Roosting behaviour of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) in the Canadian Rocky Mountains

Micalizzi, Emma

Roosting behaviour of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) in the Canadian Rocky Mountains

dc.contributor.advisor	Barclay, Robert MR
dc.contributor.author	Micalizzi, Emma
dc.contributor.committeemember	Galpern, Paul
dc.contributor.committeemember	Forshner, Anne
dc.date	2022-06
dc.date.accessioned	2022-05-11T20:00:46Z
dc.date.available	2022-05-11T20:00:46Z
dc.date.issued	2022-05-08
dc.description.abstract	Little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) are highly adaptable bats that occur throughout most of North America. The presence of reproductive individuals in northern and mountainous environments is surprising, however, as small, volant, insectivorous mammals should face many challenges to surviving and reproducing in regions with short, cool summers. The objective of my research was to examine the roosting ecology of female little brown bats in Banff and Yoho National Parks, with a focus on the relative importance of building and natural roosts, to help understand how populations persist in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Better understanding little brown bat ecology is also important given the endangered listing of this species in Canada and by the IUCN.Over two summers, I captured little brown bats at varying distances from buildings, and tracked 49 females to their day roosts. Buildings were the dominant roost type used throughout the reproductive period, and the only structures in which bats formed maternity colonies. Building roosts were particularly relied on by bats in May and June, and by lactating bats. Bats monitored in building roosts were often warmer than those in natural roosts, suggesting that the benefits of building roosts are their warm microclimates. Buildings also appeared to shape the distribution of female little brown bats; reproductive females remained near building clusters, and all females remained near municipalities. Despite the apparent importance of building roosts, building colonies were unusually small, and bats had relatively low fidelity to building roosts, suggesting that building roosts may not consistently meet bats’ needs. Some non-reproductive and pregnant females also frequently used natural roosts, particularly after colder nights. This, combined with bats’ lower skin temperature in natural roosts, points to an importance of natural roosts in facilitating torpor. My results suggest that little brown bats may successfully reproduce in cold environments by relying on warm building roosts. However, natural roosts are likely important in allowing pregnant bats and non-reproductive bats to save energy. Because bats are long-lived with low reproductive output and low juvenile survival, the survival of both reproductive and non-reproductive individuals is important for population stability.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Micalizzi, E. (2022). Roosting behaviour of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) in the Canadian Rocky Mountains (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39771
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/114656
dc.language.iso	eng	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Science	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.	en_US
dc.subject	little brown myotis	en_US
dc.subject	roost	en_US
dc.subject	myotis lucifugus	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Biology	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Ecology	en_US
dc.title	Roosting behaviour of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) in the Canadian Rocky Mountains	en_US
dc.type	master thesis	en_US
thesis.degree.discipline	Biological Sciences	en_US
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary	en_US
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)	en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true	en_US