Roost Selection by Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bats (<i>Corynorhinus rafinesquii</i>) in a Pristine Habitat at Three Spatial Scales

Lucas, Jessica S.; Loeb, Susan C.; Jodice, Patrick G. R.

doi:10.3161/15081109acc2015.17.1.011

Cited by 8 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…Categories for cavity volume were ≤ 1 m 3 , 1.1-2 m 3 , 2.1-4 m 3 , 4.1-6 m 3 , and > 6 m 3 . Rafinesque's big-eared bats switch roosts every 2-3 days (Johnson et al 2012;Lucas et al 2015) although they regularly return to previously used roosts (Loeb and Zarnoch 2011). Thus, it is possible that a roost may be unoccupied on any given day although it is used regularly by Rafinesque's big-eared bats.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…I used Program Presence (version 9.7) in a 2-stage approach to develop models of Rafinesque's big-eared bat use of trees. Data for maternity colonies and solitary individuals were combined because there is no evidence that maternity colonies and single individuals select different trees or habitats (Clement and Castleberry 2013;Lucas et al 2015). In the 1st stage, I determined the factors that affected probability of detecting ≥ 1 Rafinesque's big-eared bat (p) which I defined as the probability of finding a bat in a tree given that the tree was used over the summer months.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Trousdale and Beckett 2005;Fleming et al 2013a). In general, Rafinesque's big-eared bats select roosts that are larger in diameter and have larger cavity volumes than randomly selected trees (Clement and Castleberry 2013;Fleming et al 2013a;Lucas et al 2015). However, there is considerable variation in sizes of trees used by Rafinesque's big-eared bats across study sites, with mean diameters ranging from 79 to 155 cm, almost a 100% difference (Trousdale 2011).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Developing effective plans that include these actions will rely on greater understanding of the factors that affect use and selection of roost sites and better models to predict presence of big-eared bats in an area. Recent studies suggest that landscape features such as distance to water, distance to roads, and distance to forest edge have little effect on roost selection by Rafinesque's big-eared bats (Clement and Castleberry 2013;Fleming et al 2013a;Lucas et al 2015). This suggests that concentrating on roost and habitat features (e.g., forest structure and composition, hydrological conditions) may be the best approach for developing conservation and restoration plans.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, in western Kentucky, bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) is the most commonly used tree (70.3%) for roosting (Johnson and Lacki 2013), whereas tupelo (Nyssa spp.) are the most commonly used roost trees in western Tennessee, Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina (> 86.5%- Gooding and Langford 2004;Carver and Ashley 2008;Clement and Castleberry 2013;Lucas et al 2015). In some sites, no particular species of tree is the dominant roost tree, and bats use a wide variety of tree species including oaks (Quercus), eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), American sycamore (Plantanus occidentalis), and Magnolia spp.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adaptive response to land-use history and roost selection by Rafinesque’s big-eared bats

Loeb

2017

Journal of Mammalogy

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Although habitat loss and degradation are major contributors to species declines, some species are able to adapt to changes in land use by selecting different habitats or structures in disturbed areas than they do in more pristine habitats. Bats are particularly vulnerable to changes in land use due to their dependence on specific habitat types and structures. The objective of this study was to determine how selection and use of roost trees, and niche breadth of Rafinesque's big-eared bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) varied with land-use history. I examined use and selection of roosts at 3 bottomland hardwood sites that varied in amount and time since timber harvest. Fortynine transects were established as a means of searching for bats in trees with basal cavity openings and were surveyed 2-9 times. Bats at the most-disturbed sites exhibited the broadest niches, using a greater number of tree species and habitat types, although bats at the least-disturbed site used a broader range of cavity volumes. Cavity characteristics were the primary factors governing roost selection by Rafinesque's big-eared bats, but selection varied among sites. Probability of use increased with increasing cavity volume for bats at all sites, but bats at the most-disturbed site primarily used trees in the smallest cavity volume class, whereas bats at the least-disturbed site primarily used trees in the largest cavity volume class. Results of this study suggest that Rafinesque's bigeared bats can adapt to a range of habitat conditions if trees with large cavities are available. However, future studies need to determine the long-term viability of this species in disturbed habitats.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%