Bat response to prescribed fire and overstory thinning in hardwood forest on the Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee

Cox, Maxwell R.; Willcox, Emma V.; Keyser, Patrick D.; Yacht, Andrew L. Vander

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2015.09.048

Cited by 51 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Shortleaf pine restoration also provides important habitat for the federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), and also positively impacts diversity and/or abundance of populations of taxa including butterflies, reptiles, amphibians [24], other birds [25,26] and small mammals [27]. Shortleaf pine stands, characterized by relatively frequent fire maintaining low basal area, also provide important habitat for endangered Indiana bats (Myotis sodalis) [28], as well as a number of other bat species [29].…”

Section: Shortleaf Pine Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishing Pine Monocultures and Mixed Pine-Hardwood Stands on Reclaimed Surface Mined Land in Eastern Kentucky: Implications for Forest Resilience in a Changing Climate

Bell

Sena

Barton

et al. 2017

Forests

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Surface mining and mine reclamation practices have caused significant forest loss and forest fragmentation in Appalachia. Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) is threatened by a variety of stresses, including diseases, pests, poor management, altered fire regimes, and climate change, and the species is the subject of a widescale restoration effort. Surface mines may present opportunity for shortleaf pine restoration; however, the survival and growth of shortleaf pine on these harsh sites has not been critically evaluated. This paper presents first-year survival and growth of native shortleaf pine planted on a reclaimed surface mine, compared to non-native loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), which has been highly successful in previous mined land reclamation plantings. Pine monoculture plots are also compared to pine-hardwood polyculture plots to evaluate effects of planting mix on tree growth and survival, as well as soil health. Initial survival of shortleaf pine is low (42%), but height growth is similar to that of loblolly pine. No differences in survival or growth were observed between monoculture and polyculture treatments. Additional surveys in coming years will address longer-term growth and survival patterns of these species, as well as changes to relevant soil health endpoints, such as soil carbon.

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Section: Shortleaf Pine Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishing Pine Monocultures and Mixed Pine-Hardwood Stands on Reclaimed Surface Mined Land in Eastern Kentucky: Implications for Forest Resilience in a Changing Climate

Bell

Sena

Barton

et al. 2017

Forests

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“…It was surprising that activity of Pteronotus spp., a species that typically prefers narrow spaces and is adapted to flying in clutter [67], was inversely related to vertical obstruction, a measure of vegetation density. However, a similar response was observed for temperate bat species that favor narrow spaces [77,[79][80][81]. Narrow-space species may be better able to exploit forest habitats regardless of clutter, and may forage in areas that are most profitable [82].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

“…In temperate regions, increases in activity of open-space aerial insectivorous bat species, similar to Promops and Lasiurus spp., are associated with reduced tree density that occurs following thinning. The structural changes resulting from reduced tree density benefit these bats by creating a habitat structure they are able to use more effectively [27,50,77,78].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest Structure and Composition Affect Bats in a Tropical Evergreen Broadleaf Forest

Willcox

Giuliano

Watine

et al. 2017

Forests

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Abstract:The lack of knowledge regarding many aerial insectivorous bats and their relationships with forest characteristics limits conservation decision-making for tropical rainforests and for this important bat group. Therefore, our objective was to understand the effects of forest structure and composition on these bats in the Neotropical evergreen broadleaf forest of Belize, Central America. We conducted bat monitoring and quantified 51 forest characteristics at 24 locations in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve (CFR) from May-July 2014. Simple linear and backward stepwise multiple regression analyses were used to examine relationships between bat richness and activity and forest characteristics. Bat genus richness and total activity were directly related to overstory canopy depth and inversely related to ≤4 structural characteristics. Lasiurus, Myotis, Promops, and Pteronotus spp. were affected by ≤7 forest characteristics; the responses were explained by preferences for less-cluttered, open space for flying and foraging and species-specific food and cover requirements. However, bat richness and activity were often unaffected by forest structure and composition in the CFR, suggesting that at this taxonomic level, bats may not be very sensitive to variation in forest characteristics, may not be very useful indicators of alteration, and may have some tolerance for disturbance and change.

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“…For example, bat activity along cliff faces was higher than activity recorded in forested areas in the eastern United States that do not contain cliffs (Owen et al 2004;Loeb and Waldrop 2008;Armitage and Ober 2012;Cox et al 2016). We recorded an average of 198.4 passes per night along climbed cliffs with many sites having well over 300 passes in a night (Table S1, Supplemental Material).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…We recorded an average of 198.4 passes per night along climbed cliffs with many sites having well over 300 passes in a night (Table S1, Supplemental Material). In contrast, the number of bat passes per night was 11.9 in longleaf Pinus palustris forests in Florida (Armitage and Ober 2012); 12.6-36.2 in loblolly pine Pinus taeda forests of South Carolina (Loeb and Waldrop 2008), 30.1 in managed forests of West Virginia (Owen et al 2004), and 42.6 in hardwood stands of Tennessee (Cox et al 2016). Ancillotto et al (2014) suggested that cliffs are an important foraging habitat for bats on small islands, but little is known about use of cliff faces as foraging habitat for bats on mainlands.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Activity of Southeastern Bats Along Sandstone Cliffs Used for Rock Climbing

Loeb

Jodice

2018

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management

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Bats in the eastern United States are facing numerous threats and many species are in decline. Although several species of bats commonly roost in cliffs, researchers know little about use of cliffs for foraging and roosting. Because rock climbing is a rapidly growing sport and may cause disturbance to bats, our objectives were to examine use of cliff habitats by bats and to assess the effects of climbing on their activity. We used radiotelemetry to track small-footed bats Myotis leibii to day roosts, and Anabat SD2 detectors to compare bat activity between climbed and unclimbed areas of regularly climbed cliff faces, and between climbed and unclimbed cliffs. We tracked four adult male smallfooted bats to nine day roosts, all of which were in various types of crevices including five cliff-face roosts (three on climbed and two on unclimbed faces). Bat activity was high along climbed cliffs and did not differ between climbed and unclimbed areas of climbed cliffs. In contrast, overall bat activity was significantly higher along climbed cliffs than unclimbed cliffs; species richness did not differ between climbed and unclimbed cliffs or areas. Lower activity along unclimbed cliffs may have been related to lower cliff heights and more clutter along these cliff faces. Due to limited access to unclimbed cliffs of comparable size to climbed cliffs, we could not thoroughly test the effects of climbing on bat foraging and roosting activity. However, the high overall use of climbed and unclimbed cliff faces for foraging and commuting that we observed suggests that cliffs may be important habitat for a number of bat species. Additional research on bats' use of cliff faces will improve our understanding of the factors that affect their use of this habitat including the impacts of climbing.

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Bat response to prescribed fire and overstory thinning in hardwood forest on the Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee

Cited by 51 publications

References 54 publications

Establishing Pine Monocultures and Mixed Pine-Hardwood Stands on Reclaimed Surface Mined Land in Eastern Kentucky: Implications for Forest Resilience in a Changing Climate

Establishing Pine Monocultures and Mixed Pine-Hardwood Stands on Reclaimed Surface Mined Land in Eastern Kentucky: Implications for Forest Resilience in a Changing Climate

Forest Structure and Composition Affect Bats in a Tropical Evergreen Broadleaf Forest

Activity of Southeastern Bats Along Sandstone Cliffs Used for Rock Climbing

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