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Roosts of Allen's Lappet‐Browed Bat in Northern Arizona
Author(s) -
SOLVESKY BEN G.,
CHAMBERS CAROL L.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the journal of wildlife management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1937-2817
pISSN - 0022-541X
DOI - 10.2193/2008-333
Subject(s) - snag , geography , ecology , habitat , coarse woody debris , diameter at breast height , bark (sound) , woodland , forestry , biology
In Arizona, USA, Allen's lappet‐browed bat ( Idionycteris phyllotis ) forms maternity colonies in ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa ) snags. There is little information on the roosting habitat of males. We used radiotelemetry to locate 16 maternity, 3 postlactating, and 2 bachelor roosts and combined data with unpublished data for maternity roosts ( n = 11) located in 1993–1995. Most (96%) maternity roosts were in large‐diameter ( x̄ ± SE: 64 ± 2.7 cm) ponderosa pine snags under sloughing bark. Models that best predicted the probability of a snag's use as a maternity roost indicated bats selected taller snags closer to forest roads than comparison snags. Maternity roosts averaged 11 bats per roost (SE = 2, n = 15; from exit counts) and were an average distance of 1.6 km from capture sites (SE = 0.3, n = 17). Bachelor roosts were in vertical sandstone cliff faces in pinyon‐juniper ( Pinus edulis‐Juniperus spp.) woodlands approximately 12 km from capture sites; these and other capture records in Arizona indicated sexual segregation may have occurred during the maternity season. Of 11 maternity snag roosts located in 1993–1995, only one continued to function as a roost. Resource managers should maintain patches of large‐diameter ponderosa pine snags with peeling bark to provide maternity roosting habitat for Allen's lappet‐browed bat.