Habitat selection by the Northern Long-eared Myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) in the Midwestern United States: Life in a shredded farmscape

Abstract

Populations of the Northern Long-Eared Myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) have declined dramatically in recent years in eastern North America due to white-nose syndrome. Although M. septentrionalis was once common in parts of eastern North America, few studies have examined habitat selection of this species in an agricultural landscape. We used acoustical methods to quantify bat activity and construct a habitat model of M. septentrionalis in an intensively farmed area in the Midwestern United States, where mortality from white-nose syndrome has not yet been observed. Our study confirms that M. septentrionalis prefers forest and avoids open habitats in this agricultural region. The best landscape variable for predicting activity in woodland sites was the proportion of forest coverage within a radius of 2000 meters. Our analysis indicates that bat activity increased exponentially as forest coverage increased. There is no evidence that M. septentrionalis preferred open areas at the edge of forest (within 5 m of forest edge), or that once in the woods, the distance to the forest edge had any impact on activity.

Interspecific variation in lower temperature thresholds of an assemblage of wintering bats

“…Variation in winter temperature thresholds likely exists in all winter bat assemblages, but previous studies may have been limited in the abilities to characterize interspecific differences by low species richness typical of more northern latitudes (Lausen and Barclay 2006;Falxa 2007;Schwab 2014;White et al 2014; No difference in the lower temperature thresholds of L. cinereus and N. humeralis (Tukey's post hoc P > 0.05). Klüg-Baerwald et al 2016;Lemen et al 2016;Johnson et al 2017;Reynolds et al 2017).…”

“…Despite a growing list of anecdotal records (Boyles et al 2006), winter bat activity is generally perceived as rare. At more northern latitudes, some species are intermittently active throughout winter (e.g., Schwab 2014; White et al 2014; Klüg-Baerwald et al 2016) while a growing body of literature has indicated a higher diversity of winter-active bats at southern latitudes (e.g., Grider et al 2016; Bernard and McCracken 2017; Stevens et al 2020; Jackson et al 2022; Kunberger and Long 2022) where winters are warmer and shorter.…”

“…All temperate bat species can use torpor to escape adverse weather conditions, but morphological and ecological characteristics might determine the conditions under which each species is active. Interspecific variation in winter activity is difficult to assess at northern latitudes because overall activity is low and there are generally few species present during winter (Lausen and Barclay 2006; Falxa 2007; Schwab 2014; White et al 2014; Klüg-Baerwald et al 2016; Lemen et al 2016; Johnson et al 2017; Reynolds et al 2017). Conversely, at southern latitudes, there is greater species richness (Stevens and Willig 2002), including overwintering migrants that arrive from more northern summer locations (Cryan 2003; Fraser et al 2012).…”

Observations on the Distribution and Status of Selected Nebraska Mammals

“…Remarks.-The northern long-eared myotis has been the subject of intensive study in Nebraska in recent years because the species is vulnerable to white-nose syndrome and listed as a federally threatened species (Geluso et al 2015, Lemen et al 2016a, Stein and White 2016, White et al 2017a, 2017b, Brack et al 2019. Johnson and Geluso (2017) mapped the species occurring in 14 counties in the state, with the distribution in a rough crescent shape with records along the Niobrara River in the north as far west as Sheridan County, Missouri River in the east, and Republican River in the south to as far west as Harlan County (Johnson and Geluso 2017).…”

Mid-Atlantic Big Brown and Eastern Red Bats: Relationships between Acoustic Activity and Reproductive Phenology

“…Passive acoustic monitoring is often used in lieu of mist-netting, as it has a higher probability of detecting rare bat species than mist-netting surveys, which generally have low capture rates relative to bat activity [ 11 , 12 ]. Acoustic monitoring has been used to document bat species’ distributions and habitat associations, as well as within-night activity patterns relative to weather and white-nose syndrome (WNS) impacts [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. However, the relationship between summer acoustic data and the timing of reproductive phases has not been well studied.…”