Hibernating Bat PopQlations

in Eastern New York State

Donald B. Clark

Biological Field Station Cooperstown, New York

Occasional Paper No. 14

Biolog'j Department State University College

Oneonta

Dedicated to

Dr. John G. New

educator, environmentalist, and

friend.

11

Several ind1vidual~ ~Gr~ aotively involved with the

initiation o ~ield work i and pr~p~rat1@n ~f this thesis that

I would lik0 to thank e ~r~ Alan Hick~ of th~ N@~ York Stat@

Department of Envir~nm~ntal C@ns~rvation tir§t indicated to

me the feasibility of th~ pr~j~~t ~hilo Dre Art ~l~~ro Mrs

Bob Add:i!!l1 and Nr~ Bill St~v~~:~:!:' ~Gieb off0I"ll)d advic\'!) cculc~rning

the area i • caves ~nd ~p~l~ing ~af@tY0

During th@ ~tudy~ my g~~du~t@ ~o~~itt~~ con~imting of

Dr. J.G. N~~ iadvl~or)o DI"@ R~R" Pnillip~, and Dr D B.R. Dayton

off@rea Qon$tant ~~d per~ist~~t ~dv1o~~ crit1clsD e and support.

With th@ morra~ful pa~~ing ot Dr~ N@w ~&rly this year, Dr.

We Bukovsan ~a$ ~ppoi~t~d tu ~y ~om~itt~~ and Dr. Phillips

took over a~ my adv1~~rg

Throughout. the stUQYQ it ~ae ne©@~~ry for m@ to have a

caving partn@~ dMring @&eh d~y of fi~ld ~orkD I wish to

lor first .tl.ul.~1ng interest in bat_ij I would like

t@ thank Dr~ J~A. L~©~~y ~t ~"U~~~¥e O~w®goo A life-~~ng

int@r~~t ~a~ ~gv~l~p~d ~ft@~ ©©~pl~ti~g & tropical ~tudy

wi tb. hi~ d~ring ,la1rlU~rJr ©:!' 1980"

ABSTRACTo-- From October 1980 to June 1981, several caves

were visited in eastern New York to collect data on the area's

hibernating cave bats. Great numbers of ~otis lucifugus and

lesser numbers of !o keeni!, ~o leibii, Eptes1c~ fuscus. and

Pipistrellus subflavus were observed during the study. Each

species occupied a particular hibernating site within a cave

system. Temperature and humidity varied between these sites

and there were indications of a preference by each species to

inhabit specific locations While hibernating. During hiberna­

tion, some species hang by themselves, while others form loose

clusters and are often found touching other indiviaual5. In

the spring, timing of departure of the different species

varied from late March or early April for M. letb!! and

E. fuscus to late Hay or early June for f. subflavus. Data

were obtained from the New York state Department of Environ­

mental Conservation concerning McFail'e Cave which was found

to houDe all five species and nearly 5~OOO individuals. No

banded bats were observod during the study.

tv

TABLE Of CONTENTS

1 Title Page

i1 Dedication

1ii Acknowledgements

iv Abstract

v Table of Contents

vi List of Tables

vii List of Figures

1 Introduction

3 Methods and. )f.,aterials

8 Results

34­ Discussion

55 SUlWDary

viii Literature Cited

v

4­

1)

14

1,5

16

17

18

19

20

20

21

Table

1

J

4a

4b

6

7

8

9

10

""fi tl~.._~~

Cav•• visited during the 1980-81 winter h1bernatin~ ~~~~~n&

.La.rgtH~t ?i'..uillDer of ~"daJrit:ified duri~g a~y o~e vi~it- a~d th~

total nu~~o~ of bats found at di.llri.,g i;

bat~ found greatest

each cave

Tempe~atM~~~ h~mi~i~y ~~d bat~ found in Schoha G Cav~r~@

Tempfllrf... ';,;;:.U.~i~!I b~Ji'Wj" '~y a~,d b~·t~ ;fou.~d in dry ~~~t~@~ 0f 0~8 O~ve~

Tempt'):;:'.§\ t i!Ai ;;;'(0 a~ld bats Jfound 1n wet SC.ttott;ii:QJ{~ rJa~"t[tli}

TempG;Cfl \? L;.~_~:L

Mi t©hol1 9 ~'" ~;;);j.v"\l ~

;;':';:-;~' ,;' (;.;". ""'", ~''(''!;''A«;~' ",10-, c;,

~(; .~:~.~ Cav~ O~ 13 D~cembar

.ii~:.,(:o:~:~~~t~ AJ;;JJ~' 1;Y:W1l.~}~ state

page Figures

22 1 Number ©~ i~dividual$ ~f

found at S©hoh~~i@ Cav9Tn dates.

23 2a Number o~ individuals of ~. '1~ounQ

'" . ~;7'i;! a~ ~~g@ lli ~~W0

O".;!j\~ry

speci:fio:: da'\;;e:t~ e

24 2b NumO@T @f ind~viduala of

~ach bat specis$ on sp$cific

~&oh bat species Q,.-" \

~ac~1on, on

each bat species found at G&g~~~ Cav@ {wot $6ction)e

25 Numb~~ cf i~~ividual~ of each bat species found at t©~wl1i~ O~v~.

26 4 Number of individuals of eaeb bat species fou~d at k~MZ @~

27 5 NumbeT cd' i:r'Hi:tbwi~dual~ .at' each bat species found at SQ~t~ 3~thl~h&m9

28 6 Eli &l trib,:itii\J2~ .£i.inid lo©a ticn of "he spec! es of batl\~ ,:;iI)i;,.Z;:;r\T@;i ~-;;; Sch©harie cavern on the ciaytt;Ei-(; '1;,a~}h 1:J£f! fo~nd in the grea t ~st l'juf't-Jb~"&~ oj

29 7 D~str1but~cn an~ l?aatiD~ of tbe species ox bat:ili,i ©[\)J.H:&Jr"G"©~ ~'& G~giJi·~-C~V$ (dry tiilllct~(Ji'?b? 0:r~ ,,;l(;;;.y 'I;;~~'i; ~ach was found in th® ~r~~~~0t ~~~b®~0

)0 8 :01 mt 1"1, b'l] of the specics ©f btili. t~h©11'~ Cave on tha d.BIJ1 ":J't;.,L .~~ 0~•.Lt~b "*r::~~~ t'OiUaiJa in the is rl1)a t ~lrj'i; '3'::..~ ~

31 9 Distr1butic~ ~cc ~ocatiBn of the species of bat~ ~bs~~v~~ at ~©uth B~thlabam Cave (H'j th", '~;i;~ii_d; e~Qh ,,,,,,1'd$ found in the glAeat~~t; iflii.J1wb""Jc.

32 10 Di~~ributio~ ~~~ l©©ati~n ~~ the species of bat~ Db5~rw~d at K~D~ Cav~ on tbe day tnat ~ach ~p~ai~G wa~ £Q~nd in the gT~at®~~ ~~~b~~ d~ri~g tha ~o"ths of May ~u1d JUIn\il ~

33 11 Dj.s;t:rib~l;;;:!~(ll!r,j &1.n,Q. locatioil of h.ibernating bats during micl~winteT in a cave tbat might co~~~i~ ~11 fiw~ spec1@$&

vii

Introduction

collected data 1ncludingg 1) th~ numb~r ~f individu&lm of

and $ilv~r-hair@d bat La~ionyct@r15 ~ r

noctivaganw, are rarely ~ound in Qav.~ (Griffin 1940bx219)

and migrate sev~ral hundr~d mil~~ anually t@ areas where

insect food is availabla throughout the winter (Griffin

1940b~222)o

Hitchcock (1949). Hall (1962)~ ~vi~ (1970)0 Fenton

(1972. 1979a)~ Nagors~~ {lgBO}. and Clair~ at ~l. (1979)

discuss habitat ~ele~tiyn of t~t hib~rn~cula and indicate

where certain speci •• arm lik8ly to hibernate in a caV8 0

Davis (1970)9 Tw.nt~ (1955b). B~@~n~r ~1974b)9 H~11 (1962),

and Mohr (19J6) d@8crib@ hvw b.t~ p©~ition th@msslv*s

during hib.rn.ti@~~ th~ fir~t thr~~ Q~thor~ @ff~r ~xplaR­

ationil about th@ ftm©'tior.: '!J:{ ©l'o1Jji£t®g'~~ll'lig fAliH;i. Why scm~

species da it whil~ ~th~r$ do not. F.y~g~a~d (1942)0

Ph111ip~ (1966)" M~~o~~ '1958;0 ~~~ ~~vis (1970) all

o~fer lnformatio~ abo~t ~h@n bat$ 0~t~~ ~~v~~ in th~ fall

major hibsrnacula a[~d iF~ '\iihil'.-i; :\,~f~b@!;'g;; !£~{;h I.\lp;alCi~s may be

~xpected tD b. faun~c &lsQ inclu4~~ ~~ B brier dl$au~sion

3

Methods and Haterials

Ten caves were visited from 17 October 1980 to 13 June

1981 in Schoharie, Albany, and Montgomery Counties, New York.

Table 1 lists the oaves vi~ited, the number of visits to each,

and the period of time the visits took plaoe.

Clarksville Cave, located in Clarksville, N.Y., consists

of two extensive ••ctions. I visited th~ Ward Section which

is nearly 1,200 foet long (Evan. at al. 1979:4)), and has a

shallow stream flowing through mo~t of 1t~ entire length.

Filtration Plant Cave, near Albany, N.Y., is composed of

two short pas.ages, one on top of the other. Once inside a

passage, the ceiling is rarely higher than two meters.

Knox Cave, one mile north of Knox g N.Y.~ oonsist. of

.everal large rooms and 3,010 t •• t o~ p&38age (Evans .~ al.

197914S}. It vas operated cOIIDW~rclally frOB 19.33 to 1958 and

was equipped with staircase. and ~18ctr1© lights. Ace ••• to

the cave 18 controlled by th~ Northeast Cav~ C@nserYanoy and

permission to ~ntor was granted ©nly At~~~ 1 May 1981 due to

dangerous 10. cond1tion~ a~ouna th~ ~ntranQ@ during the winter.

Therefore, 1 was unable to ~~n1tor th~ cavGI~ larg@ number of

hibernating bata during the wintGr and @arly spring. How­

ever, data collected by Alan Hicks 9 @f th~ New York state

Department or Bnv1ro~mental Con&~rv&tion, wh@n h~ visited the

cave on 9 December 1980 WSir~ mado av~11abl~ to i'llI~ and givGIl

sODle indication of' the early w1nt$~ population.

Onesquethaw Cave, near Clarksville, N Q Y 09 has about one

mile of pas.age length (EvQn~ at 801. 197911)9)e It i. thus one

4

Table 1.-- Caves visited during the 1960-81 winter hibernating season.

Cave if of viaits .first and last dates visited

Albany County

Clarksville Cave 2 Deo" 11 • Feb" 1.5

Filtration Plant Cave 1 Dec. 20

·Knox Cave 1 Dec. 9

Knox Cave 1+ May 1 to June 1)

Onesquethaw Cave 1 April 4

South Bethleham Cave S Dec. 20 to June 4

Montgomery County

Mitchell's Cave 7 Oct.2' to June 1)

Schoharie County

Becker's Cave 1 Jan. )0

Gage's Cave (dry .ection) 10 Nov. 22 to June 4

(wet section) 4 March 16 to Hay 20

Schoharie Caverns 12 Oct .. 17 to June 1.)

Spider Cave 1 Jan. 25

*McFail't} Cavs 1 Dec. 1,3

• information from Alan Hicks (New York state Department of Environmental Conservation)

of the longest caves 1n New York. Nost of the cave 1. one to

1.5m in height.

South Bethlehem Cave, named for the town it is near~ bas

tvo entrances and only 800 feet of pazcage length (Bvans et

ale 19793J4). The main entrance 15 about 10m high and leads

to a large exposed area of the cave. Through a tiny~ 10m

long pas.age, one oan move into a large room l~ding to a

small man-made entrance. This area is muoh more protected

and temperature stable than near the large entrance.

I visited Mitchell'. cave in Nontgomery County seven

times. This cave involves much v~rtical climbing and

chimneylng through most of its jOm descent to a large room

vith a high ceiling at the bottom.

BeCker'. Cave, locat~d in Sohobar1~, N.Y., ia l •• s than

a meter in height for moat or ics ostimated 1,Om or passage.

Gage'. Cave~ ne~r SChoharie, N.Y •• CODsists of ~wo

extensive passages. On~ lead~ to & lar~~ room about JO.

across and 6m high, with smaller ~or~ i301at~d pas~ag.8

beyond. I rarer to this am th~ dry aecti~n. The other main

passage travels up an und~Tground 8tre~Me over 2.'. deep in

places. after walking and ~wimm1ng about 120m in 7°C water.

you can step up into a room about 10m long and 2m high. Due

to the difficult conditions, I vi~itod this wet .ection of the

cave less oft@n than the drYG

SChoharie caverns. about one mile tro~ Sbutter'~ Corners,

N.Y., is one half mile long and Qa$ a stream, weasuring from

a few centim~ter~ to OQ'm deepi flowing through its

6

entire length. Evans et ale (1979:49) indicates that tha eave's

ceiling ranges from 10 to 30 feet in height with occasional domes

up to 80 feet high.

Lastly, I visited Spider Cave, just north o~ Gallupville,

N.Y. The cave's entrance is high on a steep bank and there is

only about 40w of easily travelled passage.

The largest and deepest cave in th@ northEllastarn United

States is McFail's Cave near CarlislG w N.Y. (Evans at ale

1979:57). Unfortunately, I was unable to visit this cave

during my study, but as with Knox Cave, I have obtai~ed data

gathered by the New York State Department of Environmental

Conservation on 1) December 1980.

During each visit to a cave, bet~~®n 0800 and 2100h u I

measured the temperature and. humidi'ty at c$X"ta.in locations

and positions in an attempt to monitor the ~1u.ctyation5 and

stability of the underground environm~nt~6 Dep~nding on the

length of the cave, two or three recording ~tation$ were

selected. Recordings were not tak~n i~ soma O&$El!S due to

breakage of thermometers or ti~e limit&ti~n~~

Temperature was measurad with ~ c~~t1gr~d$~ ~ercu.ry-

bulb thermometer. Relative humidity W~~ r~eord~d ~ith a aling

psychrometer. All of the C&V~S that c©nta1n~~ a large number

of hibernating bats eith~r had a stream flowing through them

or water dripping Crom th$ e~iling and ~ow~ the w~lls. At

such a high humidity~ th~ accuracy of a p~ychTO~Gt~r may no~

be completely dependable (M.S. F@nton. in litt.). Tb0

recordings did indicat~ to me however~ that r~lative humidity

increassd as you proc~@dsd into a cave and appro&chsd 90 to 100

7

percent in caves that served as hibernacula for a large

number of bats.

Maximum outside temp@ratures~ on the dates when field

work was conducted~ were gather~d from the M8t~orology

Department at S.U.N.Y. Oneonta~ 105$ than an ho~r~s drive

to most of the caves.

Following a ~uggestion of th~ New York state Department

of Environmental Conservatian J I took care to dl~turb the

animals as little as poas1ble ~hile collecting data on cave

bat populations. Noi~e wa~ k~pt to ~ minimu~ and I handled

as few 1ndividual~ a~ p06s1ble. T~U~9 ~o data were obtained

on S6X ratios or weight~ o~ pQpulatio~s and individuals.

Spec! \!!l w~re idcrot:i. fi so. and th<ai:r lim~berl§ recorded

during each. cave vi~it.. The locat1cms o~ b,1b(jrnating

individuals and specie~ ~ithin ths c~v~s wsre noted,

including their proximity to ~the~ bat$~ In describing

the locations and po~itions @f individuals~ I use the terms;

single, touching, and lco$a clu$te~. A $1ngle individual

refers to a bat that is hangin€ by its~l£~ more than O.5m

from another hib~r~ating bat. T~u©hi~g ~ean~ that two or

more bats ar® in phy~i~~l co~tact0 ~ ~~o$e clu5ter re~er5

to a group o~ b~t6. u~ual1y all of th~ ~am~ ~pecie$, that

are closely aS$oci&t~d with~ but not ~~e~~~arily touching

other individuals. No bat~ how~wer~ is ~orG than a Cew

centimeters fro~ ~n~th8r individual e

One individy~l of ~~oh $p~ci~~ was coll~cted in the

field and i~ available ~@r obs~rvation at the Biology

Departm6nt~ stat~ Unlwer~ity Col1~g~ ~t On~onta0 N.Y~

8

of the ten caves visited during the 3tudy p8riod& Table 2

indicates the largest number ~r individuals of each species

9

1980 at Schoharie Caverns~ I witnessed two little brown bats

mating. The loud mating call of tho male attracted me~ The

female was on a small horizontal ledge about 2.5m from the

floor and the male was positioned on top of here Once my light

shone upon the breeding pair, the loud male vocalizations

oeased. Upon turning my light oft e activity was again heard.

Little brown bats were found in six of the $~V6n caves

that contained a hibernating bat population and represented

the most common species encountered during the eight month

study. Individuals of this speoies were found distributed

throughout a cave syst~m from near th0 entrance to tho most

interior depth; but the majority wsr~ nestled near the middle

where the tempsrature r~ng~ was 7-10~C with the humidity about

90 percent. Little brown bats ~~re found hanging singly,

touching g and most commonly loosely clustered. Great numbers

were found occupying the caV~$ by the beginning of November 1980

and most individuals ~ere gone by 20 May 1981.

The other four sp90ies of hiber~ating bats obssrved were

much less COMmon. As seen from Figure l~ & few Ka0n~s,

eastern pipistrells, and big brown bats w®re not~d on different

occasions at SChoharie Cavern. S~ll numbeT~ ox Keenls and

eastern piplstrell$l. werB alBO Bsen at Gagels Cave (Figures

2a. 2b). Mitchellis Cave (Wigure J) ~as the only cave that

contained representatives DC all five 5p~cle. encountered

during the study and was the only location wher~ the small­

footed bat was found. A great number of bat$ were unidentified

at every visit to this cave due to the very high ceiling in the

room at the end of the cav® wh~re most bat$ were found&

10

Keen's bats were first noted on 25 October 1980 at

Mitchell's Cave and last observed on 1 May 1981 at Knox Cave.

Most were last seen in mid-April however. Individuals were

found hanging singly in most cases, near a cave's entrance or

in the first part of a cave system ahead of the majority of

little browns. Many were noted hanging secluded in small cracks

from the ceiling.

Big brown bats were found to enter hibernacula later in

the fall and leave them earlier in the spring than all other

species except the small-footed bat. They were first observed

on 20 December 1980 at South Bethlehem and last seen there 4

April 1981. Individuals were last seen in Schoharie and

MitChell's Caves before the end of March. Big brown bats

appear very tolerant of low temperatures and humidities while

hibernating. They were always found near cave entrances where

such conditions existed. Individuals were found hanging

singly or in small groups up to four touching each other.

On 9 February 1981, at Mitchell's Cave, I observed a male

Keen's bat on the backs of three touching big brown bats.

The bat did not seem disturbed by my light and continued to

crawl around on the dormant big browns, appearing to probe and

pick at their fur. Although I know of no reports of Keenms

bats eating during the winter, it appeared as though this

individual may have been consuming lice from the fur of the

big browns. This activity continued for several minutes

before the Keen's bat finally flew to another section of the

cave.

Also at Mitchellis cave on 20 March 1981, in the same

11

large room near the entrance, I observed a little brown bat

hanging singly from the wall with just one foot. The

remaining stub of the left leg was still moist with blood.

Although I was unsure of the cause, it appeared as though the

leg had been chewed off by another bat. Since big browns were

found hibernating less than two meters from the injured

individual. I suspect they may have been the assailants.

As already mentioned, Mitchell1s Cave was the only

location where hibernating small-footed bats were found.

Individuals were first noted 9 February and last seen on 20

March 1981. These bats were always single and mostly found

near the cave's small, fissure type entrance. Temperatures

were cold, 4°C, but the humidity was still 90 percent.

Eastern pipistrelle bats were found hanging singly and

secluded deep in a cave where temperature and humidity were

the highest. Individuals were first observed on 22 November

1980 at Gage's Cave and last seen 1J June 1981 at Schoharie

Caverns and Knox Cave. They were not recorded at Knox Cave

in December 1980 by Alan Hicks or in May 1981 during my field

work. This indicate. movement of this sp@cies at the end of

their hibernating period. Also, i~ Kno~~ South Bethlehem. and

Schoharie Caves. at the end of the stUdy in late May to mid­

June. the eastern pipistrelle moved from deep within the caves

to near the entrances.

Table 10 indicates the results of the 1) December 1980

expedition into McFall's Cave which I was unable to attend.

The total of nearly 5,000 hibernating bat5 represents the

largest hibernating bat colony in New York State. Alan Hicks

12

(in litt.) indicates that the reports for the small-footed

and big brown bats olay not be completely reliable. Both

were made by the least experienced group in bat identification

and at an unlikely location within the cave.

Table 2.-- Largest number of identified bats found during anyone visit and the greatest total number of bats found at eaoh cave during study.

Little Keen's Big Eastern Small- Date and greatest total Cave Brown Brown Pipistrelle footed number of bats observed_"'b! -=.....-....~- ~.... oe:=

olarksvi lIe 9 6 1 1.5 February 1981 16

• Filtration Plant 8 20 December 1980 8

'" Onesquethaw 4 April 1981 0

• Beoker's )0 January 1981 0

• Spider 2.5 January 1981 0

South Bethleham 1 10 5 15 february 1981 I)

Mitohell's )0 10 J 2 .5 9 february 1981 2)0

Schoharie J86 J .5 1.5 15 November 1980 740

Gagel 8 (dry) )48 9 21 30 January 1981 672

(wet) UH. 5 16- March 1981 217l' I;nox 92 1 1 1 Ht\;y 1981 1.59

+ Knox 175 1 8 9 De<Hlllober 1980 263

++ Mol'ail's 256,5 1)61 157 576 53 1) December 1980 476.5

• vl.ited Dave only onoe + data fr©m Alan Hioks. New York state Departm~nt gf Bnv. Cons.

++ e8timat.d bat populations Crom Ala~ Hicks. N.Y.S.D.E.C.

\A...'

14

Table 3.-- Temperature, humidity and bats found in Schoharie Cavern.

Date Max. outside Cave temperature (°0) :# of «baoh air telllp. and humidity <c.') .li'p6ci~li

(0 C) entrance middle end found

10/17/80 24 • .5 13.0 JO un1dent" 94

10/2.5/80 9.0 10.0 11.0 39 littl* brown

11/1.5/80 10.0 J17 li'ttle brown J Kean'.!!

J60 unident ..

12/6/80 1.0 IS) little brown IS 8@ p1pistrelle

265 un1dent.

1/2.5/80 9.0 86

11.0 92

386 little brown l' 0. p1pi~tr.lle

1 l[®1en'8 S big brown

230 unideilt.

2./2.2./81 12.0 12.0 10.0 10.0 106 little brown 86 92 100 J Keen's

1 big brown J 9@ pipi5trell@

620 unident.

3/2.7/81 8.0 85

9.,5 93

10.0 100

102 little brown 1 ~"umij s S ~~ pip1strelle 1 big brown

)61 unid0nt.

4/17/81 8.,5 86

108 littl$ brown 1 K~~nl~

214 unid,\!lnt •

.5/12/81 10.0 86

10.0 100

40 129

little brown unid~nte

6/4/81 12.0 10.5 , ~., pipistrelle 86 100

6/13/81 2.3.0 11.0 1 Gepipistrelle

Table 4a.-- Temperature, humidity and bats found in dry seotion

Date Max. outside air temp.

(0 C)

11/22/80 4.5

12/6/80 1.0

12/2J/80 -J.O

1/30/81 -10.0

J/8/81 2.0

4/4/81 21.0

4/13/81 13.0

5/1/81 1.5 • .5

5/20/81 20,,0

6/4/81 23 .. 0

of Gage's Cave.

Cave temperature (0 C) and humidity (~)

entrance middle end

7,,0 10.0 11.0

7.0 10.0 11.0

4.0 9.0 10 .. 0

J.O 8".5 9 .. 0 8,5 93

J.O 7.0 9 .. 0 8S 95

6.0 8.0 l() .. O 93

9,,0 9 .. 5 10 008, 9.'5

9.S 10 .. 0 95

10,,0 9.5

14) :3

106

20) 21

194

lOS J

190

234 .3 .,of;

430

272 '9 9

2)4­

348 8

268

327 11

22)

20:3 J 2

1.1:]

128 J

118

6

of I\')acnIi :spac1s$ f'Qw1l\i

li~t10 browlrn pipiZiltr@J.le

unidl$nt. ~i 8

.little brown @t. pi:pi~trel1e

ult1idlJlrnt 0

littl<!lll bTown ell> pip1strelle Wllid0nt ..

litt.1® brown K6>~1r1.6i!l

pipi!'ltlr'elle~o

u~ident",

lit'tllt1l brown k{el@li:'l! i ~

1\)" pipi$tr~ll~

l.2lnid~l'it..

11 ttle br@wB1 Kf9~r!\ ~ ljj)

unident ..

littl~ br~~n

/We pipjl, ;rri;; Tal.l ~

uvJl. d~!l& t "

11tt;1~ brown K~~~§.!ll

Jpip1~trGl1e~" Wiident.,

::U"ttle brown e ,. ;pip~. il'll'l;;r~ll~

ijJnid~nt"

littl~ br-,;'wn.

Table 4b.-- Temperature, humidity and bats found in vet section of Gagels Cave.

Date Max. outside Cave temp. (<Ie) I of each air temp. and humidity (~) species

(.. C) entrance end found

3/16/81 0.0 9.0 181 little brown 100 9 KeenllS

4 e. pipistre11e 23 unident.

5/1/81 1.5.5 9.0 9.' 130 little brown 8.5 100 1.5 Keen1s

.5 e. pipistrelle 40 unident.

5/20/81 20.0 10.0 9.5 60 little brown 100 J e. pipistrelle

9 unidont.

6/4/81 23.0 0

17

Table 5.-- Temperature, humidity and bats found in Mitchell's Cave.

Date Max. outside Cave temp. (D C) # of each air temp. and humidity (%) species

(0 C) entrance end found.

10/25/80 9.0 10.0 2 Keen'l£

2/9/81 -6.5 4.0 9.0 13 little brown 10 Keen's

.2 e. pipistrelle 3 big brown .2 sma.ll-footed

200 unident.

3/20/81 -2.0 4.0 9.0 15 little brown 90 100 8 Keen's

:3 big brown, sma.ll-footed 108 unidcmt.

4/13/81 13.0 7.5 9.0 21 little brown 92 100 1 Keen's

109 unicient.

5/12/81 16 • .5 8.0 9.0 30 little brown 92 100 1 e. pipistrelle

64 unichmt.

5/26/81 26.0 9 • .5 9.5 it l1ttl~ brown 93 100 1 e. pipistl"elle

17 unident.

6/13/81 23.0 10.0 9.5 0

18

Table 6.-- Temperature, humidity and bats found in Knox gave.

Date Max. outside Cave temp. (0 C) # of' each air temp. and humidi ty (~) species

(0 C) entrance end found

... 12/9/80 4 • .5 175 little brown 1 l:een 6

$

8 small-footed. 79 unident ..

5/1/81 15 .. .5 8.0 .5.0 .59 little brown 8.5 93 1 I(ft91'1'5

98 unident •

.5/20/81 20.0 9.0 7.0 92 little brown 95 41 unicient ..

6/4/81 2).0 9.0 7.0 .5 little brown 8, 9.5 1 e. p1p111ltrelle

12 unident"

6/1)/81 2).0 9.0 7.0 ) little brown 1 El .. pipistrelle

... Data from Alan Hicks. New York state Department of Environmental Conservation.

19

Table 7.-- Temperature, humidity and bats found in South Beth1eham Cave.

Date Max. outside air temp.

(0 C)

Cave temp. CO C) and humidity (~)

near 19. near sm. entrance entranoe

II of each speoies

found

12/20/80 -10.0 6.0 78

8.0 86

.5 6 1

e. pipistrelle big brocm unidant.

2/15/81 6 • .5 6 • .5 7.0 1 Keen's 1 e. pipistrel1e

10 big brown 1 un1dent"

4/4/81 21.0 9.0 86

9~.5 92

:3 e. pipistrelle

5/20/81 20.0 11.0 87

10.0 9:3

:2 e. pipistrelle

6/4/81 2:3.0 1.5 • .5 89

11.5 94

1 e. pipistrelle

20

Table 8.-- Temperature, humidity and bats found in Clarksville Cave.

Date Hax. outside Cave temp. (0 C) # of each air temp.

(0 C) and humid! ty (~) middle of cave

species found

12/11/80 -7.S 9 • .5 J little brown 93 6 Keen's

1 e. pipistrelle 6 unident ..

2/15/81 6 •.5 9.0 93

9 little brown 5 Keen's 2, un1dent.

Table 9.-- Temperature, humidity and bats founa in caves that were vi~ited only once.

Location Date Os.va t EUllp .. (I) en Results and hu.midity (~) micidle of cave

Filtration Plant 12/20/80 8.0 8 little brown Cave

Beeker's Cave 1/30/81 4.0 60

0

Onesquethaw Cave 4/4/81 0

Spider Cave 1/25/81 .3 .. 0 66

0

21

Table 10.-- Bats found 1n McFall's Cave on IJ December 1980 by Alan Hicks, New York state Department of Environmental Conservation.

...Species Estimated populations of sample total It present

little brown 49 2565

Keen's 26 1)61

~

e. pipistrelle 11 576

big brown J 157

small-footed 1 5)

unknown 1 5)

... Sampled one out of every SO bats enoountered~

••••

5/12

640

590 540

490

440

J90

If)

.-l «l :t "d oM jlio ....

'1j c

Of"!

lM t~

k II,lJ iJ 8 ~ ~~

,~I !~ L 1,11 r""'

c,••¥',J~ ":;,1 ~".,'~dJi 2' il2(Y1/ ~~ "".' :1

,I IoJ!., ~!",

)40 290

240

21.5

190-­

16.5­

14·o-~

11.5­

90--­

6

If)

,~.;

'ldi 'I .1 ' Iii I 'IdI !

Date

IIII I!

I'!

i

i ii

I I . I

I..L1JJ,..,",,~," J.~/l?

'" K~ene8 "" bi.g brcn\fB'll ... 8. . "'urd,d6<nt.~.~~ o [ill" plpistrelle _ rig. 1- Number DC individuals of eBuh bat sp8oi8~ found at schoharie Cave on ~p8clfic d~tes. I\)

tv

4JJ :IV

)j.)

:JO

~

4iJ

.J9)

:r ~

Il',J ~J-J,•.~ - ij ~ 7i"~-0- ~

'''; tAJ-i :>" ~

.,.; , '" J~ II;:~ [~j"~ I"

b I,'C"~ ~~;.;~;.ti'# 11!,-'J dtl I!

Ii~"-J ~) l ~ j;~

II ,!~r~

::'l :k3'1 iii

~

J ~

I I'I ~ , t~

~5 i '~ 11' ~ ;~ t\

.~ M ~ " ,,~,.

J/8 ~

Date

F=:J", Ii ttle C' _IT]'"r.;; K€Hlln tmident.. ~~ brown

I

~~ ~ipistralle a1_..

III III " ~ i ~ , i I ~ I ~ ~ ~ I c: ~

N Fig. 2a- Number DC individuals of each bat species found at Gage's Cave (dry) on specific dates. \.~'

16

15

1)

12

10

90 III

r-4 75 llJ .g 60 "t"t ~ 45

...c "d l: )0

...-4

1e..,. 0 'H M \lll l)­J:J

~ z ! :L~

Lt-=- ~,,·_tlL 5/1 i

Date

'3/16 ;~=L--J__~_"~~

:;/20 I 6/4 I

". Keen's ~ i» 6. ITII]' Dun:l..dent.E~'" little brown ~ pipistI'elle ,

tvFig. 2b- Number of individuals of each bat specias found at Gage's Cave (w@t). 4:'"

210

195

180

165

150

IJ5

120 ..­

r-lIII 105-' til ;J 90"tl .,.j

;> 75 .,.j

roo"tl 00 1:

.,.j 45 c.. 0 JO -1.1

l-o c=~ Q) 15 F' .0

f-- ­ f- ­e :l :z;

~ 1-­10

l-- ­ I-­

J...-.­ I-­5­I

--LQJl1W1Jll1t bh.~~'O/~~- 2/9 3/20 I 4/1J I 5/12 5/ 26 ~ J)a t e

big little .. Keen's o~g ~~ eo J+R ~ s.'mal1­ [J]",unident 01'0100'11 brown ~- pipistrelle t±jj footed

NFig. J- ~umber of individuals of each bat species found at Mitchell's Cave. VI

180

165

1.50

1J.5

120

10,5

IiJ 90 ~

as 7.5:J "d .... 60 I> .~ 4,5i::.l c: fl 30 ~~ 15 0

M 0

.0 10 a:s :z;

.5

... HioKf£ J NOli

R ... little ~ bro'flfn

.,....

~ 1-­

,~_c_

£~_...

~ll.iJJ1LL£illL Ifk.-l~._ '/1 5/20 --r 6/4 ~ 6/1~-1-·

Date

Y@rk statG DGpartment of Environmental Conservation.

'" K;I'H~ng 9 V7;l- e. H-tH"" smal1­l:::'LLj plp1t1ltJ.~alle nm footed [TIJ .. un­

ident.

Fig. 4- Number oC individuals of each bat speoies found at Knox Cave.

'\i 0'\

Itj

~

1\1 =' 'd .... >

..-4 15 "d

....=10c...

0

L4 CD 5.0 B =' li!l , I VL,K

4/4 5/20 6/412/20 2/15

Date

unident.~ piplstrelle

"" Keen's P7/1.. e. mbig brown ITI!It'

Fig. S- Number of individuals of each bat speoies found at south Bethleham.

N ""J

28

end

.... 15 single

3.51 10058

Location cluster of bats middle in cave

... J single JS 100S6 * 15 single cluster

!2

iii J Bingle

touching entrance I" J single

big brown Keene. 11 ttle e. 2.5 Jan. .. 15 Nov. bro,",n pipiSlitrelle

.... 22 Feb. 25 Jan. .. 6 Dec .. .... 25 Jan.

Species and dates the great~st number of individuals were ob5~rved.

Fig. 6- Distribution and location of the species of bats observed at SChoharie Cavern on the day that each was found in the greatest number.

29

end

1) single

Location of bats mieldle in oave

293 loose oluster

4S loose cluster

8 single

9 single 10 loose cluster

entrance

Keen's little e. p1pistrelle 8 March brown 6 Dec.

4 April

Species and dates the greatest number of individuals were observed.

Fig. 7- Distribution and location of the species o~

bats observed at Gagels Cave (dry section) on the day that each was found in the greatest number.

JO

end

J single 10 loose oluster

Location of

.2 singlebats middle in J single 10 10058

cave olull1tor

2 single .2 single

2 loose 10 loose .. J loose oluster clu5ter entrance cluster

... J touching J single

big brown small... Keen's 1i ttle e .. ... 9 Feb .. tooted 9 Feb. brown pipistrelle

'* 20 March 20 March 12 May 9 F~b"

Species and dat@~ th~ gr~atest numbar oC individuals were observed~

Fig. 8- Distribution ana location of the species of bats ob~erved at ~tch@llis Csve on the day that each was found in the great~st number.

31

protected area of' cave near small entrance

Location of' small bats connecting in passage cave

exposed area of' cave near large entranoe

1 5 single

5 single 2 touching J touching

big brown Keen's e. pipistrelle 15 feb. 15 Feb. 20 Dec.

Species and dates the greatest number of' individuals were observed.

Fig. 9- Distribution and location of the species of' bats observed at South Bethleham Cave on the day that each vas f'ound in the greatest number.

J2

end

Location of bats middle in cave

30 loose cluster

1 ,32 loose cluster

.30 loose cluster III 1

entrance l 0(­ 1

Keen's 1 May

little brown

e. pipiiitrelle* 4 June

20 May .. 1) June

Species and dates the greatest number of individuals were observed.

Fige 10- Distribution and looation of the speoies of bats observed at Knox Cave on the day that eaoh was found in the greatest number during the months of May and June.

high

Temperature and

humidity

low

ID

II .. •

0 • 0 D· big browntp £ • 0

•• small-footed000 <%B A. Keen' 50 00~ 0 Cb

0 O· 11 ttle brown 0 A 88

cP •• eo pipi 8 t r e 11 e Cf) 000

Ai.o 0

oA .. 0

o A...

D•• o

• mO

cave entrance end of' cave

Distance from entrance of cave

Fig. 11- Hypothetioal distribution and location of hibernating bats during mid-winter 1n a cave that might contain all five species.

.....,

.....,

J4

within a cave syst~m. Evan though South Bethlehem Cave~

two entranc&.~ the cave can .till be compared to Schaharie~

into which this entrance leads is warmer and h•• a higher

entrance ..

Big crDwn bat. wsre fuund near CaYH entranaes v .~.oDiated

Rysgaard {l

#, ~~

,/:.., [\ ",,! -I;

Goehring (1~72a201.) and

J.5

J6

also the rarest (Hitchcock 1945:433; Mohr 1932:160; and

Hamilton 1943:69).

The small-footed bat was not present at Mitchell~s

Cave on 25 Octob3r but was present on my next visit of 9

February (See Figure JJ. I observed individuals for a second

and last time on 20 March. Fenton (1972~5) indicatad that this

bat enters caves late in th6 fall in Ontario and l~&v~s them

early in the spring" They are ac~;i'\[7. thrcHlighout the winter and

can tolerate severe weather (Mohr 19J6~64; Hamilton 194J;70).

Mohr (1936 :64) indicated that the sma1].-footed bat iL§

solitary while hibeTnating~ a~ I found~ and that appropriat®

hibernacula for thi~ ~peci~£ m~y b~ only in certai~ ~cological

100 caves explored. usually small and locat.d in or nBar a thick

hemlock fcrest e Hitchcock (1949~54) found small-footed bat

feels tha~ characteri.tic& of the caVB itself are probably mare

(1966:)49) found 14 3wall-fDctad bat. hi rna ng in a mine 1n

nearby Clinton CI'Hmty" N~w York" They b~!.iicat~ that some

individuals were found under rock. an ~h. CaYB floor. pDssibly

AlthDugh large numbers of K.en~. bat. were not observed

during the .tudy~ I suspect there may have been many more

37

were found tDwards the cave's entrance, with many tucked in

secluded formations, th.@ same locations where I found them.

They indicated that individuals caught outside caves ~!~U"0

covered with mud suggesting that Keen's bats hibernate in

found while hibernating.

Claire et &1. (1979:404) state that K~enls bats hibernate

frem October to .lat~· J.iarch in !-li5souri. I found most indivi­

duals to leave by mid-April. Hitchcock (1949:S2-J) indicated

areas clinging to damp walls and are often covered with dew.

high temperature and humidity ~ith most individuals hanging

singly. I found that most individuals were located far enough

beyond tho cav.ls entrance so that the temperature was at least

So~a individuals were found mixe:d in wj,th the little

- ,... .. • •. Q lOo:!-'browns WDere ~ne tempera~ure may nave reacnea 0- ~ ~. A.lI

was the I1ttla brewn bat.

the middle of a cave system but individuals were observed

scattered throughout. McManus (1974:844) ~tat~d that little

brown bats prefer to hibernate at a temperature of 2~C~ but

found that little brown bats hib8~nat~ at a wide range of

)8

Hall (1962:49) believes that good hibernating sites for this

species are determined more by humidity than temperature. The

optimal humidity is greater than 85 percent (Fenton 1970:22).

Hitchcock (1949:52-J) indicated that th~ little broMn bat

hangs singly and in clusters of up to 50 individuals. This

agrees with roy findings&

South Bethlehem was the only cave not to harbo~ at least

one little brown bat. This cave contained Keenls~ ~astarn

pipistrells w and big brown bats. Since littl~ browns! were

study, I can not explain their absence her.. Even though small v

South Bethlehem Cave did appear to have the prope~ environmental

conditions for this specie~.

cave was the ea$t~rn pipistrelle. Individuals ~ewe always

found singly and deep in the caves during the winter where

(1970:272) and Hall(1962:50) found in their .~udlB•• Davis

Individuals &ro Xound

where the relative humidity 15 above

microhabitat~o

As I have found. other researchers have commented that

longer than other speci.s. Davis ~1970;2~) indicated that

39

40

fluctuate throughout the year but not daily. The 6xc$ption is

the eastern pipistrelle which hibernates rar back in a cave

where temperatures are the same all year lcng~

of the walls, circulation af the air, and relative humidity are

important character1~tlcs for sp.cies & .etlan of apprcpr1.t~

brown bats, temperature 1~ the major factor contrDlling Where

affect hibernation sites fQ~ thia species.

ditions at a site to render it mor@ Buit~bl~ for hibarnation~

and also ~tab11ize. their

41

outer margins and can conserve more energy by maintaining a

lower m~tabolic rate. lenton (1970:1) believes clustering

may reduce water loss of hiberna~ing littl~ bro~n bats.

Big brown bats hibernate 1n narrow crevices that remain

cool and are not affected by warm air curr~nts. Theref.ore~

they do not need to cluster (Twente 1955hz?Jl). But as

indicated in my results, th~y are often found touching in

big brown bats found in cDlder~ mor~ exposed area$ tend ~D

cluster mora than th{H,H~ in warmer areZ"i§~ he bali~v~~s cluster­

ing may compen~ate for the cold@r hib~rnac~la0 Ryggaard

were !'eOV~!' fOl,H1d ~l,05~,r thar~ ~)r,~ 1tll~ttJlg-t t&) a~otl1.el~ bat; during

this stUdy. Since eastern pipistrel1e bat. hibernate deep in

metabolic rate that is a~~oci&t~d with the

higher hibernating temperature.

hibernatss in a cold environment with a very low metabolic

rate and must arouse and expend energy if the temperature

drops much belo~ fr.w&i~g (Davis 1970*27J). The eamtarn

pipi5trelle exhibi ts a different hibernating ~trad;.gy' in that

it sacrifices a low metabolic rate by blb.rna~1ng at higher

42

temperatures but savas energy by not having to arouse as often.

Although I did not handle individual bat~ to obtain

information on hibernating sex ratiDs~ Davis (1959116) indi­

cated that populations of hibernating bats usually contain

more males than females. H~ believes (p. 18) that female

eastern pipistrella bats may migrate ~Duth to hibernate more

often than males. The proportion of mal@s hibernating in

caves increases as you move from south to north.

Fenton (1970:18) found in hi~ study of little brown

bats in Ontario that clusters war~ made up mostly of males.

Females ware found less often and were uBually $ingle. He

concluded also that a great~r p~rcentaga of f~male$ hibernate

in southern caves and probably migrate {p~27).

Brenner '1974a:240) and Ry~gaard (1942:260) also raported

a preponderance of mala littl~ brD~n bat~ hibernating in

caves. Brenner indicates that other wDrk~rs have reported

finding hibernating colonie. of little brown~ big brown,

percent males. Through banding .tudies~ he also found that

female little brown bat~ tend to c

part for the di$proportionate £6~ r&tioB ob5erved (p~Z44).

Claire ~t a1. (1979g404) £ound that i~ banding 945 ~eenas

is reported to hib~rnat~ in 9qual numb~r~ of male~ and famales.

Onc~ &ga1n§ I ©olleoted no individual ~i~~ data for this

report but Williams and Findley (1979;11J) studied the sexual

4J

size dimorphism in 18 vespertilionid bats and fQund that

females averaged larger than males in all species and were

significantly larger in 15 of the 18 species. They believe

that the larger i'emales can better maintain homeothermy and

tiaing of birth, stare more fat, and can Bat a larger selection

of prey than males. This may be of value for the increased

energy demands during pregnancy.

bats are significantly heavier than males most af the year.

weigh more than males during the wint8r~ and Fenton (1969&:

2J65) noted that Cemale little brown and big brown bat. weigh

significantly more than mal~B.

Bruce and Wiebera (1970:824) studied weight 105S DC

hibernating little brown bats and found tha~: 1) fewales

weigh more than males~ 2) early hibernation weight of indiv1~

duals is more than mid-hibernation weight~ J) the weight of

individuals dBCre&SGs as the hibernation season progresses~

than

mid-hibernation.

due to bats becoming active and feeding ~n hpril g

that~ although BooallsT than the female i the male big brown

bat loses weight at a 5lightly faster rate. However t the rate

of weight loss for little brawn bats in Ontario is the same

average weight loss Df a hibernating little brown bat to be

44

This represents a 25 p~rcent decrease in the bat~s prehiber­

na ti on ~'eight ~

female bats leave th~ir cave hibeTn~ lj],& e&rlier in the spring

than do male~(>

~~ ..~ ',- -'0 .,},.,,~west Vermont from 'e' '.,";

n"' .•, coon, ;,' r.,,~,

~ ~-~ '?,~ '. :",:i~L, ';.,::Jmale

G;~"'~ ·'n." ~,. C'.:, .i., ,>-,~, c,.', :.,

... -,,

E;) ',~: ;rt ;;~

-. ,-" , 'f,_" if~ ?,~ ,'~ i?"

T} \:,:' L'~' "'~ (,,,;;'C'j ,:, '"-, _";> <" ~, "'OC ~-,>

f~und five adult male

rpOT i an abandoned

copper mine in Michigan during the summer~ Hall and Brenner

(1968:779) stated that big brown, little brown~ Indiana a Kaenls

small-fDoted, and eastern pipistrelle bats are not usually

fly into a.ndthro~gh caves at night.

referred to aB swarming and consists of nocturnal flight5

through hibernacula in the summer (Fenton 1969b:'97).

brown and big brD~n bats can fly and are able to leave the

males at caves around 1 August in Ontario (Fenton 1969b~599).

potential hlb8rna~ing sites and act 8$ a rendezvous point

for transient bats going to other area. (Fenton 1969b:601)&

Many more individua18 swarm a cave tho~ sventu~lly hibernate

counts. At ene cav8 1 ~he winter hibernating colony represen­

copulate.

continue thr~ugh

Df both sex •• c tlng. Schowalter (1980;3,2-J) 8tat8d

that in Albert~G juvenile little brown bar-s are ~Dt repro­

ductively active, but that further south. ~oth sexes copulate

in or during th r first year.

46

I feel fortunate that during the field work for this

thesis, I was able to observe a breeding pair of little brown

bats. Barclay and Thomas {1979:6JJ} offer a detailed

description of the little brown bat For a

description of the loud mala mating call and its functions,

see Barclay at ala (1979~lJ7) and Barclay and Thomas (1979:

6)2) •

(1979:1J4) indicated that mating may continue through the

winter and sometimes in~a the spring but I did not observe

any other breading pairs during this study.

brown bat mating Bystem is indiscriminate and promi§cuous.

the ~inter while she i5 torpid. Th~ illal~s do not compete

good mating sites l Dr try to pr~vent

spring fertilization~ females possess mating plug$o In this

Adult male little brown bats begin to stay in a hiber­

naculUrn day and night and become torpid around 1 September~

1979 :lJ4) ,

From banding s~udies~ it is apparent that hibernating

bat populations move about during the winter from one cave to

that population changes may not be notic~ab18 without banding

operations because there may not be a §igni cant change in

the net population. He found shifting of hib~rmacula to occur

during the winter, banded bats fly up to 125 m11.~ from one

from their hibernacula in the spring eQuId

168 miles in a~y dir~ction.

also indicatad

and that tbere is a tendency for New Englan~ cave bats to

7) studied th~ winter arous~l of bat. in

pipistrells bats on a wall of the cave and maTked their

48

moved by the end of the third weeK .after ma.:d(ing. Hta found

half of the eastern pipistrel1es to still be in place after

eight weeks and two even after 1) weeks. Thi~ indicated a

great difference in activity between 5pecis$o

The summer roosts for the hibernating bats t(Hmo. in

western New England and eastern New York were u5ual1y north

and east (Griffin 1940bi2]6). One little brown bat banded

at a cave in South B.thleh.m~ New York~in November 1937 was

recaptured 10 April 1938 at Chittenden. V.~mont~ 120 miles to

the northeast o Tna individual may have ~tarted its spring

migration early in April by flying to a mora r.orth~rn cave

during a warm period. A big brovn bat was recaptured during

the summer 10 miles northw6st of wh~~~ it ~~~ b~nded while

hibernating the winter before A~' a r.niL'1ifj a't I{o~tHlry~ Connecti­

south befor~ winter s1.nee it can survive 5eyere winter

conditions outside of caves and mines~

(1980;4) indicate that two male li~ 10 ~r~wn bat. are known

to be 29 ari,j)O :rears old froul z"ecapi;Ll~~i:L] Id~1.ta,~ "rnis i$ a

record ior any bat £peC1.es long;sv;L '!>!B,I:L\i;;Y f.<.nd Jarvis

(1971:17) stated t.~t tba longevity r'ecord for th.il)I Keen's

small-footed bat i§ 12 years (~aradiso and Greenhal1 1967:

2,52) •

"';'" .T ,~, .;"",'..1",

~.: ~

",1, J;~: l;-~~.2~ \­

~- .' ··,.1'",,'-;!-' .j':'; '''-'''\'F'''"''

so

other bats, and a change in the temperature or humidityc

M.d. Fenton (in litt.) indicates that the United states Fish

and Wildlife Service has stopped i5suing bands to persons

working on bat~ becau~e the bat populatiDn5~ particularly

While over-wintering, cannot tolerate the d1.turbance~

Hibernating bats are on a critical e,H,11r€D' bUdget and survive

by maximizing the time 5pent in torpor~ the least energy

consuming part of hibernation. He concludos that disturbance

by banding Dr even people passing through hibern.cula will

arouse the bats frDm tDrpDr~ causing them to lo~e weight

more quickly thus incre.sing mortali~y. Davis (1970:287)

states that little brown bats losa rnDr~ water during arousal

depletes the water equivalent of lO S DC hibernation time

unless the bats can drink.

Folk (1940=309) found 1n his study of hibernating bats

in Indian Oven Cave in ~ncram. X~W York ~hat banding and

recapturing activity rasul'ted in all but a fow bats leaving

been molested

his study of big brown bats J that thsre was & higher mortal­

ity rate in yeurs immediately following banding. Humphrey

and Cope (1976~56) ifldicate that little brcw~ bat~ ~r~ not

Folk (191~OgJo6) and Menaker (1964:540) state that warm

,-~; "~

":_~ '~;i: <:_'" ',,;

of

By

not

52

quite cold with low humidity during the winter.

thaw Cav8@ although very long, can camplB£ely flood at any

able for bat hibernation.

human disturbance are Clarksville and South Eethlehem@

Griffin (1940a~181-2)r in his work wi~tl hib~rnating cave

bats, indicated that he visited two caves at these same

plac liaS. Although ~~act locations wers not described 0 I sus~

pact the Clarksville site and possib

Be~hlehem to be the same ones I visited.

C; a v e Li ttl eo Ke en i 13 Ea ~ t 1.0 r l,] B.t g

~~.'C~~""= .."<~._~=~=~~.~~2r°1:J'~~ ~~~~_.~~~~~-~=a,~~~~~~£~~:2~.~~~~_.~:~

Clarksvil13 188 9 23 2 =-.<:n:i<_~""'"""""""N=,",,«=~~-===';:~"_"""""'~.- = ·__ ~=~~:""'i'''''''''"''·~"''Po_''''''''-'''",,<:l:~~'"='o''-~....c.--XU~''''''''~~

s ~ E:},~~thl. aln,~fT; 99 j~~~} _=~·="".~~~",,-~,~==~· __......'a"""';i"ir:'&:i'l:I''''::~~~~;:'-"::''~·''''~.L-"-==~'=-"-"'7>=:<""'..:F~HI'===

If indeed 1 did visit the same cav&s a~ Cla~ksville and

: found no little

dUB. in part l to ~he popularity of these caves with noisy

encountered over 25 people noisily traveling ~hroygh or

may dis~urb hibernating bats and now make this cave unfavorable

for such a purpose.

Humpbrey and Cope \~

brown bat may b. more common to in North America than

SeOOO bats during tb

locked gats at all t~B0&

- -­~::~ '(~\J 7:..,; .;;}.., ~~ h-

may be a pQs~icili

". ~-'. 'i'-5 J.,i;,~~-~:, ,:

!{J - .

~~ "'"'" ~1g ~~;3 tk .~~ ,~'F: Kt @

policies into the caves

cons 61"V& ti on: •

m1zed and valuable

During the 1980-B1 hi rnating sea.gn~ October to June,

interval. to as.eBB and ma~ito

eastern pipistrelle ~.~

:frequently.

temperature W&~ batv&

c ':~ t'-" ' i, ,~- ~:.,-, i..~,,~~'perc ent Q

1981.

'. ,,,..of th,s =-~ ".­

56

The eastern pipistrelle bat was found to hibernate

singly and secluded, deep in a cave system where temperature

and humidity were highest. rndiv1dual~ were still hibernating

in caves in mid-June, 1981~

Each hibernating bat spec1~~ ~noountered during the

study was found to occupy a distinot microhabitat within a

cave system. They demonstrated a particular behavior with

respect to clustering and a$~o©~.at1on with other individuals,

and differed in their time of departure from the caves in

the spring.

Barclay~ R.M.R.~ a~d ~.~, Thgma§, 1979. Copulatign Qall oC Myoti~ lua1CuguB. a discrete situation-specific co~1oati7rn-s1g~1~1.1" .J. Ma.rnm~ '. 60 ~6J2,-6J4@

Barcla.y'~ R$}r"~.H,. v Jl'~ntcg:J~1 14.6. i[i,FI,,1, behavior' ot 1,1. ttlt'J );H:'(;'lt,rn

Vocal c;o~]m~Ju'1ica~ticy,-"ilic .8elll~~~lrs

Beer, J.R 19". Survival and mDv.man~. af banded big brownQ

bat. . J. Mamm" ~ J6 g ~"'·'''''>'".<t;·'o/C;l

Beer~ ...r.l:(o~ and ,ie",,?,'. C;:"-':i,;r'{;L~SD ]p'",ibeI"tur.tion of the big brown bat o 0 ~aw~~€ ~?~~1=41~0

Benton, A.Ho g and J. r0un L Notes on a breading colonyg

of Hl2j~~@ ~~ Mfuruffi~ 32 ~295~

Brenner t ~.J. 1974&. A' Y8;~;~' ,wtl.l.dy ()f a h.ibernating colony oC !!r~t it!~ .1_u~~ i, ~:~~jL~~~~ ~ J. Sci' e 74t2J9-244.

~l974'b:) ·.;l;(~l(ap~~g-"i~1,~1~:i:o.~iJt'G ~}lft:d Si'iJr~fijl::~;;r.{.l l~attBlS to£ 2 species Qf b~t~0 Ohi~ J~ i~ 74~296~JOO@

Bruca g D"S~fI gblf~";:\ ,} ;:;. 'ZJ;:)t~:~eG .> ,C:~ Body weight of N:.rotis 1"01 :f,,;;gJ:~~~m'd~r' ;;<ili;\~;',H~811 iJ.Z",Q! l~bo1."a trfJ'!t'y condi tiona. J .. Ma~i.~ Sl;823=824c

Cla1rs g WO f L~Val@ RGK~ L%VQl, ~.L0D and R. Claw~on~ 1979. Not~$ t)H ®,,)(~, fi);C n"G=,o~~~'=.:',,~n& (Chiroptera, Ve~p'6J~·tif;£.i1<f. ,;"n ,J\h\~ ~H1>©Ul'"'i 0 ,u~ ~.id1." Nat., 1 0 2 3.t,;, ,,",,;,,;, ,="g, U

Davis, 'WeE, ba t lJ e J--' ~ M~lru.m s

;h.lli ,bats M{01::is '" ~ l'VAmEil ~ 0 5 3

___G

"~ ;~~,Davis, lii.H@ il ~l©gy and migration<.>1""'<",""'----:;.--(.;

Er~land. J. Mamm.,of th~ bt&"t; ~~~~~4 46 &:,:; --"'W~ A'd>,

Engler~ C.Ho 19L\>:L C@,:':'l:'1i'''''IJI'tJt'i;~ ""'©ti~q1'i;;i@~ ot big brown and. pa 11~" d~ -ct gt <i' !;;.; ,~i Jt:{gU~~~H£ 0 {. ~97 "

c. ,,_ ,,' v.

\" ,2", dd:. .1"

Ev~ns, J., P. Quick~ and B. Sloan~ ~~~~ 1919. An introduction to caves of th~ north~ast: guid@oook for the 1979 National Speleological Soc:!.. ~ty Cornr~irn 1tiCH"n f .No. 20. 76ppo

Fenton, M.B. 1966. ~£!i£ sod~;i~, in caV~$ near watertown, New York. J. :Mamro~~7 i526~

1969a. Ecologio~l Studi€~ of bat~ in Ontario and adjacent r0gion~o Diss~rt~tion Ab~traots International. Sec. B Sciences. Jl~2J64~2J6S~

1969'0. SUDIm",J(' acti\, o~: !~~!2_ !..~!!.l1iP~S (Chiropteras Vssperti 11 onida~ J at h:l.,oliilI"na©uJLa, ~"n Ontario and Quebec, Can. J. Zool. 4].'97-602.

~~ MYDti~ lucifugus",)~.~ II' _

;:u~ OntSlri (;. R. Ont. )ius. ,

_____0 1972. Di~t b;,:;"1;i,@fc (::i,t~61.';;;·!~jrkiilnt@A"ii'1g of' Mroti. leib1i and Eptesicu$ £uscus \Chi~opt0ra~W@~pertilloniQae) in Ontario~~O~~.~ Lif~ ences Occassional Papers, Number 21 gl~~L

Folk, G.E. 1940. Shift O~ on ~mong hibernating bats. J~ Mamw.~ 20tJ06~)1'e

Goehring, H.B. 1972. '!W'~H'ilt;f....yei:;,t: :'$'~wjy of' !E'tesicus fuse us 1 n Minna:s~'ta.. ~'1 ~ 111~M'1~e> li ~ ZQ;;l, =207 ~.G

Griffin, D.R~ 1940a. N~tG~ @~ th~ lif~ hi~tgriss of New England cav@ bats. J. ~a~m,o 21~181~187.

---" Guthrie, N.J. 1931. Rots~ on ~b~ BeaBonal movem~nts and habits

of som~ ~f~.W~ t?&\~~1.:" ~'-~ ,So.' ~k::1i,;U~~~~ b! g],,1tn19.;:~

Hall, J.S. 1962. ~~&

R;~drr;=g~ ~?,"~'~0"'=~"'==C=C~"~<-

h xc ~~x.©~@~i~ '~~udyo~the

Tnd1ana b8i i· ~lj"(" ~i:t: R®ading Pub. Nus. and Art~allery. w ~~& 12 v pp. 1-68.

Hall, ,J. S. and J.?, ~ oJ. BJ["ag'u~I;ilJ';"', S ~~m~r netting of bats at a cave in P@~n~yl J. ~~m~G' 493779-781.

Hamilton, W.J. Jr. 194J. 7h~ N~~mal~ of ~~st~rn United States. Comstock P~bli~~&~".~ D~0~ I~c~ !thac&, New York. 4)2 p.

laib!! in Ontario.Hitchcock. H.B. 1945. y

J~ Mamm~~ 26g4JJ$

Hitchcock, H.B. 1949. Hibernation of bats in southeastern Ontario and adjacent ~uebec. Canadian Field-Nat., 6J:47-.59.

1965. Twanty-thr~e years of bat banding 1n Ontario and Quebec. Canadian F181d-Nat., 79:4-14.

Humphrey, S~R., and J.B. Cope. 1976. PopUlation ecology of the little brown bat (Myot1s lucifugus) in Indiana and northcentral Kentucky. Spec. Publ., Amer. Soc. Mamm., 4:1-81.

___• 1977.. Survival rates of' the endangered Indiana bat, ~otis sodalis. J. Namm., S8~J2-J6.

Keen, R., and H.B. Hitohcock. 1980. Survival and longevity of the little brown bat (~otis lucifugus) in southeastern Ontario. J. Mamm., 61:1-7.

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LaVal, R.K., and M.L. LaVal. 1980. Eoological studies and management of Missouri bat$~ with emphasis on cave­dwelling species. Terrestrial series no. 8, Missouri Dept .. of Cons. 5Jpp~

Hartin, R.L.~ J.T. Pawluok, and T.B. Clancy. 1966. Observa­tions on hibernation of ~l~!i~ subulatus. J. Hamm., 47:348-349.

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J. Mamm., 55s844-84o o

Menaker, M. 1964. The frequency of spontaneous arousal from hibernation in bats. Nature, 20)8540-541 0

kohr, C.E. 1932. Myotis subulatu$ l~ibii and Nyot1s sodalis in PennsylvanI'a. J. ""Mamm. f IJ7i1rO::r61.

1936. NOt0S on the least bat~ ~rotis subulatus le1bii. Froc. Penna. Aoad. Sci. 10:62-6j.

Mumford, R.E. 1958. Population turnover in wintering bats in Indiana. J. Mamm.~ J9~2SJ~261.

Nagorsen, D.W. 1980. Record~ of hibernating big brown bats (Eptesicus fucus) and little brown bats (~otiS luc1fugus) in northern Ontario. Can. Fi®ld-Nat., 94: )-85.

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Phillips, G.L. 1966. Ecology of the b1g brown bat (Chiroptera:Vespertilionidae) 1n northeastern Kansas. Amer. Hidl. Nat., 75:168-198.

Ploskey, G.R., and J.A. Sealander. 1979. Lipid deposition and withdrawal before and during hibernation in Pipistrellus subflavus (Ch1ropteraaVespertilion1dae). The Southvestern Naturalist 24:71-78.

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;245-257. .

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xi