Bat Diversity and Habitat Use in New Jersey
Date
2022-05
Authors
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Bat species around the world are facing declines due to threats such as white-nose syndrome, habitat loss, and climate change. As managers implement
conservation strategies it is important to understand bat habitat use and spatially
explicit bat diversity. This will allow managers to focus on areas of important habitat
and diversity hotspots. Here, I assess how habitat composition impacts bat diversity
within the state of New Jersey. I focus on Eptesicus fuscus, Lasiurus cinereus,
Nycticeius humeralis, Lasiurus borealis, Lasionycterus noctivagans, Myotis lucifugus,
and Myotis sodalis based on data availability. I use acoustic surveillance data collected
from 12 transect routes throughout the state, to assess bat diversity at each transect as
well as habitat composition. I then predict the probability of habitat use across New
Jersey for each species, and the resultant spatially explicit predicted species diversity.
The response to each habitat covariate varied by species, with forest habitat having the
most significant positive associations with species. Eptesicus fuscus exhibited the
most consistently high predicted presence, and N. humeralis, M. lucifugus and M.
sodalis, and L. noctivagans were largely constricted to the southern, more evergreen
region of the state. Predicted bat diversity was highest in the inner coastal plains of the
southern region, as well as the Appalachian region of the north. Diversity was low in
the center of the state, near areas of higher urban cover
Description
Keywords
Bats, New Jersey, Habitat