Bat Inventory and Monitoring in Selected Parks of the Great Lakes Network
Kruger L, Route B, Rolf P. 2005. Bat Inventory and Monitoring in Selected Parks of the Great Lakes Network
Lack of information and the recognized importance of temperate bats as key components of Northern Great Lakes ecosystems have placed bats as a high priority for biological inventory and monitoring at several parks within the Great Lakes Network (GLKN). In 2003, acoustic (Anabat II) sampling and mist netting were conducted at the following parks in the GLKN: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (PIRO), Michigan; Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (APIS), Wisconsin; and Grand Portage National Monument (GRPO), Minnesota. Through both methods, six of a probable seven species of bats were verified in all three parks. Species verified in each park were: the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), Northern bat (M. septentrionalis), Eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis), hoary bat (L. cinereus), silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), and the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus). The only bat not verified was the Eastern pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus), a fairly uncommon summer species of the Lake Superior region. Both mist netting and acoustic sampling combined, were an effective method for documenting species presence. Mist netting alone at GRPO and APIS verified four bat species (little brown bat, Northern bat, red bat, and silver-haired bat), while it verified only three at PIRO (little brown bat, Northern bat and red bat). Acoustic sampling verified all six species of bats listed above, at all three parks. Additionally, a call reference library was created for bat species of the northern GLKN, which will aid in future acoustic inventory and monitoring efforts in this region. While our efforts have successfully documented bat species presence in each park, future monitoring is needed to determine how bat species interact with the surrounding ecosystems of each park. Specifically, monitoring efforts should concentrate on important population limiting factors of temperate bat species, such available roosting and foraging habitat.