A survey was conducted from June 1982 through January 1987 to determine the occurrence of bat species in Hot Springs National Park, Garland County, Arkansas; an area of approximately 2025 hectares. A total of 309 bats in the families Molossidae and Vespertilionidae were captured. Species represented included: Eptesicus fuscus, Lasiurus borealis, Lasiurus cinereus, Nycticeius humeralis, Pipistrellus subflavus, and Tadarida brasiliensis cynocephala

Heath, Darrell R.

Heidt, Gary A.

Saugey, David A.

Saugey, Dianne G.

English

ScholarWorks@UARK

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of ScienceVolume 42 Article 231988Bats of Hot Springs National Park, ArkansasDavid A. SaugeyUnited States Forest Service, dasnightwing@gmail.comDianne G. SaugeyUnited States Forest ServiceGary A. HeidtUniversity of Arkansas at Little RockDarrell R. HeathUniversity of Arkansas at Little RockFollow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaasPart of the Zoology CommonsThis article is available for use under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). Users are able toread, download, copy, print, distribute, search, link to the full texts of these articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking priorpermission from the publisher or the author.This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Arkansas Academyof Science by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact scholar@uark.edu, ccmiddle@uark.edu.Recommended CitationSaugey, David A.; Saugey, Dianne G.; Heidt, Gary A.; and Heath, Darrell R. (1988) "Bats of Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas,"Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 42 , Article 23.Available at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol42/iss1/23Proceedings Arkansas Academy off Science, Vol. 42, 198881THE BATS OF HOT SPRINGSNATIONALPARK, ARKANSASDAVIDA. SAUGEY 1,DIANNE G. SAUGEY',GARY A. HEIDT2,and DARRELL R. HEATH2'United States Forest Service, P.O. Box 1270Hot Springs, AR 71902'Department of Biology, University of Arkansas at LittleRockLittle Rock, AR 72204ABSTRACTA survey was conducted from June 1982 through January 1987 to determine the occurrence of batspecies in Hot Springs National Park, Garland County, Arkansas; an area of approximately 2025hectares. A total of 309 bats in the families Molossidae and Vespertilionidae were captured. Speciesrepresented included: Eptesicus fuscus, Lasiurus borealis, Lasiurus cinereus, Nycticeiushumeralis, Pipistrellus subflavus, and Tadarida brasiliensis cynocephala.INTRODUCTIONFrom June, 1982 through January, 1987 we conducted a survey ofbat species occurring in Hot Springs National Park (Garland County),an area ofapproximately 2025 hectares. Located in the Ouachita Moun-tains of west-central Arkansas, the park is somewhat unusual in thatitpartially surrounds and partially lies within the city of Hot Springs.This arrangement provided considerable diversity of potential bathabitat, ranging from occupied to unoccupied man-made structures,relatively undisturbed north slope hardwoods (Quercus/Carya spp.),south slope shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata), and mixed hardwood-pineforest types.Two perennial streams, BullBayou and Gulpha Creek, and a numberof ponds, both within and adjacent to the park boundary, providedriparian habitat and foraging sites. Additional habitat was providedby two abandoned mine drifts. One driftoccurred within the park boun-dary near DeSoto Park, a city property. The other drift was locatednear the city waterworks facilities, north of Hot Springs. These driftsoffered the only subterranean, "cave-like" habitat in the immediate area.Published information concerning the bat fauna known to occurwithin the park is scarce. Gregg (1937) reported the occurrence of twospecimens of the hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus). Sealander and Polechla(1981) reported specimens of the red bat (Lasiurus borealis), eveningbat (Nycticeius humeralis), the eastern pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus)and a "flying"sight record for the littlebrown bat (Myotis lucifugus)and a sight record for the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus).Additional information concerning the occurrence and distributionof bats in the Ouachita Mountains in and adjacent to the park, HotSprings, and Ouachita National Forest have been reported by Davisetal. (1955), Heath ef al. (1983, 1986), McDaniel et al. (1986), Saugeyetal. (1983), Sealander (1956, 1979), and Sealander and Young (1955).The purpose of this study was to determine and provide natural historydata concerning the bat fauna common to Hot Springs National Park.Furthermore, since the study area is located within the Ouachita Moun-tains and contains habitat typically found in that physiographic pro-vince, the data contained herein should provide important additionsto the understanding ofchiropteran biology in the Ouachita Mountains.MATERIALSANDMETHODSCollection was primarily by mist netting as described by Tuttle (1976).A total of 30 net nights (a net night is one mist net opened into thecapture position for the evening's activities) were generated on 18 dif-ferent dates, with one to three net nights per date. Nets of differentlengths (5.5, 12.8, and 18.3 meters) were erected and opened into thecapture position prior to dusk and checked at five minute intervalsuntil midnight (occasionally until0100 hours). Actual netting periodsvaried from three to six hours depending upon time of year. Nettingprimarily occurred over shallow pools in Gulpha Creek in the GulphaGorge Campground. Each bat was removed from the net and species,sex, age, reproductive condition, time of capture, and ambienttemperature were recorded. In addition, two abandoned mine driftswere visited on several occasions during winter months to determinetheir use as hibernacula. In accordance with National Park Servicepolicy, all individuals were released at the conclusion of the evening'snetting activities.Assignment of bats into age classes was determined by closure ofphalangeal epiphyses. Bats were designated as juveniles on the basisof small overall size, as wellas visual observation ofincomplete ossifica-tion of the epiphyses.Reproductive condition of males was determined by the position ofthe epididymides. Scrotal males were characterized by complete des-cent of the epididymides into pigmented sheaths dorsolateral to the tailand by the presence of enlarged testes. Females bats were diagnosedas pregnant by examination of an obviously enlarged abdomen and lac-tation was determined on the basis of teat examination.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONA total of 309 bats representing two families, fivegenera, and sixspecies were captured during the study. Two abandoned mine driftswere examined and found to be utilized intermittently by two species.Family VespertilionidaeNycticeius humeralis (Rafinesque)Baker and Ward (1967) considered the evening bat to have been thesecond most common bat in southeastern Arkansas while Gardner andMcDaniel (1978) found this species to be relatively uncommon, but pre-sent in small numbers during much of the year innortheastern Arkan-sas. Heath etal. (1983) reported twelve new county records, includingGarland County, and McDaniel et al. (1986) reported on the occur-rence and distribution of the species in southwestern Arkansas.During this study, 136 evening bats (74 males and 62 females) represen-ting 44% of all bats captured were netted.Two pregnant females weighing 12g each were netted on 23 May 1983.The following week (1 June) three pregnant females were netted andranged in weight from 10.5 to 12.3g. A juvenile male, weighing 6g, wasnetted on 30 June 1982 and on 1 July, two additional juvenile males,weighing 5g and 6g, were netted along witha postlactating female. On13 July, four postlactating females were captured. By 26 August,juveniles of both sexes averaged 8g with adults 2-3g heavier.The average weight of adult males ranged between 8-9g from springuntil late August when they began to rapidly gain weight. By late fall,the average adult male weighed 12.3g, an increase of 34%. Adultnon-pregnant females gained an average of 29% of their body weight from9g in spring and summer to a late fall weight of 12.7g. Adultand juvenilemales were observed tobe scrotal in mid-August with juveniles exhibitingtestes as large as the adults. Similar observations were made by Bakerand Ward (1967).Aninteresting behavior was observed for this species on 11 October1986, when bats were frequently captured in small groups of three orfour individuals. The firstgroup captured was composed of two femalesand two scrotal males. They struck the net simultaneously ina space81Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 42 [1988], Art. 23Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1988Proceedings Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol.42, 198882The Bats of Hot Springs National Park, Arkansasapproximately 0.5 meters in diameter; indicating they had been flyingvery close to one another. Approximately twenty minutes later a se-cond similarly composed group was captured. Fifteen minutes later twosmall groups composed of two and three scrotal males were capturedwhen they simultaneously struck the net at opposite ends. Thesignificance of this behavior was probably associated withlate summer/early fall swarming activities.Although common throughout the study, Nycticeius were netted ingreatest numbers from the last week in August until the second weekof October. Baker and Ward (1967) netted this bat in December andindicated the species was most likely a winter resident of southeasternArkansas. Sealander (1960) reported the occurrence of this bat nearFayetteville (Washington County) in mid-February. The capture ofanadult male on 30 January 1987 probably indicates this species, at leastin limited numbers, is a winter resident of west-central Arkansas.The sex ratio for all evening bats netted during this study was 54:46,very similar to the 59:41 ratio reported for southeastern Arkansas byBaker and Ward (1967). The relative abundance of this species was pro-bably due to the large number ofolder homes and buildings inand ad-jacent to the park. According to Watkins and Shump (1981), mostspecimens of Nycticeius have been found in buildings.Lasiurus borealis (Muller).Ninety-one red bats were captured with males (N= 59) encounterednearly twice as often as females (N=32). LaVal and LaVal(1979) madesimilar observations regarding red bats inMissouri. Females were bet-ter represented in samples taken in May, June, and July, but were ab-sent or occurred less frequently in samples during late summer and fall.Pregnant females were captured on 16 May 1984 (13. 3g), 23 May1983 (2 weighed 14g each) and 1 June 1983. Lactating females werecaptured on 30 June and 18 July, 1982 and on 8 July 1983. Two postlac-tating females were captured on 1 July 1982 and one was captured on8 July 1983. Volant juveniles were firstobserved on 30 June 1982 whena very small female weighing 5g was captured. Late October weightsfor females averaged 12g.Males were captured on every occasion and were most abundant frommid-July through September. Two males were netted and several otherred bats sighted on 30 January 1987 after a brief winter warming period.Males averaged 11. 3g in late October.As reported by Baker and Ward (1976), red bats often landed on andhovered near a pillow case used to retain captured red bats, apparentlyattracted by calls made from those inside. The only observed mortalityinvolving any bat during the study occurred when a red phase screechowl (Otus asio) was captured as it attacked and killed a male red batthat had been netted only seconds before. The owl was released andlater flew back down the creek and again became entangled in the net.Predation of bats by this and other species of owls has been welldocumented and reviewed by Barclay et al. (1982).Eptesicus fuscus (Palisot de Beauvois).The big brown bat was the third most common species. Sixty-six in-dividuals, 33 males and 33 females were captured. Two pregnant femalesweighing 21.5g and 23. 5g were captured on 23 May1983, and one preg-nant female was captured a week later on 1 June. Lactating femalesweighing 17g and 20g were netted on 26 June 1982; one of which ex-hibited worn canines, indicating considerable age. Four days later on30 June, another lactating female weighing 19g was netted. The firstpostlactating female was captured one day later on 1 July. The firstvolant juvenile captured was a 13g female netted on 26 June 1982.Numerous maternity colonies of this species have been locatedthroughout Hot Springs and Garland County. Heath et al. (1986)reported the occurrence ofthis bat from the abandoned mine driftnearDeSoto Park.Body weight ofadult males and females was verysimilar in late Oc-tober when the average was 22. 5g. Interestingly, juveniles, althoughnearly as large as adults, weighed considerably less at 15.5 to 17. 3g andgave the appearance of having very little body fat. One adult femalewas captured on30 January 1987 over a shallow pool in Gulpha Creek.Pipistrellus subflavus (F. Cuvier).Sixeastern pipistrelles were captured during the study. Two lactatingfemales, weighing 4g and 6g, were netted on 30 June 1982, indicatingthe occurrence ofa maternity site nearby. The first volant juvenile wascaptured two weeks later on 13 July when a 4g male was netted at thesame locality. Two early August captures in 1982 and 1983 yielded anaverage body weight of 5g. Examination of the abandoned mine driftnear DeSoto Park revealed limited use during most of the year, withmore use in winter.Lasiurus cinereus (Palisot de Beauvois).The hoary bat was first reported from the park by Gregg (1937) whena large female was found frozen on the exterior door facing of theutilities building on12 February 1936. The second specimen was recordedon 20 Aprilof the same year when a live animal was captured by a cityemployee at the Hot Springs pumping plant, approximately 2 milesnorthwest of the city. Three hoary bats were netted during this study.A large, pregnant female was captured on 1 June 1983; on 26 August,a scrotal male weighing 20g and a large female weighing 26g werenetted.Family MolossidaeTadarida brasiliensis cynocephala (Le Conte).Sealander and Price (1964) first reported this species in Arkansas fromthree widely spaced counties. Sealander and Polechla (1981) did notrecord free-tailed bats during a small-mammal investigation in the park,but predicted occurrence based on its known Arkansas distribution.Saugey et al. (1983) reported the first known maternity colonies forthe species in the state (which included Garland County), expanded theknown Arkansas range of the animal, and firmly established this batas a resident species.Captures ofthe free-tailed bats within the park occurred on June 30,1 July, 26 August, and 23 September of 1982. A total of seven bats (6males/ 1 female) were captured withnever more than two captured onany evening. Interestingly, the largest known maternity colony of thisspecies ever found in Arkansas (estimated at several thousand in-dividuals) was located approximately 1 air mile away (Saugey et al.,1988). The lack of captures ofthis species within the park may be at-tributable to their foraging tactics as described by Krutzsch (1955). Hefound their foraging routes at various heights, commonly from 5m totreetop level and on occasion, as high as 34m — far above the 2m levelof single mist nets. Barbour and Davis (1969) reported Tadaridabrasiliensis mexicana often traveled great distances, up to 65 kilometerseach night, to feed along a river. While the foraging area of the largematernity colony was unknown, one might suspect these bats to haveutilized one of the several large reservoirs or the Ouachita River andadjacent forested hills for watering and feeding purposes.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTAppreciation is expressed to Park Superintendent RogerGiddings, his staff, and the Volunteer InParks programfor encouragement and support during the study. Specialappreciation is also extended to Belinda Wunderlin-Jonakfor valuable assistance in the field. These data representa part of a large scale investigation ofthe ecology of thebats in the Ouachita region and were supported, in part,by the United States Forest Service, a University ofArkan-sas at Little Rock Faculty Research Grant (GAH)andthe UALR College of Science's Office of Research,Science, and Technology.LITERATURE CITEDBAKER, R. J., and C. M. WARD. 1967. Distribution of bats insoutheastern Arkansas. J. Mamm: 48:130-132.82Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 42 [1988], Art. 23http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol42/iss1/23»Proceedings Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 42, 198883David A. Saugey, Dianne G. Saugey, Gary A.Heidt, and Darrell R. HeathBARBOUR, R. W., and W. H. DAVIS. 1969. Bats of America.Univ. Press of Kentucky, Lexington. 286 pp.BARCLAY,R. M.R., C. E. THOMSON, and F. J. S. PHELAN. 1982.Screen owl, Otus asio, attempting to capture little brown bats,Myotis lucifugus, at a colony. Can. Field-Nat. 96(2):205-206.DAVIS, W. H., W. Z. LIDICKER, JR., and J. A. SEALANDER.1955. Myotis austroriparius in Arkansas. J. Mamm. 36:288.GARDNER, J. E., and V. R. McDANIEL. 1978. Distribution ofbats in the Delta region ofnortheastern Arkansas. Proc. Ark.Acad.Sci. 32:46-48.GREGG, H. R. 1937. Occurrence of the hoary bat at Hot SpringsNational Park, Arkansas. J. Mamm. 18:98.HEATH, D. R., G. A. HEIDT, D. A. SAUGEY, and V. R.McDANIEL.1983. Arkansas range extensions of the seminole bat(Lasiurus seminolus) and eastern big-eared bat (Plecotus rafines-quii) and additional county records for the hoary bat (Lasiuruscinereus), silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) and even-ing bat (Nycticeius humeralis). Proc. Ark. Acad. Sci. 37:90-91.HEATH, D. R., D. A. SAUGEY, and G. A. HEIDT. 1986. Abandonedmine fauna of the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas: Vertebrate taxa.Proc. Ark. Acad. Sci. 40:33-36.KRUTZSCH, P. H. 1955. Observations on the Mexican free-tailedbat, Tadarida mexicana. J. Mamm. 36:236-242.LAVAL,R. K.,and M.L.LAVAL.1979. Notes on the reproduction,behavior and abundance of the red bat, Lasiurus borealis. J.Mamm. 60:209-212.McDANIEL,V.R., D. A. SAUGEY, D. R. ENGLAND, and T. W.STEWARD. 1986. Elements of the bat fauna of southwesternArkansas Proc. Ark. Acad. Sci. 40:95-96.SAUGEY, D. A., D. R. HEATH, C. EFAW, G. A. HEIDT, andT. E. BEGGS. 1983. First report ofBrazilian free-tailed bat mater-nity colonies in Arkansas. Proc. Ark. Acad. Sci. 37:98-99.SAUGEY, D. A., D. R. HEATH, G. A.HEIDT, T. W. STEWARD,D. R.ENGLAND, and V.R. McDANIEL.1988. Distribution andstatus of the Brazilian free-tailed bat, Tadarida brasiliensiscynocephala, in Arkansas. Proc. Ark. Acad. Sci. 42:79-80.SEALANDER, J. A.,JR. 1956. Aprovisionalchecklist and key to themammals of Arkansas (with annotations). Amer. Midi.Nat.56:257-296.SEALANDER, J. A.,JR. 1960. Some noteworthy records of Arkansasmammals. J. Mamm. 41:525-526.SEALANDER, J. A., JR. 1979. A guide to Arkansas mammals. RiverRoad Press, Conway, Arkansas. 313 pp.SEALANDER, J. A., JR. and P. J. POLECHLA. 1981. A smallmammal survey ofHot Springs National Park, Arkansas. Unpubl.Final Report to U.S.D.I. National Park Service. 37 pp.SEALANDER, J. A., JR. and J. F. PRICE. 1964. Free-tailed batinArkansas. J. Mamm. 45:152.SEALANDER, J. A., JR. and H. YOUNG. 1955. Preliminary ob-servations on the cave bats of Arkansas. Proc. Ark. Acad. Sci.7:21-31.TUTTLE, M. D. 1976. Collecting techniques. Pp. 71-86. In Baker,R. J., J. K. Jones, Jr., and D. C. Carter (eds.). Biology of batsof the New World family Phyllostomatidae. Part I. Spec. Publ.Mus., Texas Tech Univ. No. 10. 218 pp.WATKINS,L.C, and K. A. SHUMP. 1981. Behavior of the eveningbat, Nycticeius humeralis, at a nursery roost. Amer. Midi.Nat.105:258-268.83Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 42 [1988], Art. 23Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1988

Bats of Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas

UARK (University of Arkansas )

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science Volume 42 Article 23 1988 Bats of Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas David A. Saugey United States Forest Service, dasnightwing@gmail.com Dianne G. Saugey United States Forest Service Gary A. Heidt University of Arkansas at Little Rock Darrell R. Heath University of Arkansas at Little Rock Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas  Part of the Zoology Commons Recommended Citation Saugey, David A.; Saugey, Dianne G.; Heidt, Gary A.; and Heath, Darrell R. (1988) "Bats of Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas," Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 42 , Article 23. Available at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol42/iss1/23 This article is available for use under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). Users are able to read, download, copy, print, distribute, search, link to the full texts of these articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact scholar@uark.edu. Proceedings Arkansas Academy off Science, Vol. 42, 198881THE BATS OF HOT SPRINGSNATIONALPARK, ARKANSASDAVIDA. SAUGEY 1,DIANNE G. SAUGEY',GARY A. HEIDT2,and DARRELL R. HEATH2'United States Forest Service, P.O. Box 1270Hot Springs, AR 71902'Department of Biology, University of Arkansas at LittleRockLittle Rock, AR 72204ABSTRACTA survey was conducted from June 1982 through January 1987 to determine the occurrence of batspecies in Hot Springs National Park, Garland County, Arkansas; an area of approximately 2025hectares. A total of 309 bats in the families Molossidae and Vespertilionidae were captured. Speciesrepresented included: Eptesicus fuscus, Lasiurus borealis, Lasiurus cinereus, Nycticeiushumeralis, Pipistrellus subflavus, and Tadarida brasiliensis cynocephala.INTRODUCTIONFrom June, 1982 through January, 1987 we conducted a survey ofbat species occurring in Hot Springs National Park (Garland County),an area ofapproximately 2025 hectares. Located in the Ouachita Moun-tains of west-central Arkansas, the park is somewhat unusual in thatitpartially surrounds and partially lies within the city of Hot Springs.This arrangement provided considerable diversity of potential bathabitat, ranging from occupied to unoccupied man-made structures,relatively undisturbed north slope hardwoods (Quercus/Carya spp.),south slope shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata), and mixed hardwood-pineforest types.Two perennial streams, BullBayou and Gulpha Creek, and a numberof ponds, both within and adjacent to the park boundary, providedriparian habitat and foraging sites. Additional habitat was providedby two abandoned mine drifts. One driftoccurred within the park boun-dary near DeSoto Park, a city property. The other drift was locatednear the city waterworks facilities, north of Hot Springs. These driftsoffered the only subterranean, "cave-like" habitat in the immediate area.Published information concerning the bat fauna known to occurwithin the park is scarce. Gregg (1937) reported the occurrence of twospecimens of the hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus). Sealander and Polechla(1981) reported specimens of the red bat (Lasiurus borealis), eveningbat (Nycticeius humeralis), the eastern pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus)and a "flying"sight record for the littlebrown bat (Myotis lucifugus)and a sight record for the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus).Additional information concerning the occurrence and distributionof bats in the Ouachita Mountains in and adjacent to the park, HotSprings, and Ouachita National Forest have been reported by Davisetal. (1955), Heath ef al. (1983, 1986), McDaniel et al. (1986), Saugeyetal. (1983), Sealander (1956, 1979), and Sealander and Young (1955).The purpose of this study was to determine and provide natural historydata concerning the bat fauna common to Hot Springs National Park.Furthermore, since the study area is located within the Ouachita Moun-tains and contains habitat typically found in that physiographic pro-vince, the data contained herein should provide important additionsto the understanding ofchiropteran biology in the Ouachita Mountains.MATERIALSANDMETHODSCollection was primarily by mist netting as described by Tuttle (1976).A total of 30 net nights (a net night is one mist net opened into thecapture position for the evening's activities) were generated on 18 dif-ferent dates, with one to three net nights per date. Nets of differentlengths (5.5, 12.8, and 18.3 meters) were erected and opened into thecapture position prior to dusk and checked at five minute intervalsuntil midnight (occasionally until0100 hours). Actual netting periodsvaried from three to six hours depending upon time of year. Nettingprimarily occurred over shallow pools in Gulpha Creek in the GulphaGorge Campground. Each bat was removed from the net and species,sex, age, reproductive condition, time of capture, and ambienttemperature were recorded. In addition, two abandoned mine driftswere visited on several occasions during winter months to determinetheir use as hibernacula. In accordance with National Park Servicepolicy, all individuals were released at the conclusion of the evening'snetting activities.Assignment of bats into age classes was determined by closure ofphalangeal epiphyses. Bats were designated as juveniles on the basisof small overall size, as wellas visual observation ofincomplete ossifica-tion of the epiphyses.Reproductive condition of males was determined by the position ofthe epididymides. Scrotal males were characterized by complete des-cent of the epididymides into pigmented sheaths dorsolateral to the tailand by the presence of enlarged testes. Females bats were diagnosedas pregnant by examination of an obviously enlarged abdomen and lac-tation was determined on the basis of teat examination.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONA total of 309 bats representing two families, fivegenera, and sixspecies were captured during the study. Two abandoned mine driftswere examined and found to be utilized intermittently by two species.Family VespertilionidaeNycticeius humeralis (Rafinesque)Baker and Ward (1967) considered the evening bat to have been thesecond most common bat in southeastern Arkansas while Gardner andMcDaniel (1978) found this species to be relatively uncommon, but pre-sent in small numbers during much of the year innortheastern Arkan-sas. Heath etal. (1983) reported twelve new county records, includingGarland County, and McDaniel et al. (1986) reported on the occur-rence and distribution of the species in southwestern Arkansas.During this study, 136 evening bats (74 males and 62 females) represen-ting 44% of all bats captured were netted.Two pregnant females weighing 12g each were netted on 23 May 1983.The following week (1 June) three pregnant females were netted andranged in weight from 10.5 to 12.3g. A juvenile male, weighing 6g, wasnetted on 30 June 1982 and on 1 July, two additional juvenile males,weighing 5g and 6g, were netted along witha postlactating female. On13 July, four postlactating females were captured. By 26 August,juveniles of both sexes averaged 8g with adults 2-3g heavier.The average weight of adult males ranged between 8-9g from springuntil late August when they began to rapidly gain weight. By late fall,the average adult male weighed 12.3g, an increase of 34%. Adultnon-pregnant females gained an average of 29% of their body weight from9g in spring and summer to a late fall weight of 12.7g. Adultand juvenilemales were observed tobe scrotal in mid-August with juveniles exhibitingtestes as large as the adults. Similar observations were made by Bakerand Ward (1967).Aninteresting behavior was observed for this species on 11 October1986, when bats were frequently captured in small groups of three orfour individuals. The firstgroup captured was composed of two femalesand two scrotal males. They struck the net simultaneously ina space81Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 42 [1988], Art. 23Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1988Proceedings Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol.42, 198882The Bats of Hot Springs National Park, Arkansasapproximately 0.5 meters in diameter; indicating they had been flyingvery close to one another. Approximately twenty minutes later a se-cond similarly composed group was captured. Fifteen minutes later twosmall groups composed of two and three scrotal males were capturedwhen they simultaneously struck the net at opposite ends. Thesignificance of this behavior was probably associated withlate summer/early fall swarming activities.Although common throughout the study, Nycticeius were netted ingreatest numbers from the last week in August until the second weekof October. Baker and Ward (1967) netted this bat in December andindicated the species was most likely a winter resident of southeasternArkansas. Sealander (1960) reported the occurrence of this bat nearFayetteville (Washington County) in mid-February. The capture ofanadult male on 30 January 1987 probably indicates this species, at leastin limited numbers, is a winter resident of west-central Arkansas.The sex ratio for all evening bats netted during this study was 54:46,very similar to the 59:41 ratio reported for southeastern Arkansas byBaker and Ward (1967). The relative abundance of this species was pro-bably due to the large number ofolder homes and buildings inand ad-jacent to the park. According to Watkins and Shump (1981), mostspecimens of Nycticeius have been found in buildings.Lasiurus borealis (Muller).Ninety-one red bats were captured with males (N= 59) encounterednearly twice as often as females (N=32). LaVal and LaVal(1979) madesimilar observations regarding red bats inMissouri. Females were bet-ter represented in samples taken in May, June, and July, but were ab-sent or occurred less frequently in samples during late summer and fall.Pregnant females were captured on 16 May 1984 (13. 3g), 23 May1983 (2 weighed 14g each) and 1 June 1983. Lactating females werecaptured on 30 June and 18 July, 1982 and on 8 July 1983. Two postlac-tating females were captured on 1 July 1982 and one was captured on8 July 1983. Volant juveniles were firstobserved on 30 June 1982 whena very small female weighing 5g was captured. Late October weightsfor females averaged 12g.Males were captured on every occasion and were most abundant frommid-July through September. Two males were netted and several otherred bats sighted on 30 January 1987 after a brief winter warming period.Males averaged 11. 3g in late October.As reported by Baker and Ward (1976), red bats often landed on andhovered near a pillow case used to retain captured red bats, apparentlyattracted by calls made from those inside. The only observed mortalityinvolving any bat during the study occurred when a red phase screechowl (Otus asio) was captured as it attacked and killed a male red batthat had been netted only seconds before. The owl was released andlater flew back down the creek and again became entangled in the net.Predation of bats by this and other species of owls has been welldocumented and reviewed by Barclay et al. (1982).Eptesicus fuscus (Palisot de Beauvois).The big brown bat was the third most common species. Sixty-six in-dividuals, 33 males and 33 females were captured. Two pregnant femalesweighing 21.5g and 23. 5g were captured on 23 May1983, and one preg-nant female was captured a week later on 1 June. Lactating femalesweighing 17g and 20g were netted on 26 June 1982; one of which ex-hibited worn canines, indicating considerable age. Four days later on30 June, another lactating female weighing 19g was netted. The firstpostlactating female was captured one day later on 1 July. The firstvolant juvenile captured was a 13g female netted on 26 June 1982.Numerous maternity colonies of this species have been locatedthroughout Hot Springs and Garland County. Heath et al. (1986)reported the occurrence ofthis bat from the abandoned mine driftnearDeSoto Park.Body weight ofadult males and females was verysimilar in late Oc-tober when the average was 22. 5g. Interestingly, juveniles, althoughnearly as large as adults, weighed considerably less at 15.5 to 17. 3g andgave the appearance of having very little body fat. One adult femalewas captured on30 January 1987 over a shallow pool in Gulpha Creek.Pipistrellus subflavus (F. Cuvier).Sixeastern pipistrelles were captured during the study. Two lactatingfemales, weighing 4g and 6g, were netted on 30 June 1982, indicatingthe occurrence ofa maternity site nearby. The first volant juvenile wascaptured two weeks later on 13 July when a 4g male was netted at thesame locality. Two early August captures in 1982 and 1983 yielded anaverage body weight of 5g. Examination of the abandoned mine driftnear DeSoto Park revealed limited use during most of the year, withmore use in winter.Lasiurus cinereus (Palisot de Beauvois).The hoary bat was first reported from the park by Gregg (1937) whena large female was found frozen on the exterior door facing of theutilities building on12 February 1936. The second specimen was recordedon 20 Aprilof the same year when a live animal was captured by a cityemployee at the Hot Springs pumping plant, approximately 2 milesnorthwest of the city. Three hoary bats were netted during this study.A large, pregnant female was captured on 1 June 1983; on 26 August,a scrotal male weighing 20g and a large female weighing 26g werenetted.Family MolossidaeTadarida brasiliensis cynocephala (Le Conte).Sealander and Price (1964) first reported this species in Arkansas fromthree widely spaced counties. Sealander and Polechla (1981) did notrecord free-tailed bats during a small-mammal investigation in the park,but predicted occurrence based on its known Arkansas distribution.Saugey et al. (1983) reported the first known maternity colonies forthe species in the state (which included Garland County), expanded theknown Arkansas range of the animal, and firmly established this batas a resident species.Captures ofthe free-tailed bats within the park occurred on June 30,1 July, 26 August, and 23 September of 1982. A total of seven bats (6males/ 1 female) were captured withnever more than two captured onany evening. Interestingly, the largest known maternity colony of thisspecies ever found in Arkansas (estimated at several thousand in-dividuals) was located approximately 1 air mile away (Saugey et al.,1988). The lack of captures ofthis species within the park may be at-tributable to their foraging tactics as described by Krutzsch (1955). Hefound their foraging routes at various heights, commonly from 5m totreetop level and on occasion, as high as 34m— far above the 2m levelof single mist nets. Barbour and Davis (1969) reported Tadaridabrasiliensis mexicana often traveled great distances, up to 65 kilometerseach night, to feed along a river. While the foraging area of the largematernity colony was unknown, one might suspect these bats to haveutilized one of the several large reservoirs or the Ouachita River andadjacent forested hills for watering and feeding purposes.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTAppreciation is expressed to Park Superintendent RogerGiddings, his staff, and the Volunteer InParks programfor encouragement and support during the study. Specialappreciation is also extended to Belinda Wunderlin-Jonakfor valuable assistance in the field. These data representa part of a large scale investigation ofthe ecology of thebats in the Ouachita region and were supported, in part,by the United States Forest Service, a University ofArkan-sas at Little Rock Faculty Research Grant (GAH)andthe UALR College of Science's Office of Research,Science, and Technology.LITERATURE CITEDBAKER, R. J., and C. M. WARD. 1967. Distribution of bats insoutheastern Arkansas. J. Mamm: 48:130-132.82Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 42 [1988], Art. 23https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol42/iss1/23»Proceedings Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 42, 198883David A. Saugey, Dianne G. Saugey, Gary A.Heidt, and Darrell R. HeathBARBOUR, R. W., and W. H. DAVIS. 1969. Bats of America.Univ. Press of Kentucky, Lexington. 286 pp.BARCLAY,R. M.R., C. E. THOMSON, and F. J. S. PHELAN. 1982.Screen owl, Otus asio, attempting to capture little brown bats,Myotis lucifugus, at a colony. Can. Field-Nat. 96(2):205-206.DAVIS, W. H., W. Z. LIDICKER, JR., and J. A. SEALANDER.1955. Myotis austroriparius in Arkansas. J. Mamm. 36:288.GARDNER, J. E., and V. R. McDANIEL. 1978. Distribution ofbats in the Delta region ofnortheastern Arkansas. Proc. Ark.Acad.Sci. 32:46-48.GREGG, H. R. 1937. Occurrence of the hoary bat at Hot SpringsNational Park, Arkansas. J. Mamm. 18:98.HEATH, D. R., G. A. HEIDT, D. A. SAUGEY, and V. R.McDANIEL.1983. Arkansas range extensions of the seminole bat(Lasiurus seminolus) and eastern big-eared bat (Plecotus rafines-quii) and additional county records for the hoary bat (Lasiuruscinereus), silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) and even-ing bat (Nycticeius humeralis). Proc. Ark. Acad. Sci. 37:90-91.HEATH, D. R., D. A. SAUGEY, and G. A. HEIDT. 1986. Abandonedmine fauna of the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas: Vertebrate taxa.Proc. Ark. Acad. Sci. 40:33-36.KRUTZSCH, P. H. 1955. Observations on the Mexican free-tailedbat, Tadarida mexicana. J. Mamm. 36:236-242.LAVAL,R. K.,and M.L.LAVAL.1979. Notes on the reproduction,behavior and abundance of the red bat, Lasiurus borealis. J.Mamm. 60:209-212.McDANIEL,V.R., D. A. SAUGEY, D. R. ENGLAND, and T. W.STEWARD. 1986. Elements of the bat fauna of southwesternArkansas Proc. Ark. Acad. Sci. 40:95-96.SAUGEY, D. A., D. R. HEATH, C. EFAW, G. A. HEIDT, andT. E. BEGGS. 1983. First report ofBrazilian free-tailed bat mater-nity colonies in Arkansas. Proc. Ark. Acad. Sci. 37:98-99.SAUGEY, D. A., D. R. HEATH, G. A.HEIDT, T. W. STEWARD,D. R.ENGLAND, and V.R. McDANIEL.1988. Distribution andstatus of the Brazilian free-tailed bat, Tadarida brasiliensiscynocephala, in Arkansas. Proc. Ark. Acad. Sci. 42:79-80.SEALANDER, J. A.,JR. 1956. Aprovisionalchecklist and key to themammals of Arkansas (with annotations). Amer. Midi.Nat.56:257-296.SEALANDER, J. A.,JR. 1960. Some noteworthy records of Arkansasmammals. J. Mamm. 41:525-526.SEALANDER, J. A., JR. 1979. A guide to Arkansas mammals. RiverRoad Press, Conway, Arkansas. 313 pp.SEALANDER, J. A., JR. and P. J. POLECHLA. 1981. A smallmammal survey ofHot Springs National Park, Arkansas. Unpubl.Final Report to U.S.D.I. National Park Service. 37 pp.SEALANDER, J. A., JR. and J. F. PRICE. 1964. Free-tailed batinArkansas. J. Mamm. 45:152.SEALANDER, J. A., JR. and H. YOUNG. 1955. Preliminary ob-servations on the cave bats of Arkansas. Proc. Ark. Acad. Sci.7:21-31.TUTTLE, M. D. 1976. Collecting techniques. Pp. 71-86. In Baker,R. J., J. K. Jones, Jr., and D. C. Carter (eds.). Biology of batsof the New World family Phyllostomatidae. Part I. Spec. Publ.Mus., Texas Tech Univ. No. 10. 218 pp.WATKINS,L.C, and K. A. SHUMP. 1981. Behavior of the eveningbat, Nycticeius humeralis, at a nursery roost. Amer. Midi.Nat.105:258-268.83Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 42 [1988], Art. 23Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1988

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Bats of Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas

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