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Prior to the introduction of white‐nose syndrome (WNS) to North America, temperate bats were thought to remain within hibernacula throughout most of the winter. However, recent research has shown that bats in the southeastern United States emerge regularly from hibernation and are active on the landscape, regardless of their WNS status. The relationship between winter activity and susceptibility to WNS has yet to be explored but warrants attention, as it may enable managers to implement targeted management for WNS‐affected species. We investigated this relationship by implanting 1346 passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags in four species that vary in their susceptibility to WNS. Based on PIT‐tag detections, three species entered hibernation from late October to early November. Bats were active at hibernacula entrances on days when midpoint temperatures ranged from −1.94 to 22.78°C (mean midpoint temperature = 8.70 ± 0.33°C). Eastern small‐footed bats (Myotis leibii), a species with low susceptibility to WNS, were active throughout winter, with a significant decrease in activity in mid‐hibernation (December 16 to February 15). Tricolored bats (Perimyotis subflavus), a species that is highly susceptible to WNS, exhibited an increase in activity beginning in mid‐hibernation and extending through late hibernation (February 16 to March 31). Indiana bats (M. sodalis), a species determined to have a medium–high susceptibility to WNS, remained on the landscape into early hibernation (November 1 to December 15), after which we did not record any again until the latter portion of mid‐hibernation. Finally, gray bats (M. grisescens), another species with low susceptibility to WNS, maintained low but regular levels of activity throughout winter. Given these results, we determined that emergence activity from hibernacula during winter is highly variable among bat species and our data will assist wildlife managers to make informed decisions regarding the timing of implementation of species‐specific conservation actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies examining the overwintering behaviors of North American hibernating bats are limited to a handful of species. We deployed temperature-sensitive transmitters on four species of bat that exhibit differences in their susceptibility to white nose syndrome (WNS; Myotis grisescens, M. leibii, M. sodalis, and Perimyotis subflavus) to determine if these differences are correlated with behavior exhibited during hibernation (i.e., torpor expression and arousal frequency). Mean torpor skin temperature (Tsk) and torpor bout duration varied significantly among species (P ≤ 0.024), but arousal Tsk and duration did not (P ≥ 0.057). One of the species with low susceptibility to WNS, M. leibii, had significantly shorter torpor bout durations (37.67 ± 26.89 h) than M. sodalis (260.67 ± 41.33 h), the species with medium susceptibility to WNS. Myotis leibii also had significantly higher torpor Tsk (18.57 °C ± 0.20) than M. grisescens (13.33 °C ± 0.60), a second species with low WNS susceptibility. The high susceptibility species, Perimyotis subflavus, exhibited low torpor Tsk (14.42 °C ± 0.36) but short torpor bouts (72.36 ± 32.16 h). We demonstrate that the four cavernicolous species examined exhibit a wide range in torpid skin temperature and torpor bout duration. Information from this study may improve WNS management in multispecies hibernacula or individual species management by providing insight into how some species may differ in their techniques for overwinter survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stakeholder perceptions are essential to creating effective conservation plans, especially when these efforts focus on taxa that have historically negative preconceptions, such as bats. In the U.S., one organization that has contributed to changing people's perceptions of bats is the National Park Service (NPS). The NPS offers a variety of educational programming on bats, including written educational material and ranger interpretive programs. These educational efforts about bats have increased with the discovery of white-nose syndrome (WNS), an invasive fungus that has killed millions of bats in North America. However, despite the NPS's efforts to educate the public and conserve bats, managers lack information on visitor perceptions and knowledge of bats and WNS. This study examined U.S. National Park visitors' attitudes towards bats, knowledge of bat ecology and human health risks, and knowledge of WNS to determine how these factors influenced their support of bat conservation efforts. In 2019, we collected 1365 surveys from visitors in eight NPS units with cave resources. Our results show visitors' support for bat conservation in national parks was influenced by their positive attitudes towards bats, perceptions of ecosystem services, and recognition of WNS. However, park differences in WNS recognition suggested that there are gaps in public outreach and educational efforts. As threats to bats motivate management changes over the coming decade, understanding visitor perceptions of bats and integrating this information into cave management plans will be critical for the NPS to achieve its management goals of enhancing recreation and conservation in environments shared by humans and bats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]