Bat roosting strategies and torpor expression in a wildfire-affected landscape during summer

Background Climate change has caused several alterations in the frequency, intensity, and severity of wildfires globally, particularly in the western United States. Wildfire can dramatically change the microclimate experienced by animals who inhabit fire-prone areas, with implications for energy exp...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fire ecology 2023-12, Vol.19 (1), p.39, Article 39
Main Authors: Doty, Anna C., Crawford, Reed D., Blakey, Rachel V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Availability
Bark
Bats
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Body temperature
Canyons
Climate change
Clutter
Coniferous forests
Diameters
Ecology
Energy expenditure
Exfoliation
Foraging habitats
Forest fires
Forestry
Habitat selection
Habitats
Landscape
Life Sciences
Mammals
Microbalances
Microclimate
Myotis californicus
National parks
Original Research
Radio telemetry
Roosts
Skin temperature
Summer
Telemetry
Temperature preferences
Thermoregulation
Torpor
Trees
Water resources
Wildfires
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:Background Climate change has caused several alterations in the frequency, intensity, and severity of wildfires globally, particularly in the western United States. Wildfire can dramatically change the microclimate experienced by animals who inhabit fire-prone areas, with implications for energy expenditure, particularly for heterothermic species. Heterothermic mammals manage energy expenditure by selecting optimal microclimates and regulating their body temperature. Because bats frequently use torpor, they are a useful model organism to understand how wildfires affect heterothermic mammal communities. In 2020, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks were subjected to a severe wildfire that spanned 3636 ha within the boundaries of the park. We tracked eight California myotis ( Myotis californicus ) captured in Sequoia National Park to 22 roost sites in a gradient of burn severities in the summer from June–August 2021. We also quantified the torpor expression of bats on this post-burn landscape by measuring the roosting skin temperature of four M. californicus captured in a fire-affected site using temperature-sensitive radio telemetry. Results M. californicus showed preference for taller and larger diameter trees with more exfoliating bark, although they did not show preference for whether individual trees were burned or unburned. At the roost habitat-scale, 21 out of 22 M . californicus roosts were within or 
ISSN:1933-9747
1933-9747
DOI:10.1186/s42408-023-00199-y