Summary

Description

This project was funded through the Region 1 Inventory and Monitoring Initiative RFP in 2011. The occurrence, distribution, and relative abundance of bats were documented using acoustic methods in this cooperative project between the Upper Columbia Basin Network UCBN of the National Park Service IM Program, USFWS Region 1 IM Program R1 IM and the Great Northern LCC GNLCC. This was a cooperative project between the Upper Columbia Basin Network UCBN of the National Park Service IM Program, USFWS Region 1 IM Program R1 IM and the Great Northern LCC GNLCC. The project had 4 objectives:1 Develop protocols for acoustic bat detection on National Wildlife Refuge and National park Units sites.2 Document the occurrence, distribution, and relative abundance of bat species on National Wildlife Refuges and National Park units sites.3 Provide baseline data for use in developing general monitoring strategy and assessing future impact of Whitenose Syndrome.4 Provide data in formats that are easily accessible to site managers, scientists, and the public.Methods: The occurrence, distribution, and relative abundance of bats were documented using acoustic methods. Pettersson D500x bat detectors, designed for remote monitoring, would be deployed on participating refuges. SonoBat software would be used to analyze sound files collected by bat detectors. Full spectrum analysis allows Identification to species groups, or individual species in some cases. These data can provide a relative index to abundance using a standardized metric such as bat pass, or calls per unit time.