don't stay long, because our presence wakes the bats up. So we only check sites once per winter, and we collect our data and leave again as quickly as we can.”

Opportunities for students to work alongside leading wildlife experts

Trent graduate students, including Ph.D. candidates Lauren Hooton, Karen Vanderwolf and Sasha Newar, from the Environmental & Life Science program, are working closely with experts like Professor Davy, as well as Dr. Jeff Bowman, who is also an adjunct professor and research scientist with the MNRF. The unique relationship between Trent and MNRF, means that research staff are housed on campus and dozens of Trent students are able to take advantage of experiential learning opportunities.

“My supervisor Jeff Bowman is one of the only long-term flying squirrel researchers in Canada,” Ms. Newar says. “I worked for Jeff for four months before starting my graduate degree and had the opportunity to work on bats a handful of times. I thought the ultrasound calls they use were really interesting and were understudied in other animals. Sure enough, flying squirrels use ultrasonic calls too.”