SOLUTIONS FOR IMPERILED BAT CONSERVATION: INTEGRATING ECOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY, AND THE PUBLIC

Bat populations have plummeted in Missouri since the introduction of white-nose syndrome (WNS) in 2012, presenting challenges in researching understudied species’ habitat ecology. Frequently incorporated survey techniques, such as mist netting and radio-telemetry, have become unreliable post-WNS. In response to address the challenge of studying rare species, we explored the alternative strategies of acoustic monitoring, acoustic lures, and human dimension surveys that may enhance surveys. Our goals from these objectives included comparing the methods to recommend better management decisions for imperiled bat species post-WNS. For Chapter I, we surveyed three imperiled bat species in southeastern Missouri, including the northern long-eared bat Myotis septentrionalis, little brown bat Myotis lucifugus, and tricolored bat Perimyotis subflavus using mist-netting and acoustic monitoring. We assessed the efficacy of modern acoustic monitoring activities to more traditional approaches of mist-netting and radio-telemetry. We never captured northern long-eared bats or little brown bats during our mist net surveys, but we did detect them acoustically. Chapter II evaluated the acoustic lures’ success in increasing detection success of mist net and acoustic detector surveys. We captured two tricolored bats when we used an acoustic lure and detected them acoustically during the two years of the study. Our capture success allowed us to identify the first tricolored bat maternity roost within a Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) area in Carter County through radio-telemetry. We found our acoustic lure positively affected the acoustic activity of the endangered Indiana bat Myotis sodalis and big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus. We also assessed a human dimensions analysis to assess the level of public familiarity of bat species in Missouri, WNS awareness, perceived attitudes, and trust in the MDC. We found that respondents were less knowledgeable about WNS and bat natural history, despite their overall positive or neutral perception of bats. The public in our study trusted the MDC as a natural resource management agency. Both public trust and accurate knowledge of bat natural history and threats must be accounted for when suggesting forest management modifications to benefit our three imperiled target species

Habitat Ecology, Species Presense, and Public Perception of Three Declining Bat Species in Southeastern Missouri

The populations of three bat species, the Northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), tricolored bat (Per­imyotis subflavus), and little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), have declined in southeastern Missouri since the in­troduction of white-nose syndrome (WNS) in 2012. The current maternity habitat of the remaining populations in the counties of Shannon, Carter, and Reynolds are unknown. In order to provide protection and conservation for the species, it is critical that their maternity roosts be identified. To achieve these goals, we will incorporate bat survey tools such as acoustic surveys, acoustic lures, and mist netting within the three counties to determine spe­cies occupancy and roost locations. During our pilot season in 2018, we were unable to capture our target species but acoustically recorded likely P. subflavus echolocation calls. The next two summers of research will occur within the same counties but include a larger survey area. Beginning in 2019, we will assess the perceived attitudes of bats based on the results of a survey given to local citizens within the study areas to bolster bat conservation and education

Winter Bat Activity in a Landscape without Traditional Hibernacula

Abstract Prior to 2014, bat research at Devils Tower National Monument (DETO) focused on bats present during the summer months. Biologists at DETO assumed local bats were strictly summer residents due to the presumed lack of typical habitat features associated with bat hibernation, such as caves and mines. This lack of traditional hibernacula features at DETO discouraged staff and research cooperators from studying winter bat populations. Despite the earlier assumption that bats were unlikely to hibernate on the monument, DETO documented significant winter bat activity through passive winter acoustic monitoring. This study is the first study at DETO that documents such activity. Across the northwestern United States, existing research indicates that traditional western hibernacula, such as caves and mines, support small numbers of bats (Hendricks 2012). By contrast, in the Eastern and Midwestern U.S., it is common for some caves and mines to be used by hundreds or even thousands of bats (Tuttle 1991). Where most western bat species overwinter is not well understood or documented. Inspired by both curiosity and the acknowledgement of winter bat activity in the nearby Black Hills Ecosystem, DETO biologists asked a simple question, “Are bats here during the winter, and if they are not, when do they migrate away from the monument?” The threat of the devastating fungal infestation causing the bat disease known as white-nose syndrome (WNS) looms over every landscape that is currently presumed WNS-free, such as DETO. To better understand winter occupancy and behavior of bats at DETO, we carried out passive acoustic monitoring and emergence surveys. Acoustic detectors were deployed from mid-September 2015 to May 2016. Data from both the fall and spring were included in this report, because those periods are typically associated with important bat life events, such as swarming and mating during fall, and females gathering at maternity sites during spring (Schaik et al. 2015; Frick et al. 2010). Bats call not only to acoustically orient (echolocation), but also in social contexts; bat detectors used for detecting species presence and activity can also record social calls and bursts of activity if they occur in any season (Pflazer and Kusch 2003). Bursts of acoustic activity and social calling at a site can indicate that site is important to overwintering bats. Through this work we sought to determine if bats were present throughout the winter and, if so, characterize what types of activity were ‘typical’ for DETO. Throughout this study, we observed the greatest activity during the fall from September to mid-October, and during spring emergence in mid to late April. Throughout the entire study, we recorded a variety of complex social calls and possible feeding buzzes at varying times during the night. Most of the bat activity occurred shortly after sunset. Some of the activity during the coldest months, December through February, was rather intriguing--we recorded nearly 150 bat passes per site per month, indicating a fair amount of activity. We documented a variety of species during the winter months, identified as November through March, including several species of Myotis, as well as Eptesicus fuscus and Lasionycteris noctivagans. Based on the winter acoustic data, we believe that bats are hibernating in the Tower rock feature and/or the talus boulder field during the winter months