Sex-Specific Roost Selection by Bats in Clearfell Harvested Plantation Forest: Improved Knowledge Advises Management

Borkin, Kerry M.; Parsons, Stuart

doi:10.3161/150811011x624848

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The relative scarcity of knowledge on AIB, together with the difficulty of gathering reliable information about most of the species, led us to not consider traits such as diet or roosting strategy/guild (Borkin and Parsons, 2011;Bohnenstengel, 2012;Farneda et al, 2015;Coronado et al, 2018), and to focus instead on only six functional traits as potential predictors of AIB vulnerability to habitat fragmentation (Table 1):…”

Section: Species Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Echolocation and Stratum Preference: Key Trait Correlates of Vulnerability of Insectivorous Bats to Tropical Forest Fragmentation

et al. 2019

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Habitat loss and fragmentation rank high amongst the most pressing threats to biodiversity. Understanding how variation in functional traits is associated with species vulnerability in fragmented landscapes is central to the design of effective conservation strategies. Here, we used a whole-ecosystem ecological experiment in the Central Amazon to investigate which functional traits of aerial-hawking insectivorous bats best predict their sensitivity to forest fragmentation. During 2014, bats were surveyed using passive bat recorders in six continuous forest sites, eight forest fragments, eight fragment edges, and eight forest clearings. The interaction between functional traits, environmental characteristics, and species distribution was investigated using a combination of RLQ and fourth-corner analyses. Our results showed that echolocation call structure, vertical stratification, and wing aspect ratio were the strongest predictors of sensitivity to forest fragmentation. Frequency of maximum energy, body mass, and relative wing loading did not show any correlation with the environmental variables. Bat species with constant-frequency calls were associated with high vegetation density, being more susceptible to forest fragmentation than species with frequency-modulated calls. Vertical stratum preference was also correlated with vegetation structure, indicating that understory species were more sensitive to forest loss than canopy species. Finally, species with high aspect ratio wings were linked to forest edges and clearings. Our findings suggest that species functional traits determine the vulnerability of aerialhawking insectivorous bats toward fragmentation and, similarly, environmental conditions determine if a species is likely to become locally extinct due to fragmentation. Preserving structurally complex forests will be crucial to ensure the long-term persistence of the most sensitive and vulnerable species of this bat ensemble in fragmented landscapes across the Neotropics.

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Section: Species Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Echolocation and Stratum Preference: Key Trait Correlates of Vulnerability of Insectivorous Bats to Tropical Forest Fragmentation

et al. 2019

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“…These protocols have largely targeted long-tailed bats and, to the authors' knowledge, have not yet been applied to short-tailed bats. They also frequently overlook the use of 'non-tree' vegetation as roosts and do not protect these roosts even though long-tailed bats are known to use dead tree ferns as roosts (Borkin & Parsons 2011b).…”

Section: Tree-felling Protocolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most research into roost use by New Zealand bats has focused on female-dominated maternity colonies (Sedgeley & O'Donnell 1999;Sedgeley 2003). However, such colonies differ from roosts used by male bats (Borkin & Parsons 2011b), and more detailed research into the roosts used by male bats is recommended so that artificial roost boxes can emulate roosts used by males as well as those used by female-dominated maternity colonies.…”

Section: Artificial Roost Boxesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roads and wildlife: the need for evidence-based decisions; New Zealand bats as a case study

Jones¹,

Borkin²,

Smith³

2019

NZJE

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Roads and associated land transport activities can affect a wide range of indigenous terrestrial vertebrate species. National legislation, particularly the Resource Management Act 1991, requires that developers 'avoid, remedy or mitigate' the adverse environmental effects of their activities. How these effects are identified and managed in New Zealand varies because regulators and land transport contractors deal with these issues on a case-by-case basis. In recent years, the effects of new road projects on long-tailed bats (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) have been receiving attention. In this review, we summarise evidence on likely road infrastructure impacts on bat populations and the efficacy of mitigation approaches, used both internationally and in New Zealand. Our findings indicate that most mitigation methods have little, if any, scientific evidence of their effectiveness. We recommend that such evidence is essential to guide investment in mitigating road effects on bats in New Zealand. Given that such evidence is rare, future investment should be guided by an adaptive management framework that is justified by strong, inferential, evidence-based logic, and accompanied by robust, appropriately designed monitoring planned, in advance, to allow an objective assessment of a method's effectiveness in mitigating an impact. Because such monitoring may be beyond what a single development project can realistically achieve, we suggest the development of a collaborative funding model for supporting the testing and development of mitigation methods. This work is likely to have a significant influence on the future planning and design of road infrastructure projects to minimise the impacts on bats and, more generally, on any native wildlife populations under threat from infrastructure development.

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“…Thus, the conservation of a network of cavities is clearly crucial for both species, including the preservation of woodpecker hollows at elevated positions on trees for M. bechsteinii. The same advice applies to other species with behavioural differences in the utilisation of tree cavities and habitat selection in Europe such as Myotis daubentonii [64] and Myotis nattereri [31], and on other continents, such as Myotis septentrionalis [65], Eptesicus fuscus [74], Chalinolobus tuberculatus [70,83] and Mystacina tuberculata [84].…”

Section: Individual Responses Of Bats To Habitat Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bat Conservation Management in Exploited European Temperate Forests

Tillon¹,

Langridge²,

Aulagnier³

2018

Bats

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Forests offer important refuge to bats by providing attractive roosting and foraging habitats. Their conservation is a major responsibility of forest managers. The use of tree cavities by bats in forests depends on the specific demands of each species, with a large range of different types of microhabitats utilised, from degraded cavities such as peeling bark to healthy hollows in live trees ensuring the temporal stability of the habitat. The conservation of tree-dwelling bats should not be dissociated from their fission-fusion behaviour which involves the use of many different roosts. Conservation measures must therefore take into account forest habitats suitable for feeding and in particular, forest parameters such as structure, composition, vegetation and foliage, among other elements such as deadwood, all upon which the forest manager can intervene. Acting in favour of bats requires close consideration of their complex individual responses concerning roost selection and foraging habitat selection, which is largely dictated by the reproductive status of individuals. Thereafter it is possible to evaluate the impact of wood harvesting on bats and to infer silvicultural conservation measures. The implementation of recommendations must then subsequently be based on a strong involvement on the part of the forest manager.

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Sex-Specific Roost Selection by Bats in Clearfell Harvested Plantation Forest: Improved Knowledge Advises Management

Cited by 12 publications

References 45 publications

Echolocation and Stratum Preference: Key Trait Correlates of Vulnerability of Insectivorous Bats to Tropical Forest Fragmentation

Echolocation and Stratum Preference: Key Trait Correlates of Vulnerability of Insectivorous Bats to Tropical Forest Fragmentation

Roads and wildlife: the need for evidence-based decisions; New Zealand bats as a case study

Bat Conservation Management in Exploited European Temperate Forests

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