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Little work has focused on species presence, distributions, and habitat use of bats in the Great Plains of North America. In particular, no previous study has attempted to determine if bats are utilizing hibernacula during the winter months in North Dakota. The current lack of information regarding bat species presence during the winter months in North Dakota can have great conservation implications. Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungal pathogen responsible for white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats across the United States and Canada, has led to great concern for wildlife managers. For many of the areas where WNS is present, information about the presence and location of hibernacula are known, allowing for close monitoring of the spread of the disease. However, some locations within the predicted path of WNS still lack information as to bat species presence during the winter months. Due to mortality rates sometimes reaching upwards of 100% as a result of WNS infection, filling in these information gaps is critical for conservation research. The purpose of this study was to determine if the badlands region of North Dakota supports over-wintering bat communities, document both utilized and potential hibernacula, and develop a Geographic Information Systems model in the program MaxEnt to be used for future studies and wildlife managers. Six species were positively identified in the badlands region of North Dakota during the pre-hibernation and winter hibernation periods: Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus), Silver-haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus), Long-eared Myotis (Myotis evotis), Townsend's Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii), and Western Small-footed Myotis (Myotis ciliolabrum). Habitat suitability modeling was employed to model potential hibernacula in the study area. Knowledge of these potential hibernacula could be of great importance to wildlife managers, and results from this study may be used by regional wildlife managers to develop strategies for curtailing the spread of this disease into North Dakota.

Few bat inventories have taken place in Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada, an area currently known to be the northernmost extent of the ranges of at least 6 bat species. Only 2 species of bats, the Northern Myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) and Little Brown Myotis (M. lucifugus), were previously known from the Nahanni National Park Reserve in the southwestern NWT. We used mistnets (15 nights) and AnaBat ultrasound detectors (23 nights) to survey bats in the South Nahanni River Watershed and surrounding area, to undertake the first formal survey of bats in the Northwest Territories. We confirmed the presence of the 2 species formerly documented from the area, as well as an additional 5 species not previously recorded from the region, including: Long-eared Myotis (Myotis evotis), Long-legged Myotis (M. volans), Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus), Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinerus), and Eastern Red Bat (L. borealis). Four species were captured in mistnets (Northern Myotis, Little Brown Myotis, Long-eared My...

We determined the presence of rabies-virus-neutralizing antibodies (RVNA) in serum of 721 insectivorous bats of seven species captured, sampled, and released in Colorado and New Mexico, United States in 2003-2005. A subsample of 160 bats was tested for rabies-virus RNA in saliva. We sampled little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) at two maternity roosts in Larimer County, Colorado; big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) at three maternity roosts in Morgan County, Colorado; and big brown bats at five maternity roosts in Larimer County. We also sampled hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus) and silver-haired bats (Lasionycteris noctivagans) captured while drinking or foraging over water in Bernalillo County, New Mexico and at various locations in Larimer County. Big brown bats, little brown bats, long-legged myotis (Myotis volans), long-eared myotis (Myotis evotis), and fringed myotis (Myotis thysanodes) were also sampled over water in Larimer County. All species except long-eared myotis included individuals with RVNA, with prevalences ranging from 7% in adult female silver-haired bats to 32% in adult female hoary bats. None of the bats had detectable rabies-virus RNA in oropharyngeal swabs, including 51 bats of 5 species that had RVNA in serum. Antibody-positive bats were present in nine of the 10 maternity colonies sampled. These data suggest that wild bats are commonly exposed to rabies virus and develop a humoral immune response suggesting some degree of viral replication, but many infections fail to progress to clinical disease.

Forest management activities influence habitat suitability for bats, and knowledge of the roosting ecology of bats is fundamental to developing strategies for conserving bats in managed forests. Information on use of roosts by multiple species of bats in a given area may provide insight into interspecific ecological patterns and could improve management prescriptions to provide habitat for bats through time across diverse ownerships and over multiple spatial scales. We investigated use of conifer snags as roosts by females of 3 species of forest-dwelling bats in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menzesii) forests in the western Oregon Cascade Range. We radiotagged 29 female big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus), 55 long-legged myotis (Myotis volans), and 27 long-eared myotis (Myotis evotis) and located 42, 105, and 24 snag roosts for the 3 species, respectively. All 3 species most frequently used Douglas-fir snags and in similar proportions to their availability. Big brown bats and long-legged myotis rarely roosted in stands

We used radiotelemetry to examine the roost-site preferences of four species of tree-roosting bats (Eptesicus fuscus, Lasionycteris noctivagans, Myotis evotis, and M. volans) in southern British Columbia, Canada, by radio-tracking bats to their day roosts. We found a total of 21 roost trees: 14 roosts were beneath loose bark, 5 were in cavities excavated by woodpeckers, and 2 were in natural cavities. Entrance height increased with tree height, but roost entrances tended to be situated below the level of the canopy. Of the 22 tree and site variables examined, only 3 significantly discriminated between roost trees and available trees: tree height, distance to the nearest available tree, and percent canopy closure. Bats preferred tall trees associated with low percent canopy closure and a short distance to the nearest available tree. Bats roosted in western white pine, and to a lesser extent ponderosa pine and western larch, in intermediate stages of decay more often than would be expected at random. Bats switched roosts frequently. The distance between subsequent roost trees was short, suggesting a degree of fidelity to a particular group of trees or area of forest. The number of days of rain during the roosting period significantly influenced the number of days spent in a particular roost, and thus ambient conditions may restrict the frequency with which bats can switch roosts.

A substantial body of work exists describing timing of migration and hibernation among bats in eastern North America, but less is known about these events among bats inhabiting the Rocky Mountain region. Yellowstone National Park is a geothermally influenced landscape comprised of diverse habitats, creating the opportunity for unique behaviors to develop among local bat populations. We identified the timing of migration for the local bat community and determined if bats overwinter in Yellowstone. To accomplish this, we radiotracked 7 little brown myotis ( Myotis lucifugus ), 5 western long-eared myotis ( M. evotis ), 4 big brown bats ( Eptesicus fuscus ), 4 silver-haired bats ( Lasionycteris noctivagans ), and 1 western small-footed myotis ( M. ciliolabrum ) from August to September 2010 and September to October 2011. We also used acoustic detectors to record bat activity from November through April 2011–2014 and sampled abundance of nocturnal insects using black-light traps from 2011 to 2012. Although availability of insects declined rapidly during August and afterward, several bat species remained active throughout autumn and winter. Bat activity was recorded during all months, even during periods of extreme cold. Radiotagged big brown bats, little brown myotis, and western small-footed myotis remained active in the study area throughout October, after the 1st snowfall of the season. While data for activity patterns in late autumn and winter prevented an estimation of the onset of hibernation, spring emergence occurred in April despite persistence of winter conditions. These data provide insights into the migration and hibernation strategies of bat populations in the Rocky Mountains and highlight gaps in our understanding of seasonal changes in these species.

One hundred and sixty-nine bats belonging to 6 different species and collected from 4 ecological zones (aspen parkland, boreal forest, grassland, and montane) in Alberta, Canada, during 1988 and 1989 were examined for helminths. Forty bats were infected with the stomach nematode Longibucca lasiura McIntosh and Chitwood, 1934. Sample size, prevalence, and mean intensity (with range in parentheses) of L. lasiura for the 6 species of bat were as follows: Myotis lucifugus, N = 130, 27%, 39 (1–121); Myotis ciliolabrum, N = 10, 10%, 1; Eptesicus fuscus, N = 6, 33%, 12 (2–22); Lasionycteris noctivagans, N = 2, 100%, 22 (5–39). Myotis evotis (N = 9) and Lasiurus cinereus (N = 3) were not infected. Longibucca lasiura was found in bats from all ecological zones except the boreal forest. This parasite was found in bats active during summer (June to August) and in hibernating M. lucifugus collected in September and April.

Bats are reservoirs for many different coronaviruses (CoVs) as well as many other important zoonotic viruses. We sampled feces and/or anal swabs of 1,044 insectivorous bats of 2 families and 17 species from 21 different locations within Colorado from 2007 to 2009. We detected alphacoronavirus RNA in bats of 4 species: big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus), 10% prevalence; long-legged bats (Myotis volans), 8% prevalence; little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus), 3% prevalence; and western long-eared bats (Myotis evotis), 2% prevalence. Overall, juvenile bats were twice as likely to be positive for CoV RNA as adult bats. At two of the rural sampling sites, CoV RNAs were detected in big brown and long-legged bats during the three sequential summers of this study. CoV RNA was detected in big brown bats in all five of the urban maternity roosts sampled throughout each of the periods tested. Individually tagged big brown bats that were positive for CoV RNA and later sampled again all became CoV RNA negative. Nucleotide sequences in the RdRp gene fell into 3 main clusters, all distinct from those of Old World bats. Similar nucleotide sequences were found in amplicons from gene 1b and the spike gene in both a big-brown and a long-legged bat, indicating that a CoV may be capable of infecting bats of different genera. These data suggest that ongoing evolution of CoVs in bats creates the possibility of a continued threat for emergence into hosts of other species. Alphacoronavirus RNA was detected at a high prevalence in big brown bats in roosts in close proximity to human habitations (10%) and known to have direct contact with people (19%), suggesting that significant potential opportunities exist for cross-species transmission of these viruses. Further CoV surveillance studies in bats throughout the Americas are warranted.

Winter records of bats in the Pacific Northwest are extremely limited (Barbour and Davis 1969). Of the 15 bat species other than Plecotus townsendii in Oregon and Washington, at least two are considered migratory. Five species (Eptesicus fuscus, Myotis californicus, M. Iucifugus, M. volans, Antrozous pallidus) are known to hibernate in the eastern portion of their ranges (Barbour and Davis 1969; Twente 1960). Marcot (1984) reported records for hibernating Myotis evotis in northern California, Senger et al. (1974) noted five species of hibernating myotids (M. californicus, M. evotis, M. Iucifugus, M. volans and M. yumanensis) in Washington, Genter (1986) observed hibernating M. Ie.;bii in Idaho, and Jewett (1955) recorded Tadarida brasiliensis from buildings in southwestern Oregon. Most hibernacula contained relatively few bats (range = 1-41) when compared with those of the eastern United States (Barbour and Davis 1969). The reports were from studies concentrated in small geographical areas and involved a small number of caves. Twente (1960), who investigated over 600 potential hibernacula in Utah, speculated few hibernating bats were noted because of warm temperatures in the caves. Results of Genter (1986), Marcot (1984), and Senger et al. (1974) suggest that hibernacula in the Pacific Northwest may contain larger bat populations than reported by Twente (1960). This prompted us to conduct a more extensive search that included most of Oregon and Washington. We defined winter as the period from 1 November to 1 April. During winters of 1982-1989, we searched more than 650 caves and mines and 70 buildings in Oregon and Washington. Seven of the caves were previously surveyed by Senger et al. (1974). Most bats were easily identified from observable external characters (Hall 1981). Closely related species (M. Iucifugus, M. yomRnensis; and M. thysanodes, M. evotis) were collected if positive identification could not be made in the field. In addition, we obtained winter records of museum specimens collected in Oregon and Washington from American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), the National Museum (USNM), the University of Puget Sound (PSMNH), the University of Washington (UW), Southern Oregon State College (SOSC), the San Diego Museum of Natural History (SDMNH), Oregon State University (OSUFW), the University of Michigan (UMMZ), and Walla Walla College (WWC). We located 174 bats of seven species at 26 sites (Table 1). M. volans (124) and M. Ieibii (36) were encountered more than any other species. Numbers of bats were