Activity Patterns of Bats During the Fall and Spring Along Ridgelines in the Central Appalachians

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dc.contributor.authorMuthersbaugh, Michael S.en
dc.contributor.authorFord, W. Marken
dc.contributor.authorPowers, Karen E.en
dc.contributor.authorSilvis, Alexanderen
dc.contributor.departmentFish and Wildlife Conservationen
dc.contributor.departmentFish and Wildlife Conservationen
dc.date.accessioned2020-06-25T17:03:55Zen
dc.date.available2020-06-25T17:03:55Zen
dc.date.issued2019-06en
dc.description.abstractMany central Appalachian ridges offer high wind potential, making them attractive to future wind-energy development. Understanding seasonal and hourly activity patterns of migratory bat species may help to reduce fatalities at wind-energy facilities and provide guidance for the development of best management practices for bats. To examine hourly migratory bat activity patterns in the fall and spring in Virginia in an exploratory fashion with a suite of general temporal, environmental, and weather variables, we acoustically monitored bat activity on five ridgelines and side slopes from early September through mid-November 2015 and 2016 and from early March through late April 2016 and 2017. On ridges, bat activity decreased through the autumn sample period, but was more variable through the spring sample period. In autumn, migratory bat activity had largely ceased by mid-November. Activity patterns were species specific in both autumn and spring sample periods. Generally, migratory bat activity was negatively associated with hourly wind speeds but positively associated with ambient temperatures. These data provide further evidence that operational mitigation strategies at wind-energy facilities could help protect migratory bat species in the Appalachians; substantially slowing or locking wind turbine blade spin during periods of low wind speeds, often below where electricity is generated, and warm ambient temperatures may minimize mortality during periods of high bat activity.en
dc.description.adminPublic domain – authored by a U.S. government employeeen
dc.description.notesFunding was provided by the Joint Fire Science Program Grant #G14AC00316 and U.S. Geological Survey Disease Program Grant #G15AC00487 through the U.S. Geological Survey Cooperative Research Unit Program. We thank the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service for allowing site access for this research. Acoustic monitoring equipment was provided by Bat Conservation International. S. Sweeten and L. Austin performed invaluable field assistance. This manuscript was greatly improved by the thoughtful comments of the Associate Editor and three anonymous reviewers.en
dc.description.sponsorshipJoint Fire Science Program through the U.S. Geological Survey Cooperative Research Unit Program [G14AC00316]; U.S. Geological Survey Disease Program through the U.S. Geological Survey Cooperative Research Unit Program [G15AC00487]en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3996/082018-JFWM-072en
dc.identifier.issn1944-687Xen
dc.identifier.issue1en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/99137en
dc.identifier.volume10en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.rightsCreative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedicationen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/en
dc.subjectAppalachiansen
dc.subjecteastern red bat Lasiurus borealisen
dc.subjecthoary bat Lasiurus cinereusen
dc.subjectmigrationen
dc.subjectseasonal acoustic activityen
dc.subjectsilver-haired bat Lasionycteris noctivagansen
dc.subjectwind energyen
dc.titleActivity Patterns of Bats During the Fall and Spring Along Ridgelines in the Central Appalachiansen
dc.title.serialJournal of Fish and Wildlife Managementen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.dcmitypeStillImageen

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