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Distribution and activity of bats at local and landscape scales within a rural–urban gradient

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Abstract

We examined the relationship between bat species activity and composition and the extent of forest cover and urbanization in and adjacent to 11 U.S. National Park Service, National Capital Region Parks in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C., from 2003–2004, using mist nets, harp traps, acoustical detectors, and visual observations in a variety of habitats. Our efforts included 363 trap nights across 74 sites along with acoustical sampling at 362 sites. We captured 383 bats and identified 6,380 echolocation passes of 6 species. Both overall and species-specific activities were affected more by forest fragmentation within parks than by urbanization adjacent to parks. With an ability to exploit anthropogenic structures for day-roosts, big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) were the most ubiquitous and probably the most abundant species in NCR Parks, particularly in forested, urban parks. Northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis), and to a lesser extent, little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) were more prevalent in forested, rural parks of the Ridge and Valley and Blue Ridge than in eastern, less forested urban parks of the Piedmont and Coastal Plain physiographic provinces. Retention of larger, residual forest tracts and day-roosting habitat (i.e., trees and snags) would be beneficial to most species, as urban expansion continues throughout the region.

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Acknowledgments

We thank our technicians R. Gauza, J. Karow, J. Kennedy, and K. Schmidt for their hard work and perseverance. National Park Service (NPS) staff provided invaluable logistic support and field assistance. We thank D. Feller, M. Frias, J. Leary, and K. Lott for assistance during hibernacula surveys. The National Capital Region Network of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program funded this project. We thank M. Koenen and J. Sinclair of the NPS I&M Program for their integral role in coordinating and supporting this project. Comments from two anonymous reviewers and C. Nilon greatly improved the quality of this manuscript. This article is Scientific Contribution #4178 of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Appalachian Laboratory.

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  1. Joshua B. Johnson

    Present address: Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6125, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Appalachian Laboratory, 301 Braddock Road, Frostburg, MD, 21532, USA

    Joshua B. Johnson & J. Edward Gates

  2. U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station, P.O. Box 404, Parsons, WV, 26287, USA

    W. Mark Ford

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  1. Joshua B. Johnson
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Correspondence to Joshua B. Johnson.

Appendices

Appendix A

Table 3 Percentage of land cover types within National Capital Region Parks and within a 2-km buffer surrounding each park
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Appendix B

Table 4 Bat captures at National Capital Region Parks, 2003–2004
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Appendix C

Table 5 Bat echolocation passes recorded at National Capital Region Parks, 2003–2004
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Johnson, J.B., Gates, J.E. & Ford, W.M. Distribution and activity of bats at local and landscape scales within a rural–urban gradient. Urban Ecosyst 11, 227–242 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-008-0055-x

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