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Ecology of the Evening Bat (<I>Nycticeius Humeralis</I>) at The Eastern Michigan University DigitalCommons@EMU Master's Theses, and Doctoral Dissertations, and Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations Graduate Capstone Projects 12-13-2008 Ecology of the evening bat (nycticeius humeralis) at the northern edge of the range Olivia Maya Munzer Follow this and additional works at: http://commons.emich.edu/theses Part of the Biology Commons Recommended Citation Munzer, Olivia Maya, "Ecology of the evening bat (nycticeius humeralis) at the northern edge of the range" (2008). Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations. 166. http://commons.emich.edu/theses/166 This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses, and Doctoral Dissertations, and Graduate Capstone Projects at DigitalCommons@EMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@EMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ECOLOGY OF THE EVENING BAT (NYCTICEIUS HUMERALIS) AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE By Olivia Maya Münzer Thesis Submitted to the Department of Biology Eastern Michigan University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Ecology and Organismal Biology Thesis Committee: Allen Kurta, PhD, Chair Catherine Bach, PhD Jamin Eisenbach, PhD Cara Shillington, PhD December 13, 2008 Ypsilanti, Michigan DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to two very special men in my life—my father and Brian. Thank you for all your support. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to all people who helped me through the last 3 years. First and foremost, I express my gratitude to A. Kurta. Thank you for not only giving me the opportunity to conduct this project, but also for guiding me through the thesis process. Not only did you help me achieve much more in my life, but I also gained a good friend. I thank my committee members C. Bach, J. Eisenbach, and C. Shillington for advice during the thesis process. Others in the department that I give my thanks to are S. Francoeur for statistical advice, G. Hannan for help with identifying trees, G. Walker for allowing me to use the SEM lab as my sanctuary, H. Semple helped with GIS analysis, and J. Alexander, D. Hula, and J. Hartenburg. I thank R. Bricklin, S. Captain, C. Rockey, and J. Stumpf for assistance during the field season, as well as the many volunteers, particularly R. Slider. I could not have done it without the help of B. Schaetz—not only did you give me great field advice and support, but you were by my side every moment. Watson kept me company on those long nights and made me laugh when I needed it. My father helped me through graduate school and much more; without your support, this would not have been possible. Asante sana! A. McCauley gave me great moral support. Last but not least, the landowners throughout the study area allowed access to their land for mist netting and roost observations. Thank you all for a great 3 years. This project was supported by State Wildlife Grants T-9-T-1, administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and awarded to A. Kurta. A Hellwig Research Fellowship given to me by the Department of Biology, Eastern Michigan University, provided additional funding. iv ABSTRACT Only a single colony of evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) is known to occur in Michigan, and it is the northernmost colony on the North American continent. In mid-May, only female evening bats migrate to Michigan to raise their pups, and in late August, evening bats migrate to southern portions of their range, where they are ubiquitous. I studied the roosting and dietary ecology of the evening bat in southeastern Michigan. Evening bats roosted in cavities, crevices, and under exfoliating bark of older trees located in a bottomland forest, interlaced with waterways and surrounded by agricultural fields. These habitats play an important role in the diet of evening bats. Fourteen orders of insects and two orders of arachnids were found in fecal pellets of evening bats; Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Hemiptera composed 94% of dietary volume. Several insects consumed by evening bats are economically important. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication................................................................................................................................ iii Acknowledgments.................................................................................................................... iv Abstract......................................................................................................................................v List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures........................................................................................................................ viii Chapter 1: Roosting Ecology.....................................................................................................1 Introduction............................................................................................................................2 Methods .................................................................................................................................6 Results..................................................................................................................................13 Discussion............................................................................................................................25 Literature Cited ....................................................................................................................36 Chapter 2: Dietary Ecology .....................................................................................................75 Introduction..........................................................................................................................76 Methods ...............................................................................................................................80 Results..................................................................................................................................84 Discussion............................................................................................................................91 Literature Cited ..................................................................................................................100 vi LIST OF TABLES Page 1.1. Decay-stage classification............................................................................................…46 1.2. Number of evening bats captured ....................................................................................47 1.3. Mass and forearm length..................................................................................................48 1.4. The mean distance traveled and number of switches ......................................................49 1.5. The tree species and type of roost....................................................................................50 1.6. The characteristics of roost tree. ......................................................................................51 1.7. Genera of trees. ................................................................................................................52 1.8. Continuous characteristics of roost trees .........................................................................53 1.9. Categorical characteristics of roost trees .........................................................................54 1.10. The distance to the nearest tallest and shortest trees from roost trees ...........................55 1.11. Comparisons of characteristics of trees in roost and stand plots ...................................56 1.12. Distribution of trees within landcover type. ..................................................................57 1.13. Distances to water and open fields.................................................................................58 2.1. The number of pellets, reproductive condition, and dietary diversity ...........................107 2.2. Percent volume of arthropods contained in fecal pellets from roosts.............................108 2.3. Percent frequency of occurrence of families and species from roosts...........................109 2.4. Percent volume of insect orders found in pellets from roosts........................................111 2.5. Percent volume of arthropods consumed by individuals ...............................................112 2.6. Percent frequency occurrence of insect orders, families, and species. ..........................113 2.7. Percent volume of orders of insects in the diet of individual bats.................................114 2.8. Diet of evening bats from other areas of their range .....................................................115 vii LIST OF FIGURES Page 1.1. Aerial photo of study area near Palmyra, Michigan. .......................................................59 1.2. The number of evening bats observed exiting roost trees ...............................................60 1.3. Histogram of the number of bats exiting a roost tree near Palmyra, ...............................61 1.4. Emergence time of evening bats compared to times of sunset ........................................62 1.5. Emergence time of evening bats compared to times of twilight......................................63
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