The diversity and behavior of bats in wetlands versus forested edge using unidirectional acoustic recordings in the Piedmont region of North Carolina
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Monica K. Calhoun (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Malcolm Schug
Abstract: Bats are one of the most economically important vertebrates. Anthropogenic disturbances such as deforestation, pesticide use, and urbanization have decimated bat populations around the world. Previous studies demonstrated that wetlands and riparian zones are heavily used habitats by bats. Many insects depend on water for part of their life cycles, making riparian and wetland habitats a potentially important foraging ground for bats. No study has specifically investigated how bats use wetlands. This study is one of the first to examine fine-scale wetland use by bats as foraging habitats. To address this research question, 10 wetlands and corresponding forest edges were acoustically monitored in the Piedmont region of NC. Using unidirectional microphones at each site, bat echolocation calls were recorded and classified into bat species and call types. This project had two aims: Aim 1 is to determine the species richness of bats at the sites. The independent variable is the site location, and the dependent variable is the number of species found at each site. Acoustic calls showed each species varied by site. Five out of the seven species showed significant differences between wetland and forest edges. Aim two is to determine if bats use open wetlands for foraging more than forest edges. Acoustic calls were used to monitor bat calls to quantify foraging calls versus commuting calls aimed over wetlands and along nearby forest edges. The seven focus species of this research had different activity levels than expected. The foraging activity over open wetlands versus forest edges also varied by bat species. This research could help implement wetland restoration and mitigation that will influence the proposed endangered Tricolored bat presence.
The diversity and behavior of bats in wetlands versus forested edge using unidirectional acoustic recordings in the Piedmont region of North Carolina
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Created on 12/1/2023
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2023
- Keywords
- Acoustic, Bats, Foraging, Forest edge, Piedmont NC, Wetlands
- Subjects
- Bats $z North Carolina
- Wetlands $z North Carolina
- Forests and forestry $z North Carolina