Title
Can You Hear Me Now? Using Ultrasonic Vocalizations to Explore the Natural History of New York City Bats
Author(s)
Riley, J. A.;Parkins, K.;McCann, C.;Clark, J. A.
Published
2016
Publisher
Integrative and Comparative Biology
Abstract
Populations of U.S. bats are declining because of an increased number of threats, including white nose syndrome and collisions with wind turbines. As urban sprawl and wildlife habitats meet the occurrence of bats within urban areas is growing. These bats use urban environments to roost, forage, and breed. However, little is known about the natural history of bats in urban landscapes, particularly New York City (NYC), one of the largest metropolitan areas in North America. A previous acoustic survey of bats in the Bronx borough of NYC identified five species of bats. My study expands on this survey and examines the activity level and species composition of bats inhabiting four of the five NYC boroughs. Wild bats were surveyed at the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and Queens Zoo. Active and passive recorders were used to collect ultrasonic acoustic bat vocalizations. Passive recordings were collected year round from civil twilight to civil twilight using stationary recorders located on rooftops at each study site. Active surveys were conducted along walking transects twice at each zoo for one hour starting at sunset between June and July 2015. We identified six species of bats during the summer season. Bat activity was higher at the Queens Zoo site, likely because of the marsh lands near the zoo grounds. At two of the four sites, bat activity was correlated with temperature. In this study the big brown bat was the most active bat at all four sites vs. the red haired bat in previous records. Further research and a strong understanding of NYC bat populations will aid in a more complete understanding of urbanization and its effect on wildlife. This information will ultimately help protect bats, their urban habitats and their important ecosystem role.

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