1. DIET OF BATS BEFORE AND AFTER FOREST MANAGEMENT
- Author
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Martin, Megan K., Sparks, Dale W., and Whitaker, John O., Jr.
- Subjects
Bats -- Food and nutrition ,Science and technology - Abstract
Guano was analyzed for seven bat species captured while foraging within and adjacent to sites in south-central Indiana both before and after the sites were used as no-harvest controls or experimentally manipulated with either even-aged (clear-cut and shelterwood cut) or uneven-aged (group and single tree selection) techniques as part of the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE). Despite collecting samples for six years, sufficient samples for comparison were obtained for only three species: northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), and eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis). None of these species experienced a significant change in diet associated with experimental harvest. This result is surprising because concurrent studies on the HEE have shown insect prey abundance changes as a response to harvest treatments. Our results reinforce previous conclusions that bats are selective opportunists that focus on particular groups of insects even when habitat manipulations change the abundance of those foods. Keywords: Bats, diet, forest management, Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE), INTRODUCTION Insectivorous bats feed on night-flying insects, including many pest species. Understanding how the diets of these species changes with changing forest conditions is important to understand how bats respond [...]
- Published
- 2020