Day-roost tree selection by northern long-eared bats - What do non-roost tree comparisons and one year of data really tell us?

Global Ecology and Conservation
By: , and 

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Abstract

Bat day-roost selection often is described through comparisons of day-roosts with randomly selected, and assumed unused, trees. Relatively few studies, however, look at patterns of multi-year selection or compare day-roosts used across years. We explored day-roost selection using 2 years of roost selection data for female northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis) on the Fort Knox Military Reservation, Kentucky, USA. We compared characteristics of randomly selected non-roost trees and day-roosts using a multinomial logistic model and day-roost species selection using chi-squared tests. We found that factors differentiating day-roosts from non-roosts and day-roosts between years varied. Day-roosts differed from non-roosts in the first year of data in all measured factors, but only in size and decay stage in the second year. Between years, day-roosts differed in size and canopy position, but not decay stage. Day-roost species selection was non-random and did not differ between years. Although bats used multiple trees, our results suggest that there were additional unused trees that were suitable as roosts at any time. Day-roost selection pattern descriptions will be inadequate if based only on a single year of data, and inferences of roost selection based only on comparisons of roost to non-roosts should be limited.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Day-roost tree selection by northern long-eared bats - What do non-roost tree comparisons and one year of data really tell us?
Series title Global Ecology and Conservation
DOI 10.1016/j.gecco.2015.03.008
Volume 3
Year Published 2015
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Publisher location Amsterdam
Contributing office(s) Coop Res Unit Leetown
Description 8 p.
First page 756
Last page 763
Country United States
State Kentucky
Other Geospatial Fort Knox Military Reservation
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
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