干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

We conducted a survey of the bat fauna of Desert National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR) in Nevada during 2008-2014. Our objectives were (1) to determine the species present at DNWR by mist-netting at likely bat drinking areas; (2) to compare the bat fauna at White Spot Spring at DNWR to the fauna documented there in 1962-1967; and (3) to assess the possible importance of artificial water sources to bats on this highly arid landscape in relation to an ongoing drought. We captured 480 bats of 10 species in mist nets over drinking water sources; species identifications are documented by voucher specimens. In order of frequency of capture, species and numbers of individuals captured were as follows: canyon bat (Parastrellus hesperus), 223; combined California myotis and western small-footed myotis (Myotis californicus/M. ciliolabrum), 157; long-legged myotis (Myotis volans), 55; long-eared myotis (Myotis evotis), 12; Townsend’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii), 12; fringed myotis (Myotis thysanodes), 10; pallid bats (Antrozous pallidus), 7; big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus), 3; and Yuma myotis (Myotis yumanensis), 1. California myotis and small-footed myotis could not be reliably distinguished in the field because many individuals were intermediate in identifying characters. The abundance-based Jaccard’s community similarity index for the bat community at White Spot Spring in April and July 2013-2014 compared with that from about 50 years earlier (O’Farrell and Bradley 1970) was 0.99 (SE bootstrap 0.02), indicating negligible change. Despite an ongoing severe drought, positive evidence for female reproduction was evident in July 2014. We suspect that DNWR could not sustain current levels of reproduction in bats without suitable drinking water sources.