 United
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 Southern Research Station200 W.T. Weaver Boulevard Asheville, NC 28804 |
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Bats in the Light of Research
Asheville,NC -- Bats stir emotionsÂshivers from those who fear them, awe when a female opens her wings to reveal young, fascination as they swoop to swallow mosquitoes on a humid summer night. Increasing need for conservation and interest from the general public prompted researchers at the Savannah River Site, New Ellenton, SC, to gather information about the nine species that populate this Department of Energy site managed by the Forest Service. The structure and form of bats varies drastically from birds that fly and mammals that do not, requiring a second and third look for one to get a visual fix, difficult to manage with a nocturnal animal that roosts in crevices, caves, tree cavities, and other tucked-away places. Bats of the Savannah River Site and Vicinity, published by the USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, fills the visual need with photographs of bats in native habitats sometimes as intriguing as the animals themselves.
Because the authors' earlier research at the Savannah River Site had resulted in a large data set on bats, John Blake, Forest Service assistant manager for research on the Site, suggested a brief report about bat species and habitats. With the authors enthusiasm to share information about creatures they find fascination, the project grew to include assessments of how bats use major vegetation types; assessments of conservation and public health issues; identification keys; and accounts of 14 species, nine of which occur commonly on the Savannah River Site, plus five species that occur occasionally on the Site or occur in adjacent areas. Bats of the Savannah River Site and Vicinity (GTR SRS-68) includes accounts of morphology and distribution; roosting ecology; foraging behavior, diet, and home range; effect of habitat type and stand age on flight activity; and reproduction. The State of South Carolina lists the southeastern myotis (Myotis austroriparius) and RafinesqueÂs big-eared bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) as threatened and endangered, respectively. Other bats that occur regularly at the Savannah River Site include the eastern pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus), evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis), silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis), Seminole bat (L. seminolus), hoary bat (L. cinereus), and big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus). Making land management decisions without regard for the effects they may have on bat communities no longer can be justified by claims that too little is known about habitat requirements of this diverse mammalian order. ÂWe felt that a publication that encapsulates everything known about the foraging, roosting, and habitat selection of bats at the Savannah River Site would be a useful tool for researchers and natural resource managers, explains Jennifer Menzel. Bats of the Savannah River Site and Vicinity provides information needed to manage bats in a complex and changing landscape.
Michael A. Menzel, a West Virginia University graduate research assistant at the time of the study, collaborated with John C. Kilgo, Southern Station wildlife biologist at the Savannah River Site; Jennifer M. Menzel and W. Mark Ford, wildlife biologists at the Northeastern Research Station; Timothy C. Carter, graduate research assistant at Southern Illinois University; and John W. Edwards, assistant professor at West Virginia University.
Menzel, Michael A.; Menzel, Jennifer M.; Kilgo, John C. [and others]. 2003. Bats of the Savannah River Site and vicinity. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-68. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 69 p.
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