Foraging Behavior of Eastern Red Bats (Lasiurus Borealis) at an Urban-rural Interface

Abstract

We captured female Lasiurus borealis near the Indianapolis International Airport during summers of 2003 and 2004 and radiotracked them during foraging. We obtained complete foraging data on 13 bats. A series of multi-azimuth (3–7) triangulations was used to estimate the location of each bat throughout the night. Distance based analysis was used to examine habitat use by L. borealis. Lasiurus borealis had both smaller home ranges than previously noted and smaller home ranges than other species at this location. Lasiurus borealis foraged in woodlands and over newly planted tree fields, open water, park and pasture lands more than predicted by randomly generated points and avoided highly urban areas such as commercial lands, gravel pits and transportation corridors.