1. Acoustic Monitoring Locations Overview Montana’s bat species face a wide array of conservation issues that threaten their long-term viability. A collaborative effort was initiated in 2011 to document year-round activity patterns of Montana’s bats prior to the arrival of White-nose Syndrome as mortality has exceeded 95% for some bat populations effected by this disease in eastern North America. In the last 5 years, we have deployed a network of over 81 Song Meter ultrasonic acoustic detector/recorder stations programmed to record bat passes from sunset to sunrise year-round. Through late December 2015, these recording stations have resulted in more than 7.2 million full spectrum sound files containing nearly 13 terabytes of information. Processing and automated analyses have been completed for all sound files and over 45,000 bat passes have been reviewed by hand using an updated Montana bat call characteristics key to definitively confirm the presence of species during each month of the year, identify the lowest temperatures at which individual bat species are active, and track overall bat activity, regardless of species, at each station. Highlights to-date include: 2,480 new records of monthly species presence in various landscapes across the region, numerous first records of species’ activity during the fall, winter, and spring months, numerous first records of species in regions with previously limited survey effort, documentation of nightly activity patterns throughout the year, regular winter activity for a few resident species, the year-round presence of species previously considered migratory, and exciting patterns of activity relative to temperature, wind speed, barometric pressure, and moonlight. MONTANA’S BAT ACOUSTIC SURVEILLANCE EFFORTS: AN UPDATE Shannon Hilty, Braden Burkholder, Bryce Maxell, & Scott Blum – Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, MT, shilty@mt.gov, bburkholder@mt.gov, bmaxell@mt.gov, sblum@mt.gov Lauri Hanauska-Brown – Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, Helena, MT, lhanauska-brown@mt.gov Amie Shovlain – Region 1 U.S. Forest Service, Dillon, MT, ashovlain@fs.fed.us Jake Chaffin – Montana/Dakotas Bureau of Land Management State Office, Billings, MT, jlchaffi@blm.gov Cooperators Acoustic Monitoring Goals Deploy a statewide acoustic monitoring array 2011 - 2016 Document year-round nightly bat activity levels (bat passes) Identify annual timing of immergence to and emergence from hibernacula by resident species and timing of spring and fall migrations by migratory species Confirm monthly species presence and minimum active temperatures through hand verification of call sequences Correlate bat activity level with temperature and, where possible, wind speed and barometric pressure Identify landscape-level patterns of bat activity Make information readily available to all stakeholders USFWS Photo Select Results Continued Statewide Acoustic Detections by Month All Previous Data (blue shading), Probable (black), Definitive (red) Select Results 1.Protect potential natural roost sites by conserving large diameter trees (especially snags with loose bark), rock outcrops, cliff crevices, and caves. http://mtnhp.org/reports/ZOO_BatRoost_HomeRange_2015.pdf 2.When planning structures that may represent collision hazards (e.g., wind turbines), avoid rock outcrops and reduce structural complexity of vegetation (e.g., short stature grasslands) and availability of standing waters that might provide drinking opportunities for bats. 3.At wind turbine facilities, set turbine cut-in speeds to > 6.0 m/sec when there is evidence of bat activity in the area. When wind speeds are <6 m/sec, feather wind turbine blades so that they rotate at fewer than 1-3 revolutions per minute. See American Wind Energy Association voluntary best management practices http://www.awea.org 4.Install bat houses on warm south and west facing walls of human structures to provide summer roosting habitat while avoiding bat use of internal portions of the structures. Management Recommendations Photo by R. Donovan Bats are more active than expected at higher temperatures (°C) Temperature Bats are more active than expected during periods of negative pressure changes (Δmb) Barometric Pressure Change Bats are more active than expected at wind speeds of 1-3 meters per second Wind Speed Bats are more active than expected at lower moon illumination levels Moon Below Horizon Moon Above Horizon 0 = No moon illumination 1 = Full Moon Moon Illumination SpeciesJanFebMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugSeptOctNovDec Pallid Bat 1 2012 2013 2014 Townsend's Big- eared Bat 2 2012 2013 2014 2015 Big Brown Bat 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Spotted Bat 2012 2013 2014 2015 Eastern Red Bat 2012 2013 2014 2015 Hoary Bat 2012 2013 2014 2015 Silver-haired Bat 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 California Myotis 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Western Small- footed Myotis 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Long-eared Myotis 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Little Brown Myotis 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Fringed Myotis 2012 2013 2014 2015 Long-legged Myotis 1 2012 2013 2014 2015 Yuma Myotis 2012 2013 2014 Large LenticLarge Lotic Small LenticSmall LoticTerrestrial Weekly Average of Nightly Bat Passes by Water Body Type No Trees TreesNo Trees Trees Weekly Average Nightly Bat Passes by Landscape Ruggedness & Tree Cover Rugged Not Rugged