The registration fees for the meeting will be $10 for students and $25 for professionals. A t-shirt will be sold separately for $12 (short-sleeve) and $15 (long-sleeve). Please return your completed registration form and checks made out to SBDN to:

The deadline to register by mail is February 1st. Questions should go to Dr. Risch at trisch@astate.edu or 870-972-3082.

Abstracts for presentation will be accepted until 31 January 2009.

Abstracts should be less than 300 words and include name, organization, and address of authors, title, study justification, objectives, brief methods, summarized results, and discussion of results (see abstract example below). Please, indicate if abstract is for an oral or poster presentation and underline the name of the author that will be presenting the paper. A total of 15 minutes will be allotted for oral presentations, including time for answering questions. All oral presentations must be on Microsoft PowerPoint. Presentations brought to the meeting must be on a CD or jump/flash drive (zip disks or floppy disks will not be accepted).

Submit abstracts electronically in Microsoft Word format to:

Blake Sasse at dbsasse@agfc.state.ar.us

Follow the format guidelines below when preparing your abstract (see example below):

• Title should be in all capital letters, bold, and centered at the top of the page.
• Include names and current addresses of authors after the title.
• Italicize addresses of authors.
• Underline the name of the presenter.
• Indicate student presenters with an asterisk (*).
• Use 12-point Times New Roman font.
• Use 1-inch margins on all sides.
• Left Justify only.

Abstract example:

ROOST TREE SELECTION BY NORTHERN LONG-EARED BATS IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS

J. M. O'Keefe, S. C. Loeb, and J. D. Lanham. Forestry and Natural Resources, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634 (JMO and JDL); USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634 (SCL)

Studies in eastern North America have shown that northern long-eared bats are selective in their choice of day roosts, but roost characteristics vary among study areas. Our primary objective was to identify the factors that affect roost selection of northern long-eared bats in the southern Appalachian Mountains where they have not yet been studied. We placed transmitters on 13 bats: six adult females, one juvenile female, three adult males, and two juvenile males. Bats were tracked to roosts daily until the transmitter was recovered or the signal was lost. Characteristics of roost and random trees and the surrounding habitat (0.04 ha plots) were measured and compared; random trees were 50 m from the roost in a random direction. We found 37 roost trees, representing nine hardwood species. Tree and plot variables did not vary significantly between male and female roosts. Seven characteristics distinguished roost trees from random trees (p < 0.1). Roosts were larger in diameter, with less midstory cover at the roost entrance height and less bark. When compared with random trees, roosts were closer to dead or damaged trees and the 0.04 ha plot contained a higher basal area of dead or damaged trees. Roosts were mainly in late-successional hardwoods, black locusts, or dogwoods. Finally, roosts were always in live-damaged or dead trees, while random trees were typically living. In the southern Appalachian Mountains, northern long-eared bats appear to select roosts for traits that minimize energetic costs, regardless of gender. Selection for large roosts should reduce heat loss, while selection of roosts near other dead or damaged trees may facilitate switching in the event of a disturbance. Future analyses will consider roosting strategies at the landscape scale, as well as the effects of timber harvests on roosting habits of northern long-eared bats.

GUIDELINES FOR PREPARATION OF POSTERS

• Should be no larger than 48 x 48 inches.
• Should be readable from a distance of 2 meters.
• Title should be capitalized with lettering at least 2 cm high (72 pt).
• Authors and institutional affiliations should be in upper- and lower-case lettering at least 11 mm high (42 pt).
• Text lettering should be at least 5 mm high (18 pt) with a line thickness of at least 1 mm.
• Information should be well organized and concisely presented. Most posters should include the following sections: Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusions, Literature Cited.
• Keep written text to a minimum. Bullets and short phrases are effective. Use no more than six illustrations (large graphs, flow charts, diagrams, and photographs). Keep captions and legends short and informative.

Three student awards are given out at the Mammal Colloquium. Two awards are sponsored by SBDN (SBDN Best Student Oral Presentation on Bats and Best Poster Award) and one award is sponsored by the Colloquium (Best Student Oral Presentation). Please indicate when abstract is submitted if presenter is a student.

The nearest major airport is in Memphis, Tennessee, about 70 miles from Jonesboro. Most attendees will probably drive through Memphis on I-40, turn north on I-55 after crossing the Mississippi River into Arkansas and then 13 miles later turning north onto US-63 to Jonesboro. The hotel and ASU can be reached by turning north at the Caraway Road exit on US-63.

• Map - Jonesboro/hotel
• Map - ASU and Convocation Center

Those driving to the ASU campus will need a parking pass that will be provided (location to be determined)

The conference hotel will be the Holiday Inn (3006 South Caraway Road; 870-935-2030), which is about 10-minutes drive from the Convocation Center. A block of rooms has been reserved at $82.50 (including the cost of a full breakfast buffet) for those who make reservations prior to 28 January. Other nearby hotels are:

• Holiday Inn Express (2407 Phillips Drive; 870-932-5554)
• Hampton Inn (2900 Phillips Drive; 870-974-9500)
• Super 8 Motel (2500 S. Caraway Road; 870-972-0849)

The SBDN's Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat Working Group will be meeting from 1:30-5:00 on Wednesday, 11 February 2009 in the Mocking Bird Room at the ASU Student Union. Registration for this meeting will be handled separately. The SBDN rate at the Holiday Inn will be available for those attending this meeting and staying over on the night of the 11th. More information.