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Multi-scale roost site selection by Rafinesque's big-eared bats and southeastern myotis in Mississippi

Rafinesque’s big-eared bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii; RBEB) and southeastern myotis (Myotis austroriparius; SEM) are listed on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Limited information on roost sites exists. I conducted roost surveys for RBEB and SEM on public forest lands in central Mississippi during winter and spring 2010. During winter, RBEB and SEM roosted in cavity trees with greater trunk diameters. In spring, roost trees used by SEM were located in forested areas of lower elevation, less slope, and greater distances from roads. Because imperfect detection can affect occupancy estimates, I estimated detection probabilities under different survey methods. Detection probability ranged from 95 – 100% and 92 – 99% when one to 2 observers used repeated surveys and removal method, respectfully. When estimating for abundance, presence of ≤20 bats led to count errors of <4%. When >20 bats were present, count errors were 38.1%. Observers correctly identified species 91% of the time.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-4245
Date09 December 2011
CreatorsFleming, Heather Lynne
PublisherScholars Junction
Source SetsMississippi State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceTheses and Dissertations

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