Abstract
In 1992 and 1993, we surveyed the foraging and feeding activity of bat species with broadband bat detectors at 2 foliage heights in 4 age classes of northern hardwood and spruce/fir forest stands in White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire and Maine. The association of bat activity with trails and water bodies and the effect of elevation were measured. Mist nets, a harp trap, and ultrasonic detectors were used to establish species presence. Bat activity was concentrated at trail and water body edges and was uniform within a forest stand at the same sampling height. Within the forest, bat activity was highest in overmature (>119 yr, 35% of mean bat activity/night) hardwood stands and in regenerating (0-9 yr) stands of both forest types (26% of mean bat activity/night). The majority of bats trapped (56%) were adult male little brown bat (
Myotis lucifugus). Our data indicate that a matrix of forest types and age classes including areas of regeneration (clearcuts and group cuts) and overmature hardwood, in combination with trails and water bodies, help fulfill the summer habitat requirements of bats in White Mountain National Forest.
Keywords
bats,
Chiroptera,
feeding,
forest management,
forest age class,
habitat ecology,
little brown bat,
Myotis lucifugus,
White Mountain National Forest
Citation
Krusic, Rachel A.; Yamasaki, Mariko; Neefus, Christopher D.; Pekins, Peter J. 1996. Bat habitat use in White Mountain National Forest. Journal of Wildlife Management. 60(3): 625-631.
