No abstract

White-nose Syndrome (WNS), a wildlife health concern that has decimated cave-hibernating bat populations in eastern North America since 2006, began affecting source-caves for summer bat populations at Fort Drum, a U.S. Army installation in New York in the winter of 2007–2008. As regional die-offs of bats became evident, and Fort Drum's known populations began showing declines, we examined whether WNS-induced change in abundance patterns and seasonal timing of bat activity could be quantified using acoustical surveys, 2003–2010, at structurally uncluttered riparian–water habitats (i.e., streams, ponds, and wet meadows). As predicted, we observed significant declines in overall summer activity between pre-WNS and post-WNS years for little brown bats Myotis lucifugus, northern bats M. septentrionalis, and Indiana bats M. sodalis. We did not observe any significant change in activity patterns between pre-WNS and post-WNS years for big brown bats Eptesicus fuscus, eastern red bats Lasiurus borealis, or the small number of tri-colored bats Perimyotis subflavus. Activity of silver-haired bats Lasionycteris noctivagans increased from pre-WNS to post-WNS years. Activity levels of hoary bats Lasiurus cinereus significantly declined between pre- and post-WNS years. As a nonhibernating, migratory species, hoary bat declines might be correlated with wind-energy development impacts occurring in the same time frame rather than WNS. Intraseason activity patterns also were affected by WNS, though the results were highly variable among species. Little brown bats showed an overall increase in activity from early to late summer pre-WNS, presumably due to detections of newly volant young added to the local population. However, the opposite occurred post-WNS, indicating that reproduction among surviving little brown bats may be declining. Our data suggest that acoustical monitoring during the summer season can provide insights into species' relative abundance on the landscape as affected by the occurrence of WNS.

No abstract

We examined the relationship between bat species activity and composition and the extent of forest cover and urbanization in and adjacent to 11 U.S. using mist nets, harp traps, acoustical detectors, and visual observations in a variety of habitats. Our efforts included 363 trap nights across 74 sites along with acoustical sampling at 362 sites. We captured 383 bats and identified 6,380 echolocation passes of 6 species. Both overall and species-specific activities were affected more by forest fragmentation within parks than by urbanization adjacent to parks. With an ability to exploit anthropogenic structures for day-roosts, big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) were the most ubiquitous and probably the most abundant species in NCR Parks, particularly in forested, urban parks. Northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis), and to a lesser extent, little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) were more prevalent in forested, rural parks of the Ridge and Valley and Blue Ridge than in eastern, less forested urban parks of the Piedmont and Coastal Plain physiographic provinces. Retention of larger, residual forest tracts and dayroosting habitat (i.e., trees and snags) would be beneficial to most species, as urban expansion continues throughout the region.

No abstract

Reviews the available literature on the ecology of the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), including its selection of and use of hibernacula, roost trees, and foraging habitat. An extensive list of published references related to the Indiana bat is included.

No abstract

The Virginia northern flying squirrel Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus is a Vulnerable sciurid that has experienced a 90% reduction of suitable high elevation boreal montane forest habitat over the last century in the central Appalachians of West Virginia and Virginia, USA. Using radiotelemetry and GIS analyses we examined the species' home range size and habitat use in the Monongahela National Forest, Kumbrabow State Forest and the MeadWestvaco Ecosystem Research Forest in West Virginia during the summers of 2000–2003. The mean home range sizes of male and female squirrels were 54.2 and 15.3 ha, respectively, based on the adaptive kernel method. Euclidean distance analysis indicated the squirrels used spruce, mixed spruce-northern hardwood, and open habitats more than was available across the landscape. Selection of spruce and mixed spruce-northern hardwood habitats indicates that forest management activities designed to restore and increase these types in the central Appalachian landscape are required to conserve and increase this Vulnerable species.