Date of Award
2-11-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Biology, MS
First Advisor
Virginie Rolland
Committee Members
John Nowlin; Roger Perry; Thomas Risch
Call Number
LD 251 .A566t 2021 K43
Abstract
Information on summer distribution and diurnal roosting is lacking for the imperiled, rock-roosting Myotis leibii, a species threatened by habitat loss and White-nose Syndrome. I aimed to 1) identify diurnal, summer roost locations in the greater Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas, and 2) determine roost habitat characteristics at the local, landscape, and roost-level scales. Using acoustic monitoring, rock searches, mist-netting, and temperature monitoring in 2019 and 2020, I found M. leibii in an aggregated distribution across the landscape roosting either solitarily or in small groups in the Rich Mountain-Black Fork Mountain, Mount Magazine, and Mount Nebo areas under sparse canopy cover, near protective vegetation, and in warm narrow crevices at talus slopes. This habitat type is a rare and potentially limiting factor in Arkansas. These data will guide future research, assist with species status evaluations, and potentially establish a basis for artificial roost structure design.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Kearny, Valerie Marie, "Summer Distribution and Day Roost Characteristics of Eastern Small-Footed Bats (Myotis Leibii) In West-Central Arkansas" (2022). Student Theses and Dissertations. 259.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/259
