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The Ecology and Conservation of the Large- Footed Myotis (Myotis Macropus) in an Urban Environment

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The Ecology and Conservation of the Large- Footed Myotis (Myotis Macropus) in an Urban Environment THE ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION OF THE LARGE- FOOTED MYOTIS (MYOTIS MACROPUS) IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT VANESSA GORECKI Bachelor of Applied Science Master of Science (Honours) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Biology and Environmental Science Science and Engineering Faculty Queensland University of Technology 2020 The ecology and conservation of the large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) in an urban environment Keywords Australia, artificial roost, bat, breeding site, bridge, Brisbane, Chiroptera, colony, conservation, culvert, ecology, genetics, green space, habitat, harem, mammal, movement, Myotis, Myotis macropus, philopatry, polyoestrous, polygynous, promiscuous, relatedness, riparian, roost, roosting ecology, roost selection, selection, urban, urban design, urban planning. Page i The ecology and conservation of the large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) in an urban environment Abstract Urbanisation creates unique landscapes for fauna, and species that cannot adapt will be lost. Understanding the mechanisms that enable species to persist in urban areas is limited and our understanding of them is essential for effective conservation and management of urban wildlife populations. The large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) is a specialist trawling bat that is found throughout urban environments along the east coast of Australia and can be found roosting in concrete culverts under roads. However, little is known about the selection and use of these roost sites. I examined roost selection at two spatial scales, identified habitat selection preferences and home range size, and used population genetics to investigate gene flow and genetic diversity in an urban population of M. macropus in Brisbane, Australia. I examined roost selection at the landscape scale by using a stratified sampling design, generalized additive models and a presence-absence distribution model. Modelling identified that roost presence in a concrete culvert can be predicted by the dimensions of the culvert and its position in the landscape. Bats preferred culverts >1.2 m in height, and while a preference for box culverts was detected, both design types (box and pipe) were occupied. Culvert variables are intrinsically linked to landscape variables, which is determined by landscape context. Stream orders determine the distribution of landscape variables such as channel dimensions (width and depth) and waterway density, which in turn determine the distribution of culverts required across an urban road network. Culverts meeting the probability of occurrence threshold were a limited resource in this urban landscape with only 5.5% of culverts identified as potential roosts. I examined roost selection at the roost scale by comparing roost culverts to available culverts. Roost culverts differed significantly from available culverts and the primary difference was the availability of microhabitat (lift holes and crevices). Roost culverts had lift holes that had greater cavity dimensions than available culverts and crevices were only found at roost culverts. Culverts containing microhabitat were a limited resource in this urban landscape. Through the use of radiotelemetry, I examined roost use, home range and patterns of land use selection. I captured bats roosting in road culverts and radio-tracked 13 non-reproductive females over two seasons. I tracked bats to a total of three day-roost sites: two culverts and a bridge. Bats switched roosts every 4.8 ± 3.7 (1-11) days. Home ranges (95% Kernel Density Estimate) did not differ between seasons and ranged from 5-277 ha. Core use areas (50% Kernel Density Estimate) differed between seasons with median winter areas (22 ha) significantly larger than median summer Page ii The ecology and conservation of the large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) in an urban environment areas (1 ha), although activity for both seasons concentrated on five elongate pools. This finding suggests that M. macropus uses foraging behavioural plasticity to exploit food resources available in urban environments and that elongate pools are vital core use areas for urban M. macropus. Land use selection was investigated using compositional analysis and M. macropus showed a significant preference for the recreation land use type at the landscape and home range scale. Transport, industrial, railways and public services land use types were used in proportion to their availability at the landscape scale. Maintaining open green space and spatial heterogeneity in urban planning and design will provide a landscape mosaic for urban M. macropus to persist. I used population genetics to investigate gene flow in the Brisbane culvert roosting population of M. macropus. I found genetic differentiation between all roosts sampled. Gene flow was moderate among peri-urban populations and restricted between urban populations. I found evidence of female philopatry and pairs of related females within roosts indicating philopatry to natal colonies. Urban roosts had more related pairs than peri-urban roosts. The limited shared paternal ancestry found within roosts suggests M. macropus has a harem social structure and a promiscuous mating system. My results suggest that female dispersal distances are less than 30 km and female-biased gene flow is locally restricted while gene flow between populations is dependent on males dispersing along riparian corridors. My results demonstrate that roost selection by M. macropus in concrete culverts is limited at two spatial scales by the availability of suitable culverts and not all culverts provide equal roosting habitat in an urban landscape. Disturbance to culvert roosts, especially during the breeding season, may cause a significant disturbance to an urban roost and culvert roosts should be considered sites of high conservation value to urban M. macropus. Roosting opportunities for M. macropus can be increased by leaving lift holes unsealed in existing culverts and installing culverts >1.2 m in height on waterways on all new road projects. Myotis macropus displayed a preference for particular urban habitat types and avoidance of others, had small home ranges and geographically isolated populations were also genetically isolated. Despite these limitations, my findings suggest that this specialist species is able to persist in urban landscapes, provided roosts are available and elongate pools, riparian corridors and open green space are maintained within urban planning and design. Page iii The ecology and conservation of the large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) in an urban environment Table of Contents Keywords ................................................................................................................................................. i Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. ii Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures ......................................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ......................................................................................................................................... viii Statement of Original Authorship........................................................................................................... x Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................................. xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 13 1.1 The urban environment and biodiversity .................................................................................. 14 1.2 Urban ecology of insectivorous bats ......................................................................................... 16 1.3 Australia’s fishing bat: the large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) ......................................... 18 1.4 Thesis aims and structure .......................................................................................................... 20 1.5 Other publications and conference presentations .................................................................... 22 1.6 References ................................................................................................................................. 24 CHAPTER 2: A MULTISCALE ANALYSIS OF ROOST SELECTION IN CONCRETE CULVERTS BY THE LARGE-FOOTED MYOTIS (MYOTIS MACROPUS): IMPLICATIONS FOR ROOST MANAGEMENT OF A SPECIALIST TRAWLING BAT IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................................................................ 30 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 31 2.2 Methods .................................................................................................................................... 33 2.3 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 41 2.4 Discussion .................................................................................................................................
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