Summer-Habitat Suitability Modeling of Myotis sodalis (Indiana Bat) in the Eastern Mountains of West Virginia

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dc.contributor.authorDe La Cruz, Jesse L.en
dc.contributor.authorWard, Ryan L.en
dc.contributor.departmentConservation Management Instituteen
dc.coverage.stateWest Virginiaen
dc.date.accessioned2021-08-23T15:23:34Zen
dc.date.available2021-08-23T15:23:34Zen
dc.date.issued2016-03en
dc.date.updated2021-08-23T15:23:31Zen
dc.description.abstractLittle information exists with regard to suitable summer habitat of Myotis sodalis (Indiana Bat) in West Virginia. Our research objectives were to use ultrasonic acoustic equipment and automated identification software to collect presence data for Indiana Bats and to examine habitat characteristics and availability across the local landscape. We used a maximum entropy (MAXENT) approach to determine if the distribution of various ecological factors such as landuse/landcover, forest fragmentation, aspect, area solar radiation, slope, proximity to permanent water, and elevation influenced foraging-habitat suitability of Indiana Bats. We sampled across the 1160-ha Camp Dawson Collective Training Area in Preston County, WV, to determine Indiana Bat presence. We employed the collected presence data to examine habitat suitability within a 16,151-ha study area encompassing the training facility. Based on MAXENT results, we characterized highly suitable Indiana Bat habitat as including large tracts of contiguous forest cover (>200 ha) associated with low to modest slopes (<20°), road corridors, and areas of high solar radiation (>5.5 x 105 WH/m2). High (81–100%) and medium-high (61–80%) suitability classes were uncommon across the landscape (0.6% and 2.7%, respectively), with the broad medium-to-high suitability classes (41–100%) collectively comprising only 11.4% of the study area. Elevation (m) and aspect contributed little to the model and displayed low permutation importance that did not vary notably from the corresponding percent contribution. These variables, along with close proximity to permanent water (≤200 m away), are likely not limiting ecological factors. The results of this study supplement current knowledge of summer habitat of the Indiana Bat and provide land and wildlife managers localized guidance on conservation priorities within the region.en
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.extentPages 100-117en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1656/045.023.0107en
dc.identifier.eissn1938-5307en
dc.identifier.issn1092-6194en
dc.identifier.issue1en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/104693en
dc.identifier.volume23en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherHumboldt Field Research Instituteen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subject05 Environmental Sciencesen
dc.subject06 Biological Sciencesen
dc.subjectEcologyen
dc.titleSummer-Habitat Suitability Modeling of Myotis sodalis (Indiana Bat) in the Eastern Mountains of West Virginiaen
dc.title.serialNortheastern Naturalisten
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Techen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Natural Resources & Environmenten
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Natural Resources & Environment/Conservation Management Instituteen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Natural Resources & Environment/Fish and Wildlife Conservationen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Graduate studentsen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Graduate students/Doctoral studentsen

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