Species-specific environmental conditions for winter bat acoustic activity in North Carolina, United States

Low winter temperatures are a major driver of hibernation and migration in temperate North American bats. Hibernation and migration in turn affect bat mortality via white-nose syndrome and collisions with wind turbines. To describe winter bat acoustic activity across a wide temperature gradient and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of mammalogy 2020-12, Vol.101 (6), p.1502-1512
Main Authors: Parker, Kevin A., Li, Han, Kalcounis-Rueppell, Matina C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
acoustic monitoring
bats
Chiroptera
Eptesicus fuscus
Feature Articles
Lasionycteris noctivagans
Lasiurus cinereus
Perimyotis subflavus
winter activity
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Low winter temperatures are a major driver of hibernation and migration in temperate North American bats. Hibernation and migration in turn affect bat mortality via white-nose syndrome and collisions with wind turbines. To describe winter bat acoustic activity across a wide temperature gradient and to understand species-specific responses to low temperatures, we recorded nightly acoustic activity of bats at 15 sites across the state of North Carolina, United States, from December through February 2016 – 2018. Bat acoustic activity was recorded at all sites during both winters. Nightly probability of bat acoustic presence regressed positively on ambient temperature. Nightly probability of presence in Lasionycteris noctivagans (silver-haired bat) and Eptesicus fuscus (big brown bat) regressed negatively on wind speed. The mean probability of presence within the same winter condition was highest for L. noctivagans, followed by E. fuscus, Perimyotis subflavus (tricolored bat), and Lasiurus cinereus (hoary bat). Differences in species' mean body weight and roosting preference explained part of the variation of the species-specific probability of presence. Our results can be used to predict bat acoustic presence for these species across the southeastern United States in winter, and better understand the potential threats to bats such as white-nose syndrome and wind turbine interactions.
ISSN:0022-2372
1545-1542
DOI:10.1093/jmammal/gyaa133