New Records of the Eastern Small-footed Bat (Myotis leibii) in Arkansas

Sasse, D.; Risch, Thomas S.; Saugey, David A.; Harvey, Michael J.; Wilhide, J. D.; Redman, Ron; Jackson, Jovon; Klotz, Tracy; Moore, Patrick R.

doi:10.54119/jaas.2013.6735

Cited by 5 publications

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“…For instance, Eastern Chipmunks ( Tamias striatus ) were only documented in the Ozark Mountains where they frequently used armadillo burrows for foraging and dustbathing. Within Arkansas, the Eastern Chipmunk is absent from the Gulf Coastal Plain and Mississippi Alluvial Valley (Sasse, 2003) but is found throughout the Ouachita Mountains. However, there were patterns in burrow use for more widespread species such as the Groundhog ( Marmota monax ) which occurs throughout Arkansas but was only documented using burrows in the Ozark Mountains ( N = 9).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Tamias striatus) were only documented in the Ozark Mountains where they frequently used armadillo burrows for foraging and dustbathing. Within Arkansas, the Eastern Chipmunk is absent from the Gulf Coastal Plain and Mississippi Alluvial Valley(Sasse, 2003) but is found throughout the Ouachita Mountains. However, there were patterns in burrow use for more widespread species such as the Groundhog (Marmota monax) which occurs throughout Arkansas(Sylvilagus floridanus), Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), Raccoon (Procyon lotor), Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana), mice and, unsurprisingly, Ninebanded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus).…”

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Wildlife associates of nine‐banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) burrows in Arkansas

DeGregorio

Veon

Massey

2022

Ecology and Evolution

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The Nine‐banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) is a widespread burrowing species with an expanding geographic range across the southeastern and midwestern United States. Armadillos dig numerous, large burrows within their home ranges and these burrows are likely used by a diverse suite of wildlife species as has been reported for other burrowing ecosystem engineers such as Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus), Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizi), and Black‐tailed Prairie Dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). We used motion‐triggered game cameras at 35 armadillo burrows in 4 ecoregions of Arkansas and documented 19 species of mammals, 4 species of reptile, 1 species of amphibian, and 40 species of bird interacting with burrows. Bobcat (Lynx rufus), Coyote (Canis latrans), Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), Northern Raccoon (Procyon lotor), Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana), and unidentified rodents (mice and rats) were documented using burrows in all four ecoregions. We documented wildlife hunting, seeking shelter, rearing young in, and taking over and modifying armadillo burrows. The rate of use was highest in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, a landscape dominated by agriculture, where natural refugia may be limited and rodents are abundant. Armadillo burrows are clearly visited and used by numerous wildlife species to fulfill various life stage requirements, and this list will likely expand if more attention is devoted to understanding the role of armadillos burrows. Armadillos are important ecosystem engineers, and their ecological role warrants more investigation and attention as opposed to only being viewed and managed as agricultural and garden pests.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Wildlife associates of nine‐banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) burrows in Arkansas

DeGregorio

Veon

Massey

2022

Ecology and Evolution

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“…The impact of WNS has primarily been assessed based on trends in population estimates derived from surveys conducted in caves during winter hibernation (e.g., Cheng et al 2021) or from capture rates in mist nets during the summer months (e.g., Johnson et al 2021). However, in Arkansas the Eastern Small-footed Bat has been observed in only a few caves, usually in small numbers, and is rarely observed in other surveys such as mist netting (Sasse et al 2013) and the impact of WNS on this species in this state is unknown.…”

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confidence: 98%

“…The Eastern Small-footed Bat ( Myotis leibii ) is found in mountainous areas of eastern North American from Ontario southward through the Appalachians and westward to Oklahoma (Best and Jennings 1997). During the summer months, it usually roosts in cliff faces, steep talus slopes, and underneath flat rocks (Johnson and Gates 2008; Whitby et al 2013; Kearny et al 2022), although roosting in buildings and bridges has been observed (MacGregor and Kiser 1998; O'Keefe and LaVoie 2011; Sasse et al 2013). During the winter it hibernates in caves and abandoned mines, often in narrow crevices or sometimes under rocks on the cave floor (Best and Jennings 1997).…”

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Apparent annual survival of female eastern small-footed bats (Myotis leibii) roosting in Arkansas bridges

Sasse,

Perry

2023

Journal of Mammalogy

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The Eastern Small-footed Bat (Myotis leibii) inhabits mountainous areas of the eastern United States and generally roosts in cliff faces and talus slopes. However, the difficulty of accessing these sites has limited research on this species. We studied survival rates of eastern small-footed bats by capturing bats roosting in crevices between sections of concrete guardrails on bridges in the Ozark mountains of northern Arkansas from 2014 to 2021. We accumulated 1,413 bat captures (1,050F; 363M) of 283 individual females and 198 individual males sampled over 8 years and determined apparent annual survival of female bats using Cormack–Jolly–Seber survival models. Only 1 of 30 bats tested positive for the presence of Pseduogymnoascus destructans, a fungus causing white-nose syndrome (WNS) which is responsible for significant declines in populations of some North American bat species, when all maternity colonies were sampled in the spring of 2019. Overall apparent annual survival of all females was 0.643, with first-year juvenile survival of 0.472 and adult (ages 1–6) survival of 0.744, approximately 58% greater than first-year survival. Apparent annual survival did not differ greatly among the sites or among years. We found no significant decline or increase in overall number of bats among all sites during the 8 years of study. Stability in both the number of bats encountered and their survival rates suggests that the impact of WNS on these colonies has been marginal.

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“…The Eastern Small-footed Myotis ( M. leibii ) roosts in a variety of rocky habitat features including under flat rocks laying on bedrock, in narrow crevices of vertical cliff faces, and between rocks on shale barrens and talus slopes–they also use human-made structures ( Saugey et al 1993 ; Roble 2004 ; Whitby et al 2013 ; Fagan et al 2016 ; Moosman et al 2017 ; Loeb and Jodice 2018 ). Most published information about behavior and ecology of this species is anecdotal and roost selection has only received rudimentary study, but aspects of their life history raise interesting questions about how or if selection differs between sexes and female reproductive phases ( Johnson and Gates 2008 ; Johnson et al 2011 ).…”

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Differential selection of roosts by Eastern Small-footed Myotis (Myotis leibii) relative to rock structure and microclimate

Moosman

Marsh

Pody

et al. 2023

Journal of Mammalogy

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Roost selection by insectivorous bats in temperate regions is presumably influenced by roost microclimates in relation to thermoregulatory strategies, but few studies have included temperature measurements in habitat selection models. Rocky landscape features are an important source of roosts that provide both shelter from predators and beneficial microclimates for bats. Most information about rock-roosting bats has been derived from western North America. We studied microhabitat selection by the Eastern Small-footed Myotis (Myotis leibii) on natural talus slopes and human-made stone structures in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia and New Hampshire, relative to thermal and structural characteristics of rock crevices. Roosts were located with a combination of radiotelemetry and randomized visual surveys. Roost-switching behavior and structural characteristics of roosts did not appear to be influenced by the methods we used to locate roosts. Compared to random crevices, both sexes selected crevices with narrow openings, likely to provide protection from predators. Reproductive females also selected rocks that were larger and more thermally stable than random crevices, whereas males selected crevices that were structurally similar to random crevices but warmed more during the day. Rock size and other structural characteristics influenced temperatures of roosts and random crevices alike by inhibiting excessive daytime heating and nighttime cooling. Because large rocks were important for reproductive females, and talus slopes with large rocks could be limited, we recommend including rock size as a variable in landscape scale habitat assessments for Eastern Small-footed Myotis. Protecting or managing for habitat features with large rocks that receive high solar exposure could benefit Eastern Small-footed Myotis, and perhaps other rock-roosting species.

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New Records of the Eastern Small-footed Bat (Myotis leibii) in Arkansas

Cited by 5 publications

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Wildlife associates of nine‐banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) burrows in Arkansas

Wildlife associates of nine‐banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) burrows in Arkansas

Apparent annual survival of female eastern small-footed bats (Myotis leibii) roosting in Arkansas bridges

Differential selection of roosts by Eastern Small-footed Myotis (Myotis leibii) relative to rock structure and microclimate

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