Staff Member
Michael True
Master's
Email: mtrue@vt.edu
Biography
As a masters' student I'm investigating the fall and spring spatial migratory pattern of tree bats (mainly eastern red bat) along the mid-Atlantic coast. Through trapping and affixing nanotags on bats throughout the region and tracking movement via stationary telemetry receivers, we hope to understand where bats choose to cross large bodies of water such as the Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay, and what climatic conditions persist while they do so. We also would like to understand migratory pathways over land as well as the effects sex has on migration in terms of space and time. This project was formed in response to growing wind energy development and future interest in development from coastal states in the mid-Atlantic region with funding from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. For more information head to Motus.org
| Research Publications | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| True, M.C., R.W. Perry and W.M. Ford. 2021. Forecasting the Distribution of a Range-Expanding Bat Reveals Future Response to Climate Change and Habitat. Acta Chiropterlogica 23(1) : 139-152 | July 2021 |
| True, M.C., R.J. Reynolds and W.M. Ford. 2021. Monitoring and Modeling Tree Bat (Genera: Lasiurus, Lasionycteris) Occurrence Using Acoustics on Structures Off the Mid-Atlantic Coast—Implications for Offshore Wind Development. Animals 11(11), 3146; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11113146 | November 2021 |
| True, M.C., K.M. Gorman, H. Taylor, R.J. Reynolds and W.M. Ford. 2023. Fall migration, oceanic movement, and site residency patterns of the eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis) on the mid-Atlantic Coast. Movement Ecology 2023) 11:35https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-023-00398-x | June 2023 |
| Jorge, M.H., W.M. Ford, S.E. Sweeten, S.R. Freeze, M.C. True, M. J. St. Germain, H.Taylor, K.M. Gorman1, M. J. Cherry, and E.P. Garrison. 2021. Winter Roost Selection of Lasiurine Tree Bats in a Pyric Landscape. PLoS ONE 16(2): e0245695. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245695 | February 2021 |
|
Jorge, M.H., S.E. Sweeten, M.C. True, S.R. Freeze, M.J. Cherry, E.P. Garrison, H. Taylor, K.M. Gorman and W.M. Ford. 2021. Fire, land cover and temperature drivers of bat activity in the winter. International Journal of Fire Ecology. (2021) 17:19 /doi.org/10.1186/s42408-021-00105-4 |
June 2021 |
| De La Cruz, J.L. M.C. True, H. Taylor, D.C. Brown, and W.M. Ford. 2022. Unique land cover classification to assess day-roost habitat selection of northern long-eared bats on the Coastal Plain of North Carolina, USA. Forests 13(5), 792. doi.org/10.3390/f13050792 | June 2022 |
| Presentations | Presentation Date |
|---|---|
| True, M.C., W.M. Ford, E. Barr, S. Sweeten and R. Reynolds. 2020. Using the Motus wildlife tracking system. 2020 Northeastern Bat Working Group, Saratoga Springs, NY. January 15-18. | January 2020 |
| True, M.C., R.J. Reynolds, and W.M. Ford. 2022. Activity patterns and fall migration of migratory bats on the mid-Atlantic Coast. Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Long Branch, NJ. April 3-5. | April 2022 |
| True, M.C., R.J. Reynolds and W.M. Ford. 2022. Fall migration, oceanic movement and site residency patterns of migratory bats on the mid-Atlantic Coast with emphasis on eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis). | January 2022 |
| True, M.C., R. Reynolds and W.M. Ford. 2020. <b>Long term acoustic monitoring of migratory tree bats on Virginia’s Atlantic Coast barrier islands – implications for offshore wind development. 27th Annual Conference of the Wildlife Society. Sept 28-Oct 1.</b> | September 2020 |
| Litterer, A.S., H. Taylor, M.C. True, and W.M. Ford. 2022. With apologies to Marie Antoinette "let them eat cicadas" 2022 Northeast Bat Working Group, Manchester, NH. Jan. 12-14. | January 2022 |
| Jorge, M., S.R. Freeze, K. Gorman, H. Taylor, M. True, S. Sweeten, M.J. Cherry and W.M. Ford. Bat winter day-roost site and foraging activity on a pyric landscape in northern Florida. 27th Annual Conference of the Wildlife Society. Sept 28- Oct 1. | September 2020 |
| <b>True, M.C., W.M. Ford and R. Reynolds. 2020. Long-term, multi-season bat monitoring on the Eastern Shore of Virginia's barrier islands - implications for future wind energy development. Abstracts of the 30th Annual Colloquium on Conservation of Mammals in the Southeastern United States. Athens, GA. February 15</b> | February 2020 |
| <b>Jorge, M.J., M. True, S. Freeze, S. Sweeten, M.J. Cherry and W.M. Ford. 2020. Winter-day roosts of Seminole bats in north-cenral Florida: a burning question. Abstracts of the 30th Annual Colloquium on Conservation of Mammals in the Southeastern United States. Athens, GA. February 15</b> | February 2020 |
| <b>De La Cruz, J., M. True, H. Taylor, D. Brown, G. Jordan, C. Manley, and W.M. Ford. 2020. MULTI-SCALE HABITAT SELECTION BY NORTHERN LONG-EARED BATS ON THE COASTAL PLAIN OF NORTH CAROLINA. Abstracts of the 30th Annual Colloquium on Conservation of Mammals in the Southeastern United States. Athens, GA. February 15. </b> | February 2020 |