The ecology and conservation of the large-footed Myotis (Myotis macropus) in an urban environment

The large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) is a specialist trawling bat that can be found roosting in concrete culverts under roads, throughout urban environments. This study used a multidisciplinary approach to investigate culvert roost selection and urban landscape use by a specialist species in a subtropical city. The foundational ecological information detailed in this thesis concerning culvert roost selection and availability, urban movement patterns and gene flow between culvert roosts, will assist in planning future urban conservation initiatives of this specialist bat

Roost selection in concrete culverts by the large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) is limited by the availability of microhabitat

The large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) is a specialist trawling bat with flexible roosting behaviour, being able to switch between caves, tree hollows and artificial roosts such as bridges, tunnels and culverts. However, little is known about how this species selects culvert roost sites in urban landscapes where hollows may be limited or absent. We surveyed 57 concrete culverts and found 21 M. macropus roosts comprising day and maternity roost sites 305 bats were captured. Colony sizes averaged 20.6 ± 17.7 (range = 4-49) for maternity roosts and 2.0 ± 0.8 (range = 1-3) for day roosts. Roost culverts differed significantly from available culverts predominantly in terms of availability of microhabitat (lift holes and crevices). Roost culverts had lift holes that had greater cavity dimensions than available culverts and crevices were found only at roost culverts. Culverts containing microhabitat were a limited resource in this urban landscape and so increasing their availability may provide more urban roost sites for this specialist species.</p

The distribution of organic matter along the Kangaroo River, NSW

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Parasites in peril: abundance of batflies (Diptera: Nycteribiidae) declines along an urbanisation gradient

Urbanisation has a wide range of impacts on biodiversity, but its effects on parasitic arthropods, particularly those of bats, remain poorly studied. Ectoparasites of the large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) in eastern Australia were sampled from 10 roost sites across an urban gradient. In total, 265 bats were examined and 447 ectoparasites were collected, comprising three species of Hippoboscoidea: Basilia hamsmithi (Nycteribiidae), Penicillidia setosala (Nycteribiidae), Brachytarsina amboinensis (Streblidae), and an acarine, Spinturnix novaehollandiae (Mesostigmata, Spinturnicidae). Degree of urbanisation was found to have a significant effect on the abundance of the batfly B. hamsmithi but had no significant effect on the abundance of the wing mite S. novaehollandiae. We hypothesise that this is due to differences in the life history of these two species and the advantage components of these differences confer in exploiting variations in host roost habits. The prevalence of the batfly B. hamsmithi was high in urban sites but comparatively low in suburban and non-urban sites. Mass, sex, and body condition were found to have no significant impact on either the parasite load or the chance of infestation. Both P. setosala and B. amboinensis were recorded from M. macropus for the first time, though only in small numbers. They were associated with mixed-species roosts in a suburban site and are evidence of parasite spillover between sympatric bat species.</p

The relationship between geomorphic river structure and coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) storage along the Kangaroo River, New South Wales, Australia

Fluvial landforms provide a physical template upon which to appraise biophysical relationships along river courses. In this study, the spatial pattern of organic matter storage along the Kangaroo River, NSW, is related to geomorphic controls that operate at a range of scales within a nested hierarchy. This snapshot study of CPOM storage found that at the catchment scale the longitudinal pattern of coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) storage is dependent on the type and downstream pattern of River Styles. At the reach scale, CPOM storage is dependent on the geomorphic unit structure and physical heterogeneity of the river, and associated energy conditions along the reach. At the geomorphic unit scale, CPOM storage capacity is related to the position of geomorphic units relative to the thalweg (i.e. flow characteristics) and associated roughness attributes. At the hydraulic unit scale, CPOM storage capacity is related to local flow velocity and substrate characteristics (clast size and distribution).27 page(s

The use of culverts in road networks as roost sites to maintain landscape connectivity for a trawling bat: a case study of the large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) in Australia

The use of culverts in road networks as roost sites to maintain landscape connectivity for a trawling bat: a case study of the large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) in AustraliaVanessa Gorecki1, Ramona Maggini1, Boyd Tarlinton1, Caroline Hauxwell1, Stuart Parsons11 School of Biology and Environmental Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia Corresponding author: [email protected]: PitchProgram topic: 1. Innovative Solutions for Linear Infrastructure Impact Assessment, Mitigation and Monitoring. d. Molecular road ecology/landscape geneticsKeywords: Culvert, myotis, roost, microhabitat, connectivity Anthropogenic environments can fragment habitats and introduce barriers to movement between populations, and this can have a profound effect on the population structure and viability of wildlife populations. The large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) is a trawling bat with a specialisation for foraging directly over water surfaces and movement across landscapes is restricted to riparian corridors. This species has adapted to roosting and breeding in concrete culverts under roads. However, little is known about the roost selection of these artificial sites and how much gene flow occurs between individuals roosting in an urban environment. We investigated M. macropus roost selection at two spatial scales and population structure in a large subtropical city in eastern Australia. We surveyed 365 concrete culverts, identified 23 roosts and collected wing tissue samples from 72 bats. Using generalized additive models, we found the distribution of M. macropus roosts in concrete culverts can be predicted at a landscape level using the variables stream order, channel width and waterway density, and culvert height. Bats preferred culverts >1.2 m in height, and a preference for box culverts was detected although pipe culverts were also occupied. Predictive modelling identified that culvert roosts were a limited resource with only 5.5% of culverts identified as potential roosts. We examined roost selection at the roost scale by comparing roost culverts to available culverts. Roost culverts differed significantly from available culverts and the primary difference was the availability of microhabitat (lift holes and crevices). Roost culverts had lift holes that had greater cavity dimensions than available culverts and crevices were only found at roost culverts. Culverts containing microhabitat were a limited resource in this urban landscape.We used single nucleotide polymorphisms and the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene to study gene flow. We found evidence of female philopatry with related females within roosts. Gene flow was moderate between peri-urban roosts and restricted between urban roosts. Moderate levels of relatedness between peri-urban roosts indicates M. macropus roosting in culverts are part of a larger, outward breeding population with greater availability of roost sites. Comparatively, the urban roosts in our study had more related pairs than the peri-urban roosts, indicating reduced gene flow in urban culvert roosts. This finding reflects the limited availability of urban culvert roosts in our study. This study found that culvert roosts were limited at two spatial scales and that gene flow was restricted between urban culvert roosts. These findings suggest that disturbance to, or removal of, a culvert containing a roost has the potential to be a significant impact to an urban population of M. macropus. Disturbance impacts are not equal across culvert roosts, and the impact of disturbance can be partially alleviated by increasing the number of culverts available for roosting. Road networks provide an opportunity to provide permanent roost sites for M. macropus. Additional culvert roost sites can be created by providing microhabitat in existing culverts by simply leaving lift holes unsealed, and this would increase the availability of urban culvert roosts. Increasing the amount of potential roost habitat available will maintain landscape and genetic connectivity and contribute to the viability of urban M. macropus populations

Population structure and gene flow among culvert roosts of the trawling bat, the large-footed Myotis Myotis macropus

With rates of urbanisation increasing globally, there is a pressing need to understand the population structure and genetic vulnerability of wildlife populations within urban environments. The large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) is a trawling bat found roosting and breeding in concrete culverts under roads. Little is known about levels of gene flow among roosting colonies in an urban environment, and this vital to assessing impacts of roost disturbance and exclusions caused by road upgrades. We used single nucleotide polymorphisms to study gene flow within and between culvert roosts, in peri-urban and urban landscapes. We found genetic differentiation between all roosts. Gene flow was moderate between peri-urban roosts and restricted between urban roosts. Moderate levels of relatedness between peri-urban roosts indicates M. macropus roosting in culverts are part of a larger, outward breeding population. Comparatively, the urban roosts in our study had more related pairs than the peri-urban roosts, indicating reduced gene flow in urban culvert roosts. We found evidence of female philopatry with pairs of related females within roosts. Our results suggest M. macropus has a harem social structure and a promiscuous breeding system due to limited shared paternal ancestry. Female dispersal distances are less than 30 km and female biased gene flow is locally restricted. These findings suggest that disturbance to, or removal of, a culvert roost has the potential to be a significant impact to an urban population of M. macropus.<br/

Roosting in road culverts: roost selection, roost availability and gene flow in a culvert roosting population of a trawling bat, the large-footed Myotis (Myotis macropus)

The large-footed Myotis (Myotis macropus) is Australia’s only a trawling bat and can be found in urban areas, roosting in concrete culverts under roads. However, little is known about the selection of these artificial sites and how much gene flow occurs between culvert roosts. We investigated culvert roost selection by M. macropus at two spatial scales and studied gene flow between culvert roosts in a large subtropical city in eastern Australia. We surveyed 365 concrete culverts, identified 23 roosts and collected wing tissue samples from 72 bats. Using generalized additive models, we found the distribution of M. macropus roosts in concrete culverts can be predicted at a landscape level using the variables stream order, channel width, waterway density, and culvert height. Bats preferred culverts >1.2 m in height, and a preference for box culverts was detected although pipe culverts were also occupied. Predictive modelling identified that culvert roosts were a limited resource with only 5.5% of culverts identified as potential roosts. We examined roost selection at the roost scale by comparing roost culverts to available culverts. Roost culverts differed significantly from available culverts and the primary difference was the availability of microhabitat (lift holes and crevices). Roost culverts had lift holes that had greater cavity dimensions than available culverts and crevices were only found at roost culverts. Culverts containing microhabitat were a limited resource in this urban landscape.We used single nucleotide polymorphisms to study gene flow between culvert roosts in peri-urban and urban areas. Roosts in peri-urban areas had higher landscape connectivity between roosts compared to roosts in urban areas. Gene flow was moderate between peri-urban roosts and restricted between urban roosts. We found higher relatedness coefficients between individuals roosting in urban roosts compared to peri-urban roosts, indicating reduced gene flow between urban culvert roosts. These results reflect the greater connectivity and availability of roost sites in peri-urban environments and the geographic isolation and limited availability of urban culvert roosts in our study. This study found that culvert roosts were limited at two spatial scales and that gene flow was restricted between urban culvert roosts. These findings suggest that disturbance to a culvert containing a roost in an urban area has the potential to be a significant impact to an urban population of M. macropus. Maintaining riparian connectivity in urban areas is vital to providing landscape and genetic connectivity for the viability of urban M. macropus populations