Day roosts of Myotis (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in an arid riparian corridor in southwestern New Mexico

Authors

Simon P. Tye, Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Kearney, Kearney, NE 68849; Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701Follow
Keith Geluso, Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Kearney, Kearney, NE 68849Follow

Abstract

Riparian corridors in the western United States harbor diverse biological communities that are threatened by reductions in available freshwater, changes to natural disturbance regimes, and anthropogenic disturbances. Limited data are available about bat roosts in riparian habitats in the southwestern United States. We examined day roosts of 3 sympatric Myotis species, the southwestern myotis (Myotis auriculus), Arizona myotis (Myotis occultus), and Yuma myotis (Myotis yumanensis), along the Mimbres River in southwestern New Mexico. We tracked 3 M. auriculus, 3 M. occultus, and 1 M. yumanensis to 16 Fremont’s cottonwoods (Populus fremontii), 2 velvet ash (Fraxinus velutina), and 1 Arizona walnut (Juglans major) within the floodplain. Roost trees generally had a greater diameter and greater likelihood of exhibiting fire damage than nearby trees. Moreover, several roosts were in tree species not previously known to be used by these bat species, and bats did not roost in human-made structures in this arid riparian corridor.


Los corredores ribereños en el oeste de Estados Unidos albergan diversas comunidades biológicas están amenazados debido a la reducción de las aguas subterráneas y superficiales. La información cononocida con respecto a los refugios de un número de murciélagos que utilizan hábitats de ribera áridos es limitada. Examinamos refugios diurnos de cuatro especies simpátricas, miotis orejudo (Myotis auriculus), miotis norteamoericano (Myotis occultus), y miotis de Yuma (Myotis yumanensis), a lo largo del río Mimbres en el suroeste de Nuevo México. Seguimos 3 M. auriculus, 3 M. occultus, and 1 M. yumanensis a 16 álamos de Fremont (Populus fremontii), 2 fresno de Arizona (Fraxinus velutina), y un nogal de Arizona (Juglans major). Los árboles refugio tenían mayor circunferencia, mayor diámetro y mâs cicatrizes de fuego comparados con los árboles de referencia. Además, la mayoría de los refugios estaban en especies de árboles sin observaciones previas de estas especies de murciélagos, y los murciélagos no se posaban en estructuras hechas por el hombre en este árido corredor ribereño.

Recommended Citation

Tye, Simon P. and Geluso, Keith (2019) "Day roosts of Myotis (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in an arid riparian corridor in southwestern New Mexico," Western North American Naturalist: Vol. 79: No. 4, Article 5.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan/vol79/iss4/5