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  1. Northern California redwood forests provide important seasonal habitat for migrant bats

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    Author(s): Theodore J. Weller; Craig A. Stricker
    Date: 2012
    Source: In: Standiford, Richard B.; Weller, Theodore J.; Piirto, Douglas D.; Stuart, John D., tech. coords. Proceedings of coast redwood forests in a changing California: A symposium for scientists and managers. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-238. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. pp. 447-457
    Publication Series: General Technical Report (GTR)
    Station: Pacific Southwest Research Station
    PDF: View PDF  (560.01 KB)
    Note: This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document

    Description

    Bats are known to roost in redwood forests year-round, but their activities outside the summer season are poorly understood. To improve understanding of the use of redwoods by resident and migrant bats, we conducted 74 mist net surveys between February 2008 and October 2010. Captures were dominated by Yuma myotis (M. yumanensis) in the summer and silver-haired bats (Lasionycteris noctivagans) in the winter. During November-February, silverhaired bats, accounted for 78 percent of 23 captures and male:female sex ratio was (9:9). By contrast, during June-August, silver-haired bats accounted for 13.8 percent of 269 captures and sex ratios were highly male skewed (34:3). In combination with other regional information, this indicates that female silver-haired bats migrate to redwood forests. To infer summer locations of bats captured in redwood forests, we analyzed stable isotopes of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur in their fur. Despite spatial segregation between male and female silver-haired bats during presumed molt period, we did not find differences between the sexes in range of isotope values in their fur. Nor were their values different from Yuma myotis. Our findings highlight some of the challenges in using stable istotope analysis to infer migratory pathways in bats.

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    Citation

    Weller, Theodore J.; Stricker, Craig A. 2012 Northern California redwood forests provide important seasonal habitat for migrant bats. In: Standiford, Richard B.; Weller, Theodore J.; Piirto, Douglas D.; Stuart, John D., tech. coords. Proceedings of coast redwood forests in a changing California: A symposium for scientists and managers. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-238. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. pp. 447-457.

    Keywords

    bats, Lasionycteris noctivagans, Lasiurus cinereus, Myotis yumanensis, redwoods, stable isotopes, migration, winter

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