Site occupancy of foraging bats on landscapes of managed pine forest

Bender, Michael; Castleberry, Steven B.; Miller, Darren A.; Wigley, T. Bently

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2014.10.004

Cited by 50 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…, Bender et al. ), Gehrt and Chelsvig () also found that localized habitat features were more important than landscape effects in predicting responses to urbanization. The importance of local versus landscape‐scale habitat characteristics likely varies depending on bat species and region (Walsh and Harris , Johnson et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Insect prey may also aggregate along the edges created by linear disturbances (Jokim€ aki et al 1998, Grindal and Brigham 1999, Deans et al 2005. Although some studies have shown landscape-level change to be significant for bats (Threlfall et al 2012a, Bender et al 2015, Gehrt and Chelsvig (2003) also found that localized habitat features were more important than landscape effects in predicting responses to urbanization. The importance of local versus landscape-scale habitat characteristics likely varies depending on bat species and region (Walsh and Harris 1996, Johnson et al 2008, Chambers et al 2016, Mendes et al 2017).…”

Section: Influence Of Landscape-scale Variables On Bat Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Life in a northern town: rural villages in the boreal forest are islands of habitat for an endangered bat

Thomas

Jung

2019

Ecosphere

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Citation: Thomas, J. P., and T. S. Jung. 2019. Life in a northern town: rural villages in the boreal forest are islands of habitat for an endangered bat.Abstract. Urban development is detrimental to many wildlife species; however, endangered little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) may be attracted to human settlements, making them a synurbic species. Buildings likely provide high-quality roosting habitat, which may be a limiting factor in the boreal forest where trees are typically small and potentially unsuitable for hosting large maternity colonies. In the boreal forest, there are relatively few urban developments in a matrix of wilderness and apparently suboptimal natural roosting habitat; thus, we hypothesized that isolated rural villages were islands of summer habitat for little brown bats that may be important for their conservation and recovery. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the relationship between little brown bat activity, foraging rates, and proximity to rural villages. We expected bat activity and foraging rates to increase with proximity to villages, as bats should optimally forage near their roosts to minimize flight costs. We used ultrasonic detectors to passively monitor bat activity near three rural villages in Yukon, Canada, and characterized bat habitat with forest measurements and remotely sensed data. Bat activity increased with proximity to village centers, but foraging activity did not, suggesting that human settlements in the boreal forest were important as roosting rather than foraging habitat. Bat activity was higher near water bodies and areas with relatively high densities of linear features (e.g., roads and transmission lines), perhaps because prey were most abundant near water features and along forest edges. The island phenomenon we observed (i.e., higher bat activity near villages) has also been documented in larger human settlements at lower latitudes, where urban areas provided better roosting habitat than surrounding agricultural matrices. Given that little brown bats were concentrated near rural villages, small human settlements should be a focus of conservation efforts in the boreal forest-particularly the identification and protection of buildings used as maternity colonies. Our study advances knowledge of little brown bat habitat requirements in the boreal forest and identifies habitats that may be important for their recovery.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Influence Of Landscape-scale Variables On Bat Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Life in a northern town: rural villages in the boreal forest are islands of habitat for an endangered bat

Thomas

Jung

2019

Ecosphere

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“…Using ArcGIS, we generated random points across the landscapes within forests containing suitable roosting habitat (i.e., mature trees). For each roost and random location, we determined forest type and measured distance to nearest fresh water and open area, which we assumed represented foraging habitat (Mager and Nelson 2001, Perry et al 2008, Bender et al 2015). Open areas were absent of canopy species and included salt marsh, shrub habitat, and dunes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some tree‐roosting bats have low tree fidelity but strong site fidelity, suggesting characteristics at larger scales may be more influential (Elmore et al 2004, Hein et al 2008). Forest cover type and age, amount of forest edge, and forest patch configuration also affect roost site selection and can have important fitness consequences (Crampton and Barclay 1998, Miles et al 2006, Perry et al 2007 b , Snider et al 2013, Bender et al 2015). Many species select roost sites close to fresh water sources, which may reduce commuting costs (Miles et al 2006, Watrous et al 2006, Limpert et al 2007, Perry et al 2008).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Understanding how landscape‐level features affect roost selection by forest bats can have important management implications. For example, manipulation of forest characteristics such as reducing tree density (i.e., thinning) decreases mid‐story clutter and provides more desirable foraging and roosting conditions for some species (Crampton and Barclay 1998; Perry et al 2007 b , 2008; Bender et al 2015).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Multi‐Scale Assessment of Male Northern Yellow Bat Roost Selection

et al. 2020

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Knowledge of roost selection by northern yellow bats (Lasiurus intermedius) is limited to a small number of known roost locations. Yet knowledge of basic life history is fundamental to understanding past response to anthropogenic change and to predict how species will respond to future environmental change. Therefore, we examined male northern yellow bat roost selection on 2 Georgia, USA, barrier islands with different disturbance histories. Sapelo Island has a history of extensive disturbance and is dominated by pine (Pinus spp.) forests; Little Saint Simons Island has a limited disturbance history with maritime oak (Quercus spp.) forest as the dominant cover type. From March-July 2012 and 2013, we radiotracked 35 adult male northern yellow bats to diurnal roosts and modeled roost characteristics at the plot and landscape scales. We located 387 roosts, of which 95% were in Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) hanging in hardwood trees. On both islands, bats selected roost trees with larger diameters than surrounding trees and selected roost locations with greater open flight space (i.e., low midstory clutter) underneath. Roosts were located farther from open areas on Sapelo and closer to fresh water on Little Saint Simons compared to random locations. Lower availability of hardwood forest on Sapelo may have resulted in small-scale roost site selection (i.e., plot level) despite potential increased costs of commuting to water and open areas for foraging. In contrast, greater availability of hardwood forest on Little Saint Simons likely allowed selection of roosts closer to fresh water, which provides foraging and drinking opportunities. Our results indicate that mature hardwood trees in areas with low midstory clutter are important in male northern yellow bat roost selection, but landscape-level features have varying influences on roost selection, likely as a result of differences in disturbance history. Therefore, management will differ depending on the landscape context. Further research is needed to examine roost selection by females, which may have different habitat requirements.

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Bat community response to intensification of biomass production for bioenergy across the southeastern United States

Ober

Jones

Gottlieb

et al. 2020

Ecological Applications

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Human demand for food, fiber, and space is accelerating the rate of change of land cover and land use. Much of the world now consists of a matrix of natural forests, managed forests, agricultural cropland, and urbanized plots. Expansion of domestic energy production efforts in the United States is one driver predicted to influence future land-use and land management practices across large spatial scales. Favorable growing conditions make the southeastern United States an ideal location for producing a large portion of the country's renewable bioenergy. We investigated patterns of bat occurrence in two bioenergy feedstocks commonly grown in this region (corn, Zea mays, and pine, Pinus taeda and P. elliottii). We also evaluated potential impacts of the three major pathways of woody biomass extraction (residue removal following clearcut harvest, short-rotation energy plantations, and mid-rotation forest thinning) to bat occurrence through a priori land-use contrasts. We acoustically sampled bat vocalizations at 84 sites in the Southeastern Plains and Southern Coastal Plains of the southeastern United States across three years. We found that mid-rotation thinning resulted in positive effects on bat occurrence, and potential conversion of unmanaged (reference) forest to managed forest for timber and/or bioenergy harvest resulted in negative effects on bat occurrence when effects were averaged across all species. The effects of short-rotation energy plantations, removal of logging residues from plantation clearcuts, and corn were equivocal for all bat species examined. Our results suggest that accelerated production of biomass for energy production through either corn or intensively managed pine forests is not likely to have an adverse effect on bat communities, so long as existing older unmanaged forests are not converted to managed bioenergy or timber plantations. Beyond bioenergy crop production, mid-rotation thinning of even-aged pine stands intended for timber production, increases to the duration of plantation rotations to promote older forest stands, arranging forest stands and crop fields to maximize edge habitat, and maintaining unmanaged forests could benefit bat communities by augmenting roosting and foraging opportunities.

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Site occupancy of foraging bats on landscapes of managed pine forest

Cited by 50 publications

References 72 publications

Life in a northern town: rural villages in the boreal forest are islands of habitat for an endangered bat

Life in a northern town: rural villages in the boreal forest are islands of habitat for an endangered bat

Multi‐Scale Assessment of Male Northern Yellow Bat Roost Selection

Bat community response to intensification of biomass production for bioenergy across the southeastern United States

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