Annual Report

Annual Report
Author: Mississippi State University. Forest and Wildlife Research Center
Publisher:
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2009
Genre: Forest products
ISBN:

Multi-scale Roost Site Selection by Rafinesque's Big-eared Bats and Southeastern Myotis in Mississippi

Multi-scale Roost Site Selection by Rafinesque's Big-eared Bats and Southeastern Myotis in Mississippi
Author: Heather Lynne Fleming
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2011
Genre: Bats
ISBN:

Rafinesque's big-eared bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii; RBEB) and southeastern myotis (Myotis austroriparius; SEM) are listed on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Limited information on roost sites exists. I conducted roost surveys for RBEB and SEM on public forest lands in central Mississippi during winter and spring 2010. During winter, RBEB and SEM roosted in cavity trees with greater trunk diameters. In spring, roost trees used by SEM were located in forested areas of lower elevation, less slope, and greater distances from roads. Because imperfect detection can affect occupancy estimates, I estimated detection probabilities under different survey methods. Detection probability ranged from 95 - 100% and 92 - 99% when one to 2 observers used repeated surveys and removal method, respectfully. When estimating for abundance, presence of ̳20 bats led to count errors of

Context-dependent Selection and Temporal Use of Roost-sites by Female Northern Long-eared Bats

Context-dependent Selection and Temporal Use of Roost-sites by Female Northern Long-eared Bats
Author: Ellen M. Whittle
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022
Genre: Bats
ISBN:

Delineating habitat preferences, especially those of imperiled species, is critical to ensure that species have access to resources needed to persist. In addition to overall preferences, establishing the phenology of sensitive periods such as reproduction can be challenging for small, cryptic species such as bats. We conducted an empirical study in northeast Wyoming, USA, to characterize the habitat selection of northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis). Objectives in Chapter 1 were to (1) characterize the maternity roost-site preferences of endangered northern long-eared bats in a peripheral population occurring within a forest managed for timber harvest, and (2) determine whether roost-site preferences and switching were modulated by weather conditions. Chapter 2 objectives were (1) to assess whether maternity roost trees of northern long-eared bats are used for multiple years in northeast Wyoming; (2) to determine whether intra-seasonal occupation of maternity roosts in northeast Wyoming matches the timing of seasonal protections for northern long-eared bats; and (3) to assess the efficacy of motion-triggered game cameras for determining occupancy of maternity roosts. In our first chapter, we found that bats were more likely to select quaking aspens, snags, and trees relatively large in diameter; however, these preferences were modulated by daily weather conditions and reproductive state. Bats roosted more often in pine at warm temperatures and while lactating, and in snags when solar radiation was high and precipitation low. Bats preferred forest patches with higher canopy cover and a larger proportion of snags. In our second chapter, we documented colony occupation at maternity roosts across multiple years and outside of the protected season of June—July. We also recorded rarely documented behaviors, including pup carrying, with motion-triggered game cameras. Our findings provide guidance on habitat types that would be beneficial to conserve for northern long-eared bat populations, and more broadly, that context-dependence is an important consideration for habitat-selection studies. Peripheral populations may be critical for future recovery of declining species; however, seasonal protections against habitat disturbance may be mismatched with the phenology of populations at range edges.

Bats in the Anthropocene: Conservation of Bats in a Changing World

Bats in the Anthropocene: Conservation of Bats in a Changing World
Author: Christian C. Voigt
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 601
Release: 2015-12-07
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 3319252208

This book focuses on central themes related to the conservation of bats. It details their response to land-use change and management practices, intensified urbanization and roost disturbance and loss. Increasing interactions between humans and bats as a result of hunting, disease relationships, occupation of human dwellings, and conflict over fruit crops are explored in depth. Finally, contributors highlight the roles that taxonomy, conservation networks and conservation psychology have to play in conserving this imperilled but vital taxon. With over 1300 species, bats are the second largest order of mammals, yet as the Anthropocene dawns, bat populations around the world are in decline. Greater understanding of the anthropogenic drivers of this decline and exploration of possible mitigation measures are urgently needed if we are to retain global bat diversity in the coming decades. This book brings together teams of international experts to provide a global review of current understanding and recommend directions for future research and mitigation.

Bats in Forests

Bats in Forests
Author: Michael J. Lacki
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2007-05-11
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0801884993

Although bats are often thought of as cave dwellers, many species depend on forests for all or part of the year. Of the 45 species of bats in North America, more than half depend on forests, using the bark of trees, tree cavities, or canopy foliage as roosting sites. Over the past two decades it has become increasingly clear that bat conservation and management are strongly linked to the health of forests within their range. Initially driven by concern for endangered species—the Indiana bat, for example—forest ecologists, timber managers, government agencies, and conservation organizations have been altering management plans and silvicultural practices to better accommodate bat species. Bats in Forests presents the work of a variety of experts who address many aspects of the ecology and conservation of bats. The chapter authors describe bat behavior, including the selection of roosts, foraging patterns, and seasonal migration as they relate to forests. They also discuss forest management and its influence on bat habitat. Both public lands and privately owned forests are considered, as well as techniques for monitoring bat populations and activity. The important role bats play in the ecology of forests—from control of insects to nutrient recycling—is revealed by a number of authors. Bat ecologists, bat conservationists, forest ecologists, and forest managers will find in this book an indispensable synthesis of the topics that concern them.