TY - JOUR
T1 - Acceptance of bats to gates at abandoned mines
AU - Tobin, Abigail
AU - Corbett, R. J.M.
AU - Walker, Faith M.
AU - Chambers, Carol L.
N1 - Funding Information:
C. Patterson and M. Guilliams assisted in the field and with data analysis. S. C. Thomas, L. S. Delay, K. S. Hughes, M. N. Plis, R. Armijo, J. M. Gladden, M. Sherman, W. P. Burger, A. L. McIntire, J. A. Monfeli, J. A. Williams, A. D. Karosas, J. Samuelson, J. Leivas, and C. R. Routhe assisted in the field with surveying mines. D. E. Sanchez and C. J. Sobek sequenced and analyzed DNA in guano. We received information on abandoned mines and assistance in coordinating field work from New Mexico Energy Minerals and Natural Resource Department, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining Abandoned Mine Land Program, United States Forest Service Tonto National Forest, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Tucson Field Office, BLM Kingman Field Office, BLM Phoenix Field Office, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, and Nevada Department of Wildlife. A. F. Messina, T. C. Theimer, J. M. Diamond, D. L. Sonderegger, D. M. Steward, P. E. Brown, S. Renner, L. A. Kobelt, M. E. Taylor, M. E. Troche, K. W. Navo, M. E. Schwab, E. R. Zielski, T. C. Nicolaysen, D. Zack, M. D. Johnson, L. M. Carpenter, J. Jeffers, D. C. Dalton, D. C. Buecher, S. Wolf, and J. Morse assisted with field coordination and provided insight to this project development. Arizona Department of Transportation and Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold donated culverts for the in situ mock gate experiment and R. T. Goforth modified these culverts for our study design. P. S. Keim, K. B. M. Wiggins, and H. M. H. O'Neil provided Illumina MiSeq access and support. We thank the BLM and BCI Subterranean Program for financial and project support.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Wildlife Society, 2018
PY - 2018/9
Y1 - 2018/9
N2 - Caves and abandoned mines provide roosting habitat for bat species that depend on subterranean conditions. Disturbances at caves (e.g., commercial development, recreation) limit their availability to bats, in some cases shifting use to abandoned mines. However, abandoned mines pose public safety hazards and often are gated to reduce risk to humans while maintaining access to bats. To date there is limited information on species-specific acceptance of gates at abandoned mines. We designed our research objectives to determine short-term (1 week) behavioral responses of bats to gating, including gate material and height above ground, mid-term (<1 yr) changes in bat use before and after gate installation, and long-term changes (≥4 yrs) in use and factors influencing species presence. We used an in situ mock gate experiment, comparison of bat use before and after gating, and genetic identification of guano in gated mines for our short-, mid-, and long-term studies, respectively. In our short-term study, bats increased energetically demanding behaviors following gate installation. Although we detected no difference in responses to gate material or height, a less maneuverable bat species circled, collided, and landed more frequently on gates than did an agile species. In the mid-term study, activity remained stable or increased at 73% of mines after gating compared to before gating, although number of maternity colonies decreased. In the long-term study, elevation, portal area, number of mine levels, and entrances were more important than gates in predicting presence of 4 bat species, including 2 subterranean obligates. Species-specific responses to gates appeared based on morphology and vocalization characteristics. Responses to gates shifted from negative in our short-term study to positive in our long-term study. Gate age and mine characteristics were more important predictors of use for most species than gate design. Although the complexity of subterranean habitats makes them difficult to replicate and many factors may influence how bats use this habitat, gates designed for bats (bat-compatible) appear effective for many species.
AB - Caves and abandoned mines provide roosting habitat for bat species that depend on subterranean conditions. Disturbances at caves (e.g., commercial development, recreation) limit their availability to bats, in some cases shifting use to abandoned mines. However, abandoned mines pose public safety hazards and often are gated to reduce risk to humans while maintaining access to bats. To date there is limited information on species-specific acceptance of gates at abandoned mines. We designed our research objectives to determine short-term (1 week) behavioral responses of bats to gating, including gate material and height above ground, mid-term (<1 yr) changes in bat use before and after gate installation, and long-term changes (≥4 yrs) in use and factors influencing species presence. We used an in situ mock gate experiment, comparison of bat use before and after gating, and genetic identification of guano in gated mines for our short-, mid-, and long-term studies, respectively. In our short-term study, bats increased energetically demanding behaviors following gate installation. Although we detected no difference in responses to gate material or height, a less maneuverable bat species circled, collided, and landed more frequently on gates than did an agile species. In the mid-term study, activity remained stable or increased at 73% of mines after gating compared to before gating, although number of maternity colonies decreased. In the long-term study, elevation, portal area, number of mine levels, and entrances were more important than gates in predicting presence of 4 bat species, including 2 subterranean obligates. Species-specific responses to gates appeared based on morphology and vocalization characteristics. Responses to gates shifted from negative in our short-term study to positive in our long-term study. Gate age and mine characteristics were more important predictors of use for most species than gate design. Although the complexity of subterranean habitats makes them difficult to replicate and many factors may influence how bats use this habitat, gates designed for bats (bat-compatible) appear effective for many species.
KW - Chiroptera
KW - Corynorhinus townsendii
KW - DNA barcoding
KW - Macrotus californicus
KW - Myotis velifer
KW - Tadarida brasiliensis
KW - gating
KW - non-invasive genetic sampling
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U2 - 10.1002/jwmg.21498
DO - 10.1002/jwmg.21498
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85052152924
SN - 0022-541X
VL - 82
SP - 1345
EP - 1358
JO - Journal of Wildlife Management
JF - Journal of Wildlife Management
IS - 7
ER -