Virginia Project: Post WNS bat ecology in the eastern United States

Virginia Project

Post WNS bat ecology in the eastern United States

January 2013 - December 2024

Personnel

Participating Agencies

US Army Fort AP HIll
Region 4 SSP
Joint Fire Science Program
USGS Energy and Wildlife
Navy Facilities and Engineering Command
NASA
Air Force, Langley AFB
USFWS Regions 3, 4, and 5
Virginia Field Office
Shenandoah National Park
Fort AP Hill
USFWS SSP
NPS NE Region WNS Program
Virginia Dept. Game and Inland Fisheries
USFWS Region 4
Capital Areas Region
Ecosystems
NPS National Capital Region WNS Program
Virginia Dept. Transportation
NPS National Capital Region
Region 5
Disease Cyclical
Virginia Dept Wildlife Resources
USFWS Virginia Field Office
Legacy
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
National Capital Region
Army Installation Command
NPS Northeast Region
WNS Response Program
USGS Biology Disease Directorate
National Council for Air and Stream Improvement
R5 WNS Program
Monongahela National Forest
TVA
NPS Northeastern Region
National Park Service
Fort Meade Military Reservation

This project is a comprehensive investigation of the foraging and roosting ecology and distribution of bats in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast following White-nose Syndrome with emphasis on the threatened Northern long-eared bat and the endangered Indiana bat. Work has expanding to encompass Coastal Plain bat ecology including migratory patterns of non-hibernating bats. Project cooperators include US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Department of Defense, NASA, and numerous state agencies and NGOs throughout the region.

Research Publications

Research Publications	Publication Date
Austin, L., A. Silvis, W.M. Ford and K.E. Powers. 2019. Effects of historic wildfire and prescribed fire on site occupancy of bats in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA. Journal of Forestry Research https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-019-00923-y	April 2019
Austin, L., A. Silvis, W.M. Ford, K.E. Powers and M. Muthersbaugh. 2017. Bat Activity Following Restoration Prescribed Burning in the Central Appalachian Upland and Riparian Habitats. Natural Areas Journal 38:183-195	April 2018
Austin, L.V., A.S. Silvis, M.S. Muthersbaugh, K.E. Powers and W.M. Ford. 2018. Bat Activity Following Repeated Prescribed Fire in the Central Appalachians. Fire Ecology 14:10 https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-018-0009-5*	December 2018
Ford. W.M., A. Silvis, J.L. Rodrigue, A. Kniowski and J.B. Johnson. 2016. Deriving habitat models for northern bats (Myotis septentrionalis) from historical detection data: A case study using long-term research on the Fernow Experimental Forest, West Virginia, USA. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 7(1): 86-98 \| Abstract	June 2016	The proposed listing of the northern bat (Myotis septentrionalis) following it severe population declines from White-nose Syndrome (WNS) presents considerable challenges to natural resource managers. Because the northern bat is a forest habitat generalist and lacks previous research focus, development of effective conservation measures will depend on appropriate understanding of its habitat relationships. However, severely reduced population sizes make gathering data for such models difficult. As a result, historical data, including acoustic, capture, and radio-telemetry, may be essential in development of habitat models for the northern bat. To date, there has been little evaluation of how effective historical data may be in developing habitat models and it is unclear how models created using different types of bat presence data compare in output. We explored the effect of presence data type on model output by creating presence probability models for the northern bat on the Fernow Experimental Forest in the central Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia using a historical, presence-only dataset. Each presence data type produced outputs that were dissimilar from the other types but corresponded with known traits of the northern bat or are easily explained in the context of the particular data collection protocol involved. However, our results also highlight potential limitations of individual data types. For example, models from mist-net capture data only showed high probability of presence of northern bats along the dendritic network of riparian areas, an obvious artifact of sampling methodology. Development of ecological niche and presence models for northern bat populations would be highly valuable for resource managers. We caution, however, that these efforts should consider the substantial limitations of models derived solely from one data type.
Huth, John K.; Silvis, Alexander; Moosman, Paul R. Jr.; Ford, W. Mark; and Sweeten, Sara. 2017. "A Comparison of Survey Methods for Documenting Presence of Myotis leibii (Eastern Small-Footed Bats) at Roosting Areas in Western Virginia," Virginia Journal of Science: Vol. 66 : No. 4 , Article 3.	June 2017
Jachowski, D.S., C.A. Dobony, L.S. Coleman, W.M. Ford, E.R. Britzke, and J.L. Rodrigue. 2014. Disease and community assemblage: white-nose syndrome alters spatial and temporal niche partitioning in sympatric bat species. Diversity and Distributions 20:1002- 1015 \| Abstract	April 2014	Species composition in ecological communities, or community assemblage, is driven by resource competition and stochastic processes. Emerging infectious diseases present a major perturbation with apparent direct effects such as reduced population density, extirpation and/or extinction. However, little is known about the potential indirect effects of disease that likely alter community assemblages and larger ecosystem function. Considerable evidence exists concerning niche partitioning in sympatric bat species, and the unprecedented, rapid decline in multiple species may provide an opportunity to observe a dramatic restructuring of the community assemblage. Since 2006, white-nose syndrome (WNS) has resulted in the loss of over 6 million hibernating bats in eastern North America. Acoustical monitoring during 2003-2011 allowed us to test the hypothesis that spatial and temporal niche partitioning by bats was relaxed post-WNS. We detected 9 bat species pre- and post-WNS. Activity by almost all species declined post-WNS. Dramatic post-WNS declines in activity of little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus, MYLU), formerly one of the most abundant bat species, were associated with complex, often species-specific responses by other species that generally favored increased spatial and temporal overlap with MYLU. Collectively, in addition to the obvious direct effects of disease on bat populations and activity levels, our results provide evidence that disease can alter community assemblage through the relaxation of both temporal and spatial niche partitioning. Recent occurrence of WNS in North America, combined with multiple existing stressors, is resulting in dramatic shifts in bat community assemblage. These changes may influence long-term bat species population viability and the broader concern of ecosystem structure and function.
Jachowski, D.S., C.M.B. Jachowski, and W.M. Ford 2014. Is white-nose syndrome causing insectivory release and altering ecosystem function in the eastern US? Bat Research News 55:21-24	October 2014
Jachowski, D.S., C.T. Rota, C. Dobony, W.M. Ford and J.W. Edwards. 2016. Seeing the Forest through the Trees: Considering Roost-Site Selection at Multiple Spatial Scales.PLoS ONE 11(3): e0150011. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0150011	March 2016
Jachowski, D.S., J.B. Johnson, C.A. Dobony, J.W. Edwards and W.M. Ford. 2014. Space Use and Resource Selection by Foraging Indiana Bats at Their Northern Distribution. Endangered Species Research 24:149-157	June 2014
Karen E. Powers , Richard J. Reynolds , Wil Orndorff, W. Mark Ford. 2015. Post-White-nose Syndrome Trends in Virginia’s Cave Bats, 2008-2013 Journal of Ecology and Natural Environment 6:56-64 \| Abstract	April 2015	Since its February 2009 detection in Virginia hibernacula, the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans (P.d.) has had a marked impact on cave bats in the Commonwealth. From 2008-2013, we documented these impacts through fall swarm, early hibernation, and late hibernation surveys at 15 hibernacula in western Virginia. We coupled these surveys with biennial winter hibernacula counts in 2009, 2011, and 2013. To estimate percent declines in bat presence or relative activity, we used fall swarm capture per-unit-effort data, and the winter hibernacula absolute counts. To examine a metric that could serve as a proxy for health, we compared individual measures of body mass index (BMI) across years for fall swarm, early hibernation, and late hibernation/spring staging. We captured 4,524 bats of eight species, with species-specific capture success declining by 75-100% in some hibernacula since 2008. Little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) were hardest-hit, by measure of winter hibernacula counts (AVG. = 99.0% decrease in counts), while tri-colored bats (Perimyotis subflavus; 89.5% decline) and Indiana bats (M. sodalis; 33.5% decline) also have been markedly impacted. Graphical analyses of captures-per-trap-hour in fall swarm showed some conservative patterns in decline for little brown bats, tri-colored bats, and northern long-eared bats (M. septentrionalis), but suggest a modest rebound for Indiana bats in recent years. Fall swarm trends in BMI suggested some drops in the metric post-presumed-P.d. exposure, but these trends did not hold across both sexes or across seasonal time blocks. Lower densities of little brown bats and individuals persisting in caves with P.d. for multiple years may suggest a competitive advantage for the few survivors. However, our inconclusive BMI metrics and little brown bat band recovery data do not support this theory. Lesser (but still apparent) declines in Indiana bat numbers mirrors trends seen elsewhere in the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, and band recoveries suggest long-lived individuals persisting. Given that some sites were P.d.-positive for just one year by the conclusion of this study, we emphasize that continued surveys in this region are necessary to ascertain long-term effects in P.d. Additional surveys will determine if populations in these hibernacula will persist or face extirpation due to presumed low recruitment and survivorship.
Muthersbaugh, M.S., W.M. Ford, A. Silvis and K.E. Powers. 2019. Activity patterns of cave-dwelling bat species during pre-hibernation swarming and post-hibernation emergence in the central Appalachians. Diversity 2019, 11, 159; doi:10.3390/d11090159	September 2019
Muthersbaugh MS, Ford WM, Powers KE, Silvis A. 2019. Activity patterns of bats during the fall and spring along ridgelines in the central Appalachians. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 10(1):180–195; e1944-687X. https://doi.org/10.3996/082018-JFWM-072	June 2019
Nocera, T., W.M. Ford, A. Silvis and C.A. Dobony. 2019. Patterns of acoustical activity of bats prior to and 10 years after WNS. Global Ecology and Conservation. 18: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00633	May 2019
Nocera, T., W.M. Ford, A. Silvis and C.A. Dobony. 2019. Let’s Agree To Disagree: Comparing Auto-Acoustic Identification Programs for Northeastern Bats. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 10:346-361.	December 2019
Nocera, T., W.M. Ford, A. Silvis and C.A. Dobony. 2020. Temporal and spatial changes in Myotis lucifugus acoustic activity before and after white-nose syndrome on Fort Drum Army Installation, New York, USA. Acta Chiropterlogica 22:135-146	July 2020
Patriquin, K.J.,M.L. Leonard, H.G. Broders, W.M.Ford, E.R. Britzke, and A. Silvis 2016. Weather as a proximate explanation for fission-fusion dynamics in female northern long-eared bats. Animal Behaviour 122:47-57	November 2016
Powers, K.E.., R.J. Reynolds , W. Orndorff, B. A. Hyzy, C. S. Hobson, and W. M. Ford. 2016. Monitoring the status of Gray Bats (Myotis grisescens) in Virginia, 2009-2014, and potential impacts of White-nose Syndrome. Southeastern Naturalist 15:127-137	April 2016
Reynolds, R., K.E. Powers, W. Orndorff, W.M. Ford and C. Hobson. 2016, Changes in Myotis septentrionalis (Northern Long-eared Bat) Capture Rates and Demographics in Western Virginia; Pre and Post White-nose Syndrome. Northeastern Naturalist 15(1):127-137	May 2016
Riedel, B.L., K.R. Russell and W.M. Ford. 2012. Physical condition, sex, and age-class of eastern red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) in forested and open habitats of West Virginia. International Journal of Zoology. doi:10.1155/2012/623730. 8 p. \| Publisher Website	July 2012
Silvis, A., N. Abaid, W.M. Ford and E.R. Britzke. 2016. Responses of bat social groups to roost loss: More questions than answers. pages 261-280 in: Sociality in Bats. Jorge Ortega (ed). Springer International. 301 p. \| Download	June 2016
Silvis, A., R. W. Perry and W.M. Ford. 2016. Relationships of Three Species of White-nose Syndrome-Impacted Bats to Forest Condition and Management. US Forest Service Southern Research Station General Technical Report. SRS–214, Ashville, NC. 57p	August 2016
St. Germain, M.J., A.B. Kniowski, A. Silvis and W.M. Ford. 2017. Who Knew? First Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis) Maternity Colony in the Coastal Plain of Virginia. Northeastern Naturalist 24:N5-N10.	March 2017
Silvis, A., W.M. Ford and E.R. Britzke. 2015. Day-roost tree selection by northern long-eared bats– What do random tree comparisons and one year of data really tell us? Global Ecology and Conservation 3:756-763 \| Abstract	April 2015	Bat day-roost selection often is described by outcomes derived from comparisons of day-roosts with randomly selected, supposedly unused, trees. Relatively few studies, however, look at patterns of multi-year selection or compare day-roosts used across years. We explored the process determining day-roost selection using 2 years of roost selection data for northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) maternity colonies on the Fort Knox Military Reservation, Kentucky, USA. We compared characteristics of random trees and day-roosts used in 2 different years using a multinomial logistic model and day-roost species selection using chi-squared tests. We found that the factors differentiating day-roosts from non-roosts and day-roosts between years varied substantially. Day-roosts differed from random trees in the first year of data in all measured factors, but only in diameter at breast height and decay stage in the second year. Between years, day-roosts differed in roost size and canopy position, but not decay stage. Day-roost species selection however, was non-random and did not differ significantly between years. Although bats use multiple trees within a colony, our results suggest that there were multiple unused trees that were suitable for roosts at any time. We believe day-roost selection pattern descriptions will be inadequate if based only on a single year of data, and that inferences of roost selection based on comparisons of roost to random trees should be limited.
Deeley, S., J.B. Johnson, W.M. Ford and J.E. Gates. 2021. White-nose syndrome-related changes to Mid-Atlantic bat communities across an urban-to-rural gradient. BMC Zoology (2021) 6:12 doi.org/10.1186/s40850-021-00079-5	May 2021
Hzyz, B., R.E. Russell, A. Silvis, W.M. Ford, J. Riddle and K. Russell. 2020. Occupancy of Northern long-eared bats in the Lake States Region. Wildlife Society Bulletin https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.1138	December 2020
Hyzy, B., R.E. Russell, A. Silvis, W.M. Ford, J. Riddle, and K. Russell. 2020. Investigating maternity roost selection of Northern long-eared bats at three sites in Wisconsin. Endangered Species Research. 41:55-65.	January 2020
Gorman, K, W.M. Ford, E.L. Barr and L. Ries. 2021. Bat Activity Patterns Relative to Temporal and Weather Correlates in a Temperate Coastal Environment. Global Ecology and Conservation 30: doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01769 13 p.	October 2021
Gorman, K.M., S.M. Deeley, E.L. Barr, S.R. Freeze, N. Kalen, M.S. Muthersbaugh, and W.M. Ford. 2022. Broad-scale geographic and temporal assessment of northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) maternity colony landscape association. Endangered Species Research 47:119-130.	February 2022
Deeley, S., J.B. Johnson, W.M. Ford and J.E. Gates. 2021. White-nose syndrome-related changes to Mid-Atlantic bat communities across an urban-to-rural gradient. BMC Zoology (2021) 6:12 doi.org/10.1186/s40850-021-00079-5	May 2021
Deeley, S.M., N.J. Kalen, S.R. Freeze, E.L. Barr and W.M. Ford. 2021. Post-white-nose syndrome passive acoustic sampling effort for determining bat species occupancy within the mid-Atlantic region. Ecological Indicators 125 (2021) 107489	February 2021
Kalen, N.J., M.S. Muthersbaugh, J.B. Johnson, A. Silvis and W.M. Ford. 2022. Northern long-eared bats in the Central Appalachians following white-nose syndrome: failed maternity colonies? Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 9: 159-167	March 2022
Ford, W.M., J.B. Johnson, and M. Thomas-Van Gundy. 2021. Northern Long-Eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis) Day-Roost Loss in the Central Appalachian Mountains Following Prescribed Burning. International Journal of Forestry Research doi.org/10.1155/2021/5512044 6p.	June 2021
Ford, W.M., A. Silvis, J.B. Johnson, J.W. Edwards and M. Karp. 2016. Northern long-eared bat day-roosting and prescribed fire in the central Appalachians. Fire Ecology 12:13-27	June 2016
Nocera, T., W.M. Ford, A. Silvis and C.A. Dobony. 2019. Let’s Agree To Disagree: Comparing Auto-Acoustic Identification Programs for Northeastern Bats. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 10:346-361.	December 2019
Nocera, T., W.M. Ford, A. Silvis and C.A. Dobony. 2019. Patterns of acoustical activity of bats prior to and 10 years after WNS. Global Ecology and Conservation. 18: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00633	May 2019
Nocera, T., W.M. Ford, A. Silvis and C.A. Dobony. 2020. Temporal and spatial changes in Myotis lucifugus acoustic activity before and after white-nose syndrome on Fort Drum Army Installation, New York, USA. Acta Chiropterlogica 22:135-146	July 2020
Freeze, S.R., M. Shirazi, N. Abaid, W.M. Ford, A. Silvis and D. Hakkenberg. 2021. Effects of Environmental Clutter on Synthesized Chiropteran Echolocation Signals in an Anechoic Chamber. Acoustics. 3:391–410 doi.org/10.3390/acoustics3020026	June 2021

Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Virginia Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources