Title
Bats in the Bronx: Acoustic Monitoring of Bats in New York City
Author(s)
Parkins, Kaitlyn L. ;Mathios. Michelle ;McCann, Colleen ;Clark, J. Alan
Published
2016
Publisher
Urban Naturalist
Abstract
Studies on urban bat ecology, mainly focusing on large-scale landscape features
that affect biodiversity, have flourished in the last decade. In the present study, we investigated
the presence of bats on a local scale in a highly urbanized area, Bronx Borough,
in New York City (NYC), 1 of 2 North American megacities. We used passive and active
monitoring of bat echolocation calls at 4 sites in the Bronx to determine which species were
present and to examine seasonal variation in activity levels. We recorded 5 species of bats at
our study sites: Eptesicus fuscus (Big Brown Bat), Lasiurus borealis (Eastern Red Bat), L.
cinereus (Hoary Bat), Lasionycteris noctivagans (Silver-haired Bat), and Perimyotis subflavus
(Tri-colored Bat). The majority of recorded activity was by Eastern Red Bat at all sites.
Activity peaked in August and November during the migratory periods for Eastern Red Bat
and Silver-haired Bat. During the winter months, we recorded activity by Eastern Red Bat,
Silver-haired Bat, and Hoary Bat, and found that we detected greater bat activity on nights
with higher maximum daily temperatures. Our study provides preliminary documentation
of tree-bat migration through NYC and evidence of winter bat activity in NYC. Further
acoustic and mist-net surveys will help us better understand the diversity and seasonal activity
of bats in NYC.
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