Local trends in abundance of migratory bats across 20 years

Dana M. Green; Liam P. McGuire; Mark C. Vanderwel; Craig K. R. Willis; Matthew J. Noakes; Shelby J. Bohn; Eric N. Green; R. Mark Brigham

doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyaa154

How to translate text using browser tools

6 January 2021 Local trends in abundance of migratory bats across 20 years

Dana M. Green, Liam P. McGuire, Mark C. Vanderwel, Craig K. R. Willis, Matthew J. Noakes, Shelby J. Bohn, Eric N. Green, R. Mark Brigham

Author Affiliations +

J. of Mammalogy, 101(6):1542-1547 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa154

Abstract

Hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus) and silver-haired bats (Lasionycteris noctivagans) are species of conservation concern because of the documented annual mortality that occurs at wind energy facilities. Several recent studies have predicted continental-scale declines of hoary bat populations due to interactions with wind turbines. We predicted a decrease in captures at a summer site over 20 years where researchers have captured bats using generally consistent methods. We developed a hierarchical Bayesian model to estimate the relative change in the expected number of captures while controlling for time of year, temperature, and netting effort. We found no decrease in the number of captures for either species. We suggest that the lack of decrease observed at our study site may be a result of compensatory immigration, despite potential broader-scale population declines.

Citation Download Citation

Dana M. Green, Liam P. McGuire, Mark C. Vanderwel, Craig K. R. Willis, Matthew J. Noakes, Shelby J. Bohn, Eric N. Green, and R. Mark Brigham "Local trends in abundance of migratory bats across 20 years," Journal of Mammalogy 101(6), 1542-1547, (6 January 2021). https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa154

Received: 3 June 2019; Accepted: 9 November 2020; Published: 6 January 2021

KEYWORDS/PHRASES

PUBLICATION TITLE:

COLLECTION TITLE:

PUBLICATION YEARS