Roost selection by male and female northern long-eared bats in a pine-dominated landscape

Abstract

We radiotracked 17 male northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis) to 43-day roosts and 23 females to 49-day roosts in the Ouachita Mountains of central Arkansas during summers 2000–2005.We compared characteristics of roost trees between males and females, and compared characteristics of sites surrounding roosts with random locations for each sex. Roosts were located in cavities, crevices, and under loose bark, primarily in snags; 85% of male and 95% of female roosts were in snags. Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) was the most utilized tree species (71% of roosts) and both sexes preferred (P < 0.05) pine snags over hardwood snags. Most (80%) snag roosts were in snags 10–24.9 cm dbh, but females roosted in snags of greater diameter than males and males tended to roost more in small (

Citation

Perry, Roger W.; Thill, Ronald E. 2007. Roost selection by male and female northern long-eared bats in a pine-dominated landscape. Forest Ecology and Management. 247(1-3): 220-226.