Seasonal Change in Roosting Ecology in the Silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans)

Silver-haired bats are common species of bat found in North America. They use cavities in trees and space under loose bark to roost, or rest and raise young. The silver-haired bat is thought to migrate south over the winter. Despite this, we have found them in parts of British Columbia during the winter, suggesting they may not migrate in these areas. Our work will help support a MSc student who will investigate how silver-haired bats are using trees in areas where they overwinter in British Columbia and compare with how they use trees in the summer. We will capture bats and track them to identify the tree roosts. Once located, we will record how long the bats stay at each tree, and tree features to identify patterns in tree use. Our partner, the Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada has identified this area of research as a high priority conservation action. The results from this project will be used to plan bat-friendly forestry practices by identifying trees that are suitable as winter and summer roosts for silver-haired bats.

Faculty Supervisor:

Erin Baerwald

Student:

Emily de Freitas

Partner:

Wildlife Conservation Society Canada

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Northern British Columbia