Selection of Day Roosts by Red Bats in Mixed Mesophytic Forests

Abstract

Limited information exists on the choice of day roosts by red bats (Lasiurus borealis) in mature deciduous forests. We radiotracked 10 adult female and 4 adult male red hats as they used 44 day roosts in nived mesophytic forests in castern Kentucky during May through August 1996-97. On average (x ± SE). bats roosted 16.5 ± 0.3 to above ground in the outer foliage of the canopy of 13 different species of hardwood trees: no conifer or snag was used as a day roost. Roost trees were dominant and codominant trees averaging 10.5 1.9 cur dblt. Most roost trees 77.3% were on ridge tops of upland forests. Each hat used an average of 11 roost trees and switched roost trees every 2.3 days in an area <40 m 2 . Day roosts were 277 ± 30 m from lorest edge. with no roost located < 50 m from any edge. These data indicate that choice of day roosts In red bats inhabiting tracts of mature contiguous forest differs from those in fragmented habitats.