Bats in Forests

Conservation and Management

Michael J. Lacki, John P. Hayes, Allen Kurta

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Year: 2007
• eBook ISBN: 9780801891687
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Biology
• Index: Biological Sciences

Although bats are often thought of as cave dwellers, many species depend on forests for all or part of the year. Of the 45 species of bats in North America, more than half depend on forests, using the bark of trees, tree cavities, or canopy foliage as roosting sites. Over the past two decades it has become increasingly clear that bat conservation and management are strongly linked to the health of forests within their range.

Initially driven by concern for endangered species—the Indiana bat, for example—forest ecologists, timber managers, government agencies, and conservation organizations have been altering management plans and silvicultural practices to better accommodate bat species. Bats in Forests presents the work of a variety of experts who address many aspects of the ecology and conservation of bats. The chapter authors describe bat behavior, including the selection of roosts, foraging patterns, and seasonal migration as they relate to forests. They also discuss forest management and its influence on bat habitat. Both public lands and privately owned forests are considered, as well as techniques for monitoring bat populations and activity.

The important role bats play in the ecology of forests—from control of insects to nutrient recycling—is revealed by a number of authors. Bat ecologists, bat conservationists, forest ecologists, and forest managers will find in this book an indispensable synthesis of the topics that concern them.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Contributors
• 1 BATS IN FORESTS: WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE NEED TO LEARN
• 2 ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR OF BATS ROOSTING IN TREE CAVITIES AND UNDER BARK
• 3 BEHAVIOR AND DAY-ROOSTING ECOLOGY OF NORTH AMERICAN FOLIAGE-ROOSTING BATS
• 4 FORAGING ECOLOGY OF BATS IN FORESTS
• 5 IMPORTANCE OF NIGHT ROOSTS TO THE ECOLOGY OF BATS
• 6 MIGRATION AND USE OF AUTUMN, WINTER, AND SPRING ROOSTS BY TREE BATS
• 7 SILVICULTURAL PRACTICES AND MANAGEMENT OF HABITAT FOR BATS
• 8 THE INFLUENCES OF FOREST MANAGEMENT ON BATS IN NORTH AMERICA
• 9 ECOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR LANDSCAPE-LEVEL MANAGEMENT OF BATS
• 10 ASSESSING POPULATION STATUS OF BATS IN FORESTS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
• 11 PLANNING FOR BATS ON FOREST INDUSTRY LANDS IN NORTH AMERICA
• Author Index
• Species Index
• Subject Index