Bat Community Study

Bat Community Structure, Foraging Activity, and Roost Site Selection at Multiple Spatial Scales in Loblolly Pine and Longleaf Pine Forests of Georgia (Graduate Project)

Research Team: Adam Miles (Graduate Student), Dr. L. Michael Conner (Associate Scientist), Steven Castleberry (University of Georgia), and Darren Miller (Weyerhaeyser)

Bat community structure is poorly understood within pine (Pinus spp.) dominated forests of the southeastern United States. Specifically, few studies have examined forest bat assemblages in intensively managed loblolly pine (P. taeda) plantations or mature, second growth longleaf pine (P. palustris) forests. Intensively managed pine forests are expected to increase in acreage from the 8.1 million hectares present in the Southeast in 1985. Managers are increasingly being asked to consider biodiversity within managed forest landscapes, although information on bat diversity is generally lacking. Conversely, the longleaf pine forest ecosystem is the most endangered forested ecosystem in the world. Conservation of biodiversity associated with the remaining tracts of longleaf pine is critical, but, information on bats within this ecosystem also is limited.

Bat Community Structure, Foraging Activity, and Roost Site Selection at Multiple Spatial Scales in Loblolly Pine and Longleaf Pine Forests of Georgia The evening bat (Nyctecius humeralis) is a common species of forested ecosystems across the southeastern United States and represents a model to examine the influence of intensive timber management on bat roosting ecology. However, relatively few quantitative data are available describing roost site selection of this species, particularly in pine forests and at multiple spatial scales. Recently, Menzel et al. (2001) determined evening bats on their study area in South Carolina preferred to roost under exfoliating bark of in cavities of living or dead trees in open, mature longleaf pine or in hardwoods in beaver (Castor canadensis) ponds. They suggested that intensively managed pine forests with nearly complete canopy cover may not provide adequate roost structure for this species. However, on managed loblolly pine forests in Mississippi, evening bats were the second most commonly captured species (20% of total captures) during 1998-2000. Roost site selection of bats in managed forests, especially as compared to more natural forests, remains unknown. Because bats spend over half of their lives in roosts, understanding roost site selection is critical for their conservation.

Given the lack of information on bat community structure and roost site selection in pine forests of the southeast, our objectives are to: examine roost site selection of evening bats
describe bat community structure
examine relative activity of foraging bats
examine relations between mist net survey capture data and bat detectors survey data within 2 pine forest landscapes (intensively managed loblolly and mature, second growth longleaf pine) at multiple spatial scales.

Research in progress, publications forthcoming.

Funded by: Weyerhaeuser, Inc., the Univeristy of Georgia, The Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, NCASI, and Bat Conservation International