气候变化领域集成服务门户(CCPortal): Site occupancy of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) in response to salvage logging in the boreal forest

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DOI	10.1016/j.foreco.2019.117501
	Site occupancy of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) in response to salvage logging in the boreal forest
	Thomas J.P.; Reid M.L.; Jung T.S.; Barclay R.M.R.
发表日期	2019
ISSN	0378-1127
卷号	451
英文摘要	As a consequence of warmer winters, the frequency and severity of bark beetle infestations has increased in western North America, creating controversy over how to manage beetle-killed forests. Post-infestation salvage logging is increasingly used to reduce wildfire risk and recover the value of beetle-killed trees; however, the ecological consequences of this practice are poorly understood. We investigated the effects of post-infestation salvage logging in the boreal forest (Yukon, Canada) on habitat use by the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), a forest-dwelling species that is relatively tolerant of vegetative clutter and numerically dominant in boreal bat communities. We hypothesized that little brown bats would select closed-canopied sites, particularly at high latitudes where bats may be vulnerable to predators during midsummer when daylight is nearly continuous. Thus, we expected low occupancy rates in salvage-logged stands, particularly those with low tree retention. Because night length increases drastically after summer solstice, we also predicted that bat preference for closed canopies would decline by late summer. We monitored for bat presence with ultrasound detectors in 30 unlogged, beetle-affected stands and 60 small (<30 ha) salvage-logged stands of variable retention. We used occupancy models to test predictions regarding bat response to logging and associated changes in forest structure at local and landscape scales. Contrary to our predictions, occupancy by little brown bats was generally higher in salvage-logged stands, although differences were not statistically significant. Bat occupancy declined with increasing tree basal area, particularly during the second half of the summer when bats avoided forest stands with basal area >40 m2/ha. Our results suggest that vegetative clutter was a primary constraint for little brown bats. The observed clutter avoidance in late summer may have been caused by the presence of newly volant juveniles, which are not yet proficient at flying in clutter. In addition, bats may have shifted their preference to open habitats during late summer when nights were longer and darker, and perceived predation risk was likely reduced. Our study suggests that small patches of salvage-logged boreal forest may improve foraging habitat for little brown bats through clutter reduction; however, we caution that interpretation of our results should be limited to the tree retention levels and scale of logging at our sites. Additionally, the potential importance of unlogged areas as roosting habitat requires consideration before prescriptions are made on the proportion of the landscape to be salvage-logged. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.
英文关键词	Boreal forest; Clutter; Little brown bats; Occupancy models; Salvage logging; Variable retention
语种	英语
scopus关键词	Clutter (information theory); Ecosystems; Mammals; Radar clutter; Boreal forests; Clutter Reduction; Ecological consequences; Forest structure; Little brown bats; Salvage logging; Ultrasound detectors; Variable retentions; Forestry; basal area; bat; beetle; behavioral response; boreal forest; community structure; daylight; dominance; habitat use; logging (timber); machinery; parasite infestation; prediction; salvaging; vulnerability; wildfire; winter; Bat; Ecosystems; Forestry; Logging; Mammals; Retention; Salvage; Trees; Canada; Yukon Territory; Coleoptera; Myotis lucifugus; Scolytinae
来源期刊	Forest Ecology and Management
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/155785
作者单位	Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada; Department of Environment, Government of Yukon, Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A 2C6, Canada; Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2H1, Canada
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Thomas J.P.,Reid M.L.,Jung T.S.,et al. Site occupancy of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) in response to salvage logging in the boreal forest[J],2019,451.
APA	Thomas J.P.,Reid M.L.,Jung T.S.,&Barclay R.M.R..(2019).Site occupancy of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) in response to salvage logging in the boreal forest.Forest Ecology and Management,451.
MLA	Thomas J.P.,et al."Site occupancy of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) in response to salvage logging in the boreal forest".Forest Ecology and Management 451(2019).