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Note: Session titles beginning with an asterisk (*) have student presenters.
AUTHORS: Zachary Baer, Mark Gumbert, Joshua Adams, Piper Roby, Price Sewell, Richard Borthwick, Kate Baer – Copperhead Consulting; Michael Brandenburg, Fort Knox Natural Resources Branch
ABSTRACT: Multiple imperiled bat species utilize exfoliating bark for summer roosting. Habitat enhancement can assist bark roosting species, especially those with low population numbers and/or are impacted by White-nose Syndrome. BrandenBark™ is an artificial roost structure developed to mimic the natural habitat of bark roosting bats with documented use by six species, including Indiana bats (MYSO) and northern long-eared bats. BrandenBark™ structures at Ft. Knox, Kentucky have been utilized to supplement degrading habitat for MYSO and have been selected by MYSO regularly with 77.2% of roost visits confirming presence and 72.7% of the structures having confirmed use within three months of installation. Emergence counts of structures compare with USFWS average adult maternity colony size estimates in natural roosts. BrandenBark™ resulted in the second highest MYSO maternity emergence count recorded (n=451 bats), compared to the highest known exit count of 475 from a natural roost at Ft. Knox. Overall, MYSO use of 13 BrandenBark™ structures has resulted in a total of 248 bat days. Temperature stability tests show, the temperature difference between ambient air and real bark was not different than the temperature difference between ambient air and BrandenBark™ (F1,5 = 0.0489, P = 0.8338). BrandenBark™ has been deployed as a mitigation/land management tool by USFWS and state agencies to provide immediate roosting habitat for imperiled bark roosting bats. To date, 127 BrandenBark™ structures have been installed in eight U.S. states and one Canadian province. BrandenBark™ provides instant, long-lasting habitat commensurate with natural roosts and is easy to install and monitor.
Tuesday October 31, 2017 3:40pm - 4:00pm EDT
Carroll Ford