Habitat Selection and Roosting Ranges of Northern Long-eared Bats (Myotis Septentrionalis) in an Experimental Hardwood Forest System PDF Download

Author: Holly A. Badin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Northern long-eared myotis
Languages : en
Pages : 90

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Author: Jocelyn R. Karsk
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Northern long-eared myotis
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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This study presents the findings of a habitat suitability model for the northern long-eared bat maternity roosting habitat (Myotis septentrionalis) in a three-county region in southern Indiana. The northern long-eared bat was added to the endangered species list in 2015 and understanding its' habitat selection at the landscape scale is important to aid in minimizing population declines. Female northern long-eared bats were captured and fitted with transmitters in Morgan Monroe and Yellowwood state forests during the 2012-2015 summer maternity season. These bats were tracked to day roosts where location and habitat information was recorded. We used ArcMap to plot roost tree locations and extract landscape-level environmental variables. MaxEnt was used to evaluate which environmental variables of interest were of greatest importance to northern long-eared bats in our study. Our final model included a map indicating areas most suitable to northern long-eared bats. Our model indicated that elevation, distance to roads, and distance to regeneration openings had the most influence on which habitats bats used for roosting.

Author: Ellen M. Whittle
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bats
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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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.

Author: Timothy J. Krynak
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Animals
Languages : en
Pages : 83

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Author: Marissa Michelle Thalken
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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 114

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Author: Alexander Silvis
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ISBN:
Category : Bats
Languages : en
Pages : 7

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We report characteristics of seven tree cavities used as day-roosts by female northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis) during the maternity season in a deciduous forest in north-central Kentucky. Understanding the characteristics of cavities selected by bats will help us better understand the ecology of cavity roosting bats and the tree species and condition necessary for providing day-roost habitat. Cavity openings were created by either fungal decay or primary excavators. Length and volume of cavities were positively related to number of entrances. Mean area of entrances was positively related to the proportion of entrances created by primary excavators.

Author: Jacquelyn A. Dearborn
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 138

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While bottomland hardwoods used to encompass a large portion of the south-central United States, due to clear cutting for agriculture and other purposes, the amount of bottomland hardwoods present has been reduced by almost 88 percent from its previous extent. At the same time, bat surveys in the Midwest after the arrival of white-nose syndrome (WNS) have shown declines in populations of Indiana bats (Myotis sodalis), northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis), little brown bats (Myotis lucifigus), and tri-colored bats (Perimyotis subflavus). Due to these threats to bat populations, it is important to gain information on how various bat species in the Midwest United States utilize the landscape within bottomland hardwood ecosystems in order to inform conservation efforts. There were two main objectives to this study. First, we sought to determine which roost site characteristics influence selection of a roost location by individuals in maternity colonies of Indiana bats. Second, we wanted to evaluate which habitat characteristics influenced occupancy of morphologically similar species within bottomland hardwood ecosystems in the Midwest United States: Myotis species, tri-colored bats, and evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis).

Author: Dane A. Smith
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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North American bat species face a range of environmental stressors which have negatively impacted recovery of the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and led to inclusion of the northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) as a federally threatened species. Historic threats like disturbance of winter hibernacula and habitat loss continue to imperil both species, but the introduction of the fungal disease white-nose syndrome (WNS) into North America in 2006 resulted in substantial population declines in several species of Myotine bats in the eastern and central portions of the United States. Prior to the emergence of WNS, M. septentrionalis populations were estimated in the millions, and the rangewide M. sodalis population had experienced almost a decade of steady recovery. However, since the onset of WNS, M. sodalis populations have declined steadily and M. septentrionalis now faces extirpation from much of its range. Additionally, the development of wind power facilities across large portions of the central U.S. has increased the likelihood that critical habitat will be lost or fragmented and pose a new threat of large-scale mortality caused by collisions between bats and turbine blades. Objectives of this study were to 1) quantify maternity habitat characteristics of the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) in northern Missouri to identify factors that drive selection and 2) identify local- and landscape-scale habitat characteristics associated with occupancy of M. sodalis and M. septentrionalis. To identify drivers of maternity roost selection of M. sodalis in Northern Missouri, we used mist nets to capture pregnant and lactating females during the summers of 2017 and 2018 and applied radio transmitters to individuals with sufficient body mass. We tracked 24 M. sodalis for an average of 5.8 days and identified 21 roost trees. We conducted emergence counts at each roost to classify them as primary or alternate and collected habitat data for each tree and the surrounding area. We then collected the same habitat data at available roosts and used discrete choice models to compare selected roosts with available trees within the study area. The top ranked model for primary roosts included tree diameter (DBH), tree height, and canopy cover while the top ranked model for alternate roosts included DBH, snag basal area, and canopy cover. Our results indicate that the probability of primary roost selection was greatest for trees with DBH ~ 50 cm and height of ~ 17 m. Roost site selection probability decreased with canopy closure, falling to 0 above ~ 75% closure. The probability of selection for alternate roosts was associated with greater canopy closure (~ 75%), smaller trees (~ 35 cm) and was positively associated with snag basal area. Land managers who wish to promote maternity habitat for M. sodalis could preserve existing snags, implement techniques to create new large-diameter snags, and, when possible, acquire additional bottomland hardwood forests to ensure the availability of an extensive network of available roost trees. To identify the local- and landscape-scale factors associated with occupancy of M. sodalis and M. septentrionalis, we used ANABAT SD1 acoustic detectors to record the echolocation calls of passing bats at 87 sites during the maternity seasons of 2017 and 2018. We deployed three detectors at each site for a minimum of two consecutive nights and recorded a total of 581 detector nights. Calls were identified to species, and detection histories of M. sodalis and M. septentrionalis were used to develop single-season occupancy models which used environmental covariates to estimate the probability of detecting each target species and evaluated the effects of local and landscape habitat characteristics on occupancy probability. The top detection model for M. sodalis included minimum temperature, barometric pressure, average wind speed, and moon minutes. The top detection model for M. septentrionalis included amount of precipitation. Our models indicate that the primary drivers of M. sodalis occupancy were percent of landscape (3 km) composed of wooded wetlands, distance to nearest wooded wetland, forest connectivity, forest shape, and wetland connectivity. Occupancy was positively associated with the proportion of wooded wetlands on the landscape, forest shape, and wetland connectivity and negatively associated with distance to nearest wooded wetland, forest connectivity, and proportion of forest on the landscape. The primary factors associated with M. septentrionalis occupancy were proportion of wooded wetlands on the landscape and wetland connectivity. Occupancy was positively associated with proportion of wooded wetlands and negatively associated with the degree to which wetlands were connected. We recommend land managers preserve riparian forest habitat and enact measures to reduce clutter and stem density in upland forests to improve overall habitat suitability and increase the likelihood that forests in this region can support foraging Myotis bats.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bats
Languages : en
Pages : 8

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Author: Frank Richard Thompson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bats
Languages : en
Pages : 92

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