Small Mammals and Bats of PNW Forests

Small Mammals and Bats in Forests of the Pacific Northwest

Most of the Lecture on Small Mammals & Bats is Courtesy of Professor Stephen West, School of Environmental & Forest Sciences, UW

THREADS – LOOK AT THEM AS ULTIMATE INTERCONNECTORS to keep ecosystems resilient

CASE STUDIES: Animal species dependent upon forests for some phase of their survival, not generalist species that can live anywhere, some are keystone species important in the recovery rate of forest landscapes impacted by disturbances, they are important interconnectors of structures/functions in forests

TODAY: Mammals and bats – adapted to disturbances & different phases of forest growth, utilize the entire landscape and not just a few habitats, greatly impacted by land use, some are on endangered species lists, some are part of human mythological stories

continuing case studies Coqui – highly adapted to disturbances, increase the resilience of tropical forests to disturbances, loved in Puerto Rico and hated in Hawaii [cultural reasons]

Salmon – keystone species that is also a cultural symbol, fertilizes forests with ocean nutrients Mycorrhizas – allow forests to grow in nutrient poor and toxic environments, symbionts that nitrogen enrichment kills, humans eat their fruiting bodies (mushrooms) 2

Mammals in Washington

Shrews, Predators Moles, & • Most species are small & Large Bats • Most are rodents, Mammals 30% shrews, moles, or bats 20% • The most familiar mammals (big and Rodents diurnal) are the most 50% uncommon

Who are active at night and not daytime?

1 Mammals in Washington • 84 of 107 Do Not terrestrial Use species use Use Forest Forest forests Habitat Habitat • Details of natural 79% 21% history and geographic distribution vary widely

Small Mammals & Forest Q: When species shift occurs Succession with small mammals?? [not talking about bats] A: 15 – 25 years or when tree canopies close cover

Marsh and Trowbridge’s shrews Shrew-mole Vagrant shrew Coast mole Townsend’s mole Tree and flying squirrels Meadow voles Southern red-backed vole Jumping mice Keen’s mouse Deer mouse Gophers Ground squirrels Chipmunks

Within a Forest Stand: Logs as Habitat for Small Mammals

STRUCTURES IMPORTANT • Protection from physical environment • Protection from predators • Food sources – insects [like a kitchen in your house] • Lookout structures • Travel routes

2 Logs as Habitat for Small Mammals

• Large logs provide more habitat and they last longer • We are still realizing benefits from stumps and logs from the original forest • We are not replacing these elements as we lose our old growth forests [small logs have been tied together to mimic old logs but not work as well]

Only Bats & Forest Succession • Use early successional areas Roosting & water bodies for Foraging foraging • Roost in forests with suitable trees & snags • High quality habitat 1 2 3 4 5 6 Grass- Shrub- Pole- Young Mature Old is close to food, forb seedling sapling growth water, and roosts

Successional Stages • Commuting a hassle for bats as well!

HABITAT or LIVING QUARTERS: Bats, such as the brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus), sometimes roost beneath loose bark

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/images/ic/credit/640x395/b/br/brown_long-eared_bat/brown_long- eared_bat_1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Brown_long- eared_bat&h=395&w=640&sz=44&tbnid=Y6VhPnuaIbpZuM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=146&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dpicture%2Bof%2Bbrown%2Blong- eared%2Bbat%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=picture+of+brown+long- 9 eared+bat&docid=f60vvXRuSvxvgM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gJaUT8PKNqmsjALM8Mwu&ved=0CDQQ9QEwAg&dur=1656

3 Bat Day Roosts: Large Living Trees

• Exfoliating bark of old trees provides roosts unlike young conifers • Source for large snags • Roosts often are on southern exposures and on forest edges

Silver-haired bat photo by J. Scott Altenbach “Some bats roost under slabs of bark Bats have few predators, and human activity causes them the most harm. Some “tree bats”, such as Keen’s Long-eared Myotis, are dependent on old

growth forest for roosting.” http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MtmZOTq8oGw/UZq59NcjYnI/AAAAAAAAHyk/a9XLf6YFWlk/s1600/underbark.jpg

http://pellawildlifecompany.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/silver-haired-bat-falls- creek-pest-control.jpg http://www.sierraforestlegacy.org/images/NewsRoom/Silver-haired%20bat.jpg

Bat Day Roosts: Large Snags [dead trees]

• Provide thermal choices for bats • Cavities provide space for maternity colonies

4 Bats need to drink water and there are more insects to eat around water bodies

http://hoothollow.com/Images%20May%202009/Bat%20drinking%20Q%202757.jp; http://hoothollow.com/Image%20Super%20Folder/Images%20- %20Mammal%20Super%20Folder/Mammals%20-%20Bats%20Arizona/Bat%20drinking%20Q_2798.jpg g

A little history of small mammals in the Pacific Northwest and why early European settlers thought forests were biological deserts in the western parts of Washington state

12% disturbed by humans

http://www.lonewolfguides.com/rifle-elk-deer-combo/ TEMPERATE CONIFEROUS FOREST (Old growth Douglas-fir)

5 12% disturbed by humans

TEMPERATE CONIFEROUS FOREST (Old growth Douglas-fir)

Why were small mammals, e.g., rodents or rats, not thought to be “GOOD EATS” by most people of Western European ancestry?

Plague of 1348-49 spread in London

Bubonic plague victims of 14th century London, uncovered in the 1980s in an excavation at the Old

Royal Mint. Photograph: Rex Features http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/17/black-death-rats-off-hook

I am the small mammal that carried the fleas that carried the bacteria causing plague!!

http://medievaleurope.mrdonn.org/plague.html

6 “Rattus Rattus, the Black Rat: Besides terrorizing many a rodent-phobe, rats have served as vehicles for various human diseases throughout history. Along with fleas, they have been responsible for numerous outbreaks of the bubonic plague” http://www.history.com/topics/black-death/photos

RESULT OF the BLACK PLAGUE or DEATH Black Death is estimated to have killed 30–60% of Europe's total population It took 150 years for Start here Europe's population to recover

http://www.ucalgary.ca/HIST/ tutor/imagemid/blackdeath.gif

'Ratatouille‘ – cook was a rat with a whisk and a dream http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/ratatouille-gallery-1.99622?pmSlide=1.9977; http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/dining/13rata.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

7 Small Mammals and Bats – There is another side to their story as important animals who need forests as part of their life-cycle • Some characteristics of the fauna – Who are these guys? • A brief natural history of the Insectivores, Rodents, and Bats • Forest environments as habitat – Important habitat elements, their occurrence, and arrangement in space and time • Influences of forest management on communities of small mammals and bats

They’re Everywhere… They use every stratum of the forest Species are: – in the ground – on the ground – in the shrubs – in the trees Creeping vole – In the air Golden-mantled ground squirrel • Forest layers are one key to their diversity

Townsend’s Big-eared Townsend’s Bat mole hills

Steve never talked about these guys: Almost Small… But Still Famous

Ermine

Mountain beaver

Snowshoe hare

8 Mammals in Washington

• Most species are small Shrews, Predators Moles, & • Most are rodents, & Large Bats shrews, moles, or bats Mammals 30% 20% • The most familiar mammals (big and diurnal) are the most Rodents 50% uncommon

FIRST GROUP: The Shrew-moles They are Insectivores – What does it mean to be an insectivore??

• Shrews, the shrew- mole, and moles Masked shrew • 12 species – nine shrews and three Mole hills moles • Along with bats (flying shrews), the least known of our mammalian fauna Shrew-mole

Shrew-mole • A prized oddity of the Pacific Northwest • Smallest mole in North America • In form and behavior halfway between a shrew and a mole • Related species in Japan and China • Common in forests west of the Cascade crest

Eats earthworms, insects, snails and slugs

9 Range, Canada it is considered an endangered species Townsend’s mole • Both species larger than shrew- mole & fully subterranean • Feed exclusively on soil invertebrates [these are mostly insects] – not garden plants!!

Feeding Habits The Townsend Mole feeds primarily on insect larvae and earthworms. Moles are also known to eat other pest's in the lawn that damage roots of plants.

Steve said to give these guys a break since they don’t eat garden Townsend’s mole plants. They are good for us because they eat insects. http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/moles.html

Moles: MOLE FACTS: spend almost their entire lives underground . Come to the surface at have small weak eyes, small hips for night to search for food, turning around in tight places nesting material, and velvety fur that is reversible to make new territories backing up easy. . Because secluded life underground and their strong, musky odor, moles are unpalatable to most mammalian predators; however, raccoons and coyotes do dig them out, presumably to eat them Townsend’s . Moles are also killed by mole hill domestic dogs and cats, but rarely eaten Moles are fast diggers - . Maximum life span tunnel at a rate of 15 ranges from four to six feet per hour. years. http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/moles.html

Mammals in Washington

10 SECOND GROUP: The Rodents according to Professor West • If God is inordinately fond of beetles, rodents must also be on the list… • More rodents worldwide than any other group • 50% of Washington’s terrestrial mammals are rodents (51 species)

Columbian ground squirrel

Squirrels: Chipmunks • Familiar to most people as they are BLEND IN WITH FOREST fairly large, diurnal – COLOR: active during the day Townsend’s chipmunk – west time, distinctively side forests marked • Three species in Washington forests • Feed on variety of BLEND IN WITH plant material, esp. FOREST COLOR: Yellow-pine fruits and seeds chipmunk – east side forests

Squirrels: Arboreal

• Four species in Washington forests • Red and Douglas’ squirrels are tree seed specialists • The larger western Douglas’ squirrel gray squirrel is a threatened species

Western gray squirrel • Flying squirrel is a fungus specialist

Flying squirrel

11 Flying squirrel eating a mushroom and flying between trees http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/f2012/fahrenkr_moll/template/images/squirrel_eating_mushrooms_by_fotolympus-d2xpev7.jp; http://desktopia.net/animals/wild- animals/squirrel-holding-a-mushroom-desktop-wallpaper/g; http://dailynewsdig.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/animals-and-mushrooms-3.jpg; http://www.fomh.org/Data/Images/flying-squirrel.jpg

Squirrels: Ground • Five species occur in Golden-mantled ground squirrel Washington forests including the woodchuck and two marmots • They are most abundant along forest edges and in open canopy forests

Columbian ground squirrel

• associated with Gophers forest edges, open canopy forests • feed on vegetation, i.e., herbivore or plant eater • They can be fierce adversaries against forest regeneration Pockets – fur lined & can be turned inside out. Store food! Steve said it is warm & soft inside pockets

12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0addN_VGnYk Mar 19, 2010 - Uploaded by Thomas Wittman Gopher filling pockets to almost bursting. This gopher was released into the wild after filming

Gopher pulls plant into ground

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBwl WLtg_zY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frfxuO6oYkA Mar 19, 2009 - Uploaded by Exploring the Nature of Wyoming | UWyo Extension Pocket Gophers are burrowing rodents that till the soil

13 Look just like Ninja turtles, don’t they http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MKMbASI2Up0/maxr esdefault.jpg

Pocket gophers – look like tough guys Fur lined pockets of the and remind me of Ninjas!! gopher with food https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/2b/06/33/2b0633ddd69c9b7915183bbf53ea99d2.jpg http://ovlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Untitled1.png

Mice • Next to the shrews, mice are the most abundant mammals • The deer mouse is a habitat generalist while Keen’s mouse specializes on high elevation forests Deer mouse & Keen’s mouse • They are generalist feeders

Why would it be good for survival to be a generalist eater?? Pacific jumping mouse

Voles or Meadow Mice

• Nine vole species are most numerous in pre-canopy stages where many construct Townsend’s vole runways and burrow systems • They feed on leafy Southern red-backed vole vegetation and readily girdle young trees

Montane vole

14 And a Native Rat Bushy-tailed wood rat • Relative of the desert pack rat • Inhabits cliffs, rock outcrops, and old buildings in forests • Loves to collect shiny, bright trinkets What does it mean when someone calls you a pack rat!!

Another name for this guy is PACK RAT – look at all the things one homeowner found had been stolen by the rat

Mammals in Washington

• Most species are small Shrews, Predators Moles, & • Most are rodents, & Large Bats shrews, moles, or bats Mammals 30% • The most familiar 20% mammals (big and diurnal) are the most Rodents uncommon 50%

Part of second group with shrew- moles according to Steve: Washington’s Bats • 15 species total • 4 desert species – Pallid bat – Western small- footed bat (Myotis species) – Western pipistrelle – Spotted bat added to our fauna in 1991.

15 Washington’s Forest Bats

• 11 forest dwelling – Big brown bat – Hoary bat – Silver-haired bat

Washington’s Forest Bats

• Townsend’s big-eared bat • 7 Myotis species • Keen’s myotis our only PNW endemic bat

Bat Biology 101 Smithsonian Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPhA82ccg9E

16 Many Approaches for Studying Bats

• Early work with shotguns – most museum specimens have holes in them • Mist nets were an improvement • Radio-telemetry with miniature transmitters • Harp or Tuttle traps • Echolocation detectors

Daubenton’s bat (John Altringham 2000)

NOTE the time of day catching bats!!

Tuttle Trap http://www.flickr.com/photos/26362372@N02/7103662169/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Bat with radio transmitter

http://www.wildmammal.com/index_files/bat_migration.html

17 All PNW Bats Echolocate

• Larynx makes loud outgoing call • Echo used for navigation & feeding • Calls 23-70 kHz

The Anabat SD1 & 2 Detectors

• Automated voice- activated system converts high frequency call into the audible range and digitizes it • Consists of broadband microphone, sensitivity switch, “divide-by-X” circuitry, calibration tone, clock, digitizer, and a CF- card

Anabat Displays • Display has header information and the frequency/time display • Lowest frequency and shape of call are the most useful • Can key most non-Myotis calls to species

EPFU • Myotis species calls too similar to key

MYYU

18 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCR EM26yMbU#t=65 Bats jamming each others echo calls to find insects

Brazilian free-tailed bats, like these in Texas, use song to court mates and defend territory.

Look at the number of bats coming out of one cave without hitting one another!! Helps to echolocate!!

V Morell Science 2014;344:1334-1337

Published by AAAS

Bat Roost “Some bats choose to sleep or hibernate through periods of scarce food availability”

Credit: Felix Hug Lonely Planet Images Getty Images

http://www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm/wo/Planning_and_Renewable_Resources/fish__wildlife_and/fwp2.Par.11612.File.350.228.1.gif; http://cx.aos.ask.com/question/aq/700px-700px/do-bats-hibernate-migrate_c4d45c97-69be-4bd5-bd23-ce0ea767178a.jpg

19 Effects Timber Management on Bats

• Loss of large trees and snags cause bat declines on forest lands • Creation of large acreages of dense, young forests (dog-hair)—effective elimination of bat habitat • Draining wetlands—loss of foraging space and drinking water

Young Dense Sites (called Dog-hair Stands)

• 30-40 yrs after harvest • High tree density • Small diameter trees • Poor development of understory and ground-level vegetation

Management Actions to Increase Local Diversity of Bat Populations • Maintain large live trees and snags on uplands (one / 7 acres) not just within riparian zones • Thin dense, young forests—an economic challenge • Allow occasional beaver activity to produce ponded water and complex riparian zones • Maintain a forest mosaic that includes water bodies, young grass-forb and old growth forests. • Bat caves gated to keep people out so not to disturb bats Why did Steve mention Beavers?

20 Gate keep people from entering a cave, while allowing bats to easily fly into & out of the cave. When people enter caves or light fires near cave entrances, they wake bats from hibernation or startle bats that are roosting. Hibernating bats may wake up too early, resulting in starvation, & roosting bats can panic, drop their babies. http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/missouri/cave-gate-will-protect-endangered-gray-and-indiana-bats.xml

What do you think is the next group of mammals that I will talk about?? Who is this??

HINT: Transylvania

What is the link to NYCTOHYLOPHOBIA??

There is such a thing as vampire bats – should be giving this lecture on some other time!!! • “only mammals that feed entirely on blood • common vampire bat is found in the tropics of Mexico, Central America, and South America • In one year, a 100- bat colony can drink the blood of 25 cows • Sleeping cattle and horses are their usual victims, but they have been known to feed on people as well” [not Vampires?? like people since ? hang around light]

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/common-vampire-bat/

21 Credit: 4FR E+ Getty Images; http://www.ask.com/pets-animals/natural-habitat-vampire-bats-bf4e366e31022a09?qo=questionPageExploreContent “Vampire bats live in colonies of approximately 100 bats, though there can be as many as 1,000 or more in a single colony. These colonies live in caves, tree hollows, abandoned buildings, old mine shafts and other dark places. They sleep during the day, hanging upside down at the top of their residence, and come out to hunt at night. Vampire bats are the only mammals that subsist on the warm blood of their prey, typically cattle, horses or other farm animals, and strike from the ground.” http://www.ask.com/pets-animals/natural-habitat-vampire-bats-bf4e366e31022a09?qo=questionPageExploreContent

Play 40 seconds

But also GOOD GUY!! Who am I??

Batman!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KJPKWPbw7M

Bats – GOOD symbols

Not all legends surrounding bats are negative: • Chinese lore claims bat is a symbol of longevity and happiness • Bats are lucky in Poland, geographical Macedonia and among the Kwakiutl (Pacific Northwest Coast indigenous people) and Arabs Yuan Heng Li Zhen (元亨利贞) from the Book of Changes - http://primaltrek.com/bagua.html#ruyi_bat_peaches_coin

22 Why do Bats Transmit so many Diseases like Ebola? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao0dqJvH4a0 3 mins 10 secs long

This Week’s THREADS

NEXT WEEK continuing case studies Coqui – highly adapted to disturbances, increase the resilience of tropical forests to disturbances, loved in Puerto Rico and hated in Hawaii [cultural reasons]