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Indiana bat roosting behavior differs between urban and rural landscapes

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Abstract

Urbanization may negatively affect forest obligate bat species. We compared the roosting behavior of federally endangered Indiana bats (Myotis sodalis) in a fragmented site, located on the leading edge of a developing urban area (Indianapolis, IN), with a site of relatively contiguous forest cover in Indiana, USA, during the summers of 2013–2015. Bats in both sites used large standing dead trees and bat boxes with low levels of overhead canopy closure (fragmented site: 26.1 ± 11.0%, contiguous site: 20.1 ± 7.3%) as primary roosts (large groups of bats resident over many days). Between the 2 sites, secondary roosts (individual bats or small groups resident for only a few days) differed in canopy closure at the roost-scale (fragmented site: 66.9 ± 5.1%, contiguous site: 37.1 ± 9.3%); secondary roosts in the contiguous site resembled solar-exposed primary roosts. Bats in the fragmented site switched roosts less often (1.7 ± 0.5 switching events/bat, 5.8 ± 1.7 days of use/roosts) and traveled shorter distances between roosts (702 ± 211 m) than bats in the contiguous site (2.3 ± 0.6 switching events/bat, 2.4 ± 0.4 days of use/roosts; 1216 ± 337 m between roosts). This suggests that the fragmented site may have had low densities of available roosts, which may help explain the heavy use of bat boxes by bats in the fragmented site. These data suggest that urban populations of Indiana bats behave differently than those in rural areas, which managers should consider while managing for this species.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is a contribution of the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment, a partnership of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Purdue University, Ball State University, Indiana State University, and Drake University. Funding for this project was provided by the Indianapolis Airport Authority, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Indiana State University, and the Indiana Space Grant consortium. We would like to thank the numerous technicians and volunteers that helped collect field data used in this research, especially H. Badin, C. Byrne, K. Caldwell, T. Carter, T. Divoll, J. Karsk, J. Hoeh, J. Pettit, and J. Weber for their management of mist-net surveys and field crews. We would also like to thank G. Bakken, M. Brigham, S. Haulton, S. Lima, and W. Mitchell for comments on early drafts of this manuscript.

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  1. Department of Biology, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN, 46805, USA

    Scott M. Bergeson

  2. Center for Bat Research, Outreach, and Conservation, Department of Biology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN, 47809, USA

    Scott M. Bergeson, Jordan B. Holmes & Joy M. O’Keefe

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Bergeson, S.M., Holmes, J.B. & O’Keefe, J.M. Indiana bat roosting behavior differs between urban and rural landscapes. Urban Ecosyst 23, 79–91 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-019-00903-4

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