Roosts of Allen's Lappet‐Browed Bat in Northern Arizona

Solvesky, Ben G.; Chambers, Christopher P.

doi:10.2193/2008-333

Cited by 15 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Roads provided some bat species with travel and foraging areas but other species avoided roads. Forest roads provide open habitat for low frequency bats to use as flight corridors or as open areas around a roost in an otherwise forested area [e.g., 31], and in our study low frequency bats had high activity in areas of high road density at a fine scale. Smaller species that echolocate at higher frequencies, like Myotis, responded negatively to road density, which suggests that these species avoid open spaces such as roads.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 61%

Water and elevation are more important than burn severity in predicting bat activity at multiple scales in a post-wildfire landscape

2020

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Bats are among the most widespread mammals on Earth, and are subject to habitat change, loss, and other disturbances such as fire. Wildfire causes rapid changes in vegetation that affect habitat use. However, the spatial scale at which these changes affect bats depends on their use of habitat elements. Three years post wildfire, we assessed how burn severity, water, landform type, elevation, vegetation type, and roads affected use by bats of a forest landscape at multiple spatial scales. We deployed acoustic detectors at randomly selected locations within a 217,712 ha wildfire boundary in Arizona. We classified echolocation calls to species or group and calculated an activity index by adjusting the calls per hour. We conducted a multi-scale analysis of landscape structure and composition around each location from a 90 to 5760 m radius. No scale was selected preferentially by any species or group. Stream density and elevation range were more important predictors for species groups than burn severity. When burn severity was a predictor, agile species had higher activity in areas that were unburned or had low severity burn. A heterogeneous landscape composed of high, medium, and low burn severity patches within a forest altered by large wildfires provided habitat for different bat species, but water density and range in elevation were more important for predicting bat habitat use than fire severity in this arid landscape. More than one spatial scale, representing local to landscape levels, should be considered in managing habitat for bats. In arid areas, such as the western United States, maintaining reliable water sources is important for bats. Managing these factors at multiple spatial scales will benefit bat species with different wing morphologies, echolocation call types, and habitat selections.

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 61%

Water and elevation are more important than burn severity in predicting bat activity at multiple scales in a post-wildfire landscape

2020

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“…Impacts on wildlife may not be straightforward and involves more than minimum diameter requirements (Ganey andVojta 2004, Chambers andMast 2005). Some wildlife species, such as snag-roosting bats, prefer large snags adjacent to open areas, such as roads (Solvesky and Chambers 2009). Clearly, the consideration of a buffer zone around roads, where human access is substantial (cf.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Large trees and snags also provide foraging resources, such as seeds and deeply furrowed bark, that support numerous arthropods and their larvae (Ligon 1973, Garrett et al 1996, Bull et al 1997, some of which play important roles in sustaining soil health and productivity (Niwa et al 2001). Exfoliating bark on large snags provide critical roosting sites for several species of bats (Rabe et al 1998, Baker and Lacki 2006, Arnett and Hayes 2009, Solvesky and Chambers 2009). Large fallen snags provide critical downed wood habitats for invertebrate and vertebrate species (Bull et al 1997), and are key fuel components of the typical frequent low-intensity fire regimes that strongly influence ponderosa pine stands (Agee 1993).…”

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Snag distributions in relation to human access in ponderosa pine forests

Hollenbeck

Bate²,

Saab

et al. 2013

Wildl. Soc. Bull.

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Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests in western North America provide habitat for numerous cavity‐using wildlife species that often select large‐diameter snags for nesting and roosting. Yet large snags are often removed for their commercial and firewood values. Consequently we evaluated effects of human access on snag densities and diameter‐class distributions at nine locations in ponderosa pine forests throughout the interior western United States. We found no relationship between small‐diameter (23–50 cm diam breast ht [dbh]) snags and human access measures (i.e., road density, distance to nearest town, and topography). However, large‐snag (≥50 cm dbh) density was best predicted by road density, which suggested a decline, on average, of 0.7 large snags/ha for every km of road/km2. Most locations had relatively high densities of small‐diameter snags (<23 cm dbh) and diminishing density as diameter class increased. Idaho and Colorado study locations had higher snag densities in the largest diameter classes compared with remaining locations. These locations experienced minimal commercial timber harvest, were situated far from towns, and had few or no roads. Persistence of large‐diameter snags and adequate snag densities for wildlife requires consideration of human access characteristics at coarse spatial scales. Snag management guidelines may need to incorporate these measures and focus more on retention of large‐diameter snags than minimum density targets. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.

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“…We used 26 natural roosts for 6 Allen's lappet‐browed bat, 8 Arizona myotis, and 12 long‐legged myotis ( Myotis evotis ) that were occupied during the summer of 2007 and identified through radiotelemetry during concurrent studies (Johnson , Solvesky and Chambers ). We randomly assigned a 1‐ha plot around each roost so the position of the roost relative to plot boundaries differed for each plot to prevent handler bias.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, inconspicuous species that roost in small, dispersed colonies have received fewer conservation actions because colonies are hard to locate and the effects on these species from diffuse threats (e.g., changes in forest structure or land conversion) are difficult to document (Weller et al ). Moreover, species that roost in crevices, snags, and trees tend to switch roost sites frequently during the breeding season (e.g., Bernardos et al , Solvesky and Chambers ); this behavior creates additional challenges for finding and protecting roosts.…”

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confidence: 99%

Efficacy of scent-detection dogs for locating bat roosts in trees and snags

et al. 2015

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Conservation efforts for tree-and snag-roosting bats are challenging because roost sites are difficult and costly to locate. We assessed the ability of scent detection dogs to locate bat roosts using controlled field experiments conducted at 2 sites in northern Arizona, USA, during July and August of 2007, with small bags of bat guano and known bat roosts. Scent detection dogs correctly detected 79% of guano bags and 29% of known bat roosts; but, when searching during shorter time periods for roosts only, dogs correctly detected 77% of known roosts. Factors affecting detection of guano bags included bag height and mass. Factors affecting detection of roosts included height, size of the bat colony, and air temperature. Rest breaks and competition between dogs apparently increased their success rate in finding roosts. Using a scent detection dog to locate roosts was similar in cost to radiotelemetry; however, the use of a scent detection dog was less invasive because the use of dogs precluded the need to capture and radiotag bats. Important considerations influencing the efficacy of using scent detection dogs include training and transportation costs, and skill level of dog handlers. Although some factors limit the ability of scent detection dogs to accurately locate roosts, dogs in our study approximated the roost location to within a 30-m radius, which may be sufficient to protect these areas during management activities. If managers have the ability within an area to retain all large-diameter snags that have bat roost characteristics, then scent detection dogs will likely not provide adequate added value to warrant their survey costs. However, scent dogs could be important for locating roosts of species that are imperiled or of conservation concern. Ó 2015 The Wildlife Society.

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Roosts of Allen's Lappet‐Browed Bat in Northern Arizona

Cited by 15 publications

References 32 publications

Water and elevation are more important than burn severity in predicting bat activity at multiple scales in a post-wildfire landscape

Water and elevation are more important than burn severity in predicting bat activity at multiple scales in a post-wildfire landscape

Snag distributions in relation to human access in ponderosa pine forests

Efficacy of scent-detection dogs for locating bat roosts in trees and snags

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