Activity of an endangered bat increases immediately following prescribed fire

Abstract

ABSTRACTSpatiotemporal responses of bats to fire are not well understood. Fire can indirectly influence bat activity through changes to understory vegetation, insect prey availability, and roost tree abundance. High‐flying bats may be less influenced by fire‐induced changes to the understory because they forage above the forest canopy. Fire‐dependent forests are prevalent across the range of the endemic Florida bonneted bat (Eumops floridanus), a large, high‐flying, and critically endangered species, yet effects of fire management on this species are completely unknown. To investigate short‐term responses of these bats to fire, we conducted pre‐post‐treatment‐control experiments in 4 prescribed burns during 2 seasons (dry, wet). For 12 nights pre‐burn and 24 nights post‐burn, we surveyed bat activity acoustically at 3 sites within each burn (treatment) and 3 adjacent sites (control). Using mixed‐effects models to test the effect of treatment on bat activity, we found that bat activity significantly increased post‐burn in treatment sites relative to control sites, with more pronounced effects during dry season burns. We also detected significantly more feeding buzzes (foraging activity) in treatment sites than control sites, and a negative trend over time in the burn effect size post‐burn. We suggest that bats are attracted to increased availability of insect prey immediately following burns, particularly during the dry season when prey may be limited. Our results suggest that burns have short‐term positive effects on Florida bonneted bats and that restoring fire to fire‐dependent forests may improve foraging habitat for this species. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.