A Little Bat and a Big City: Nocturnal Behavior of the Tricolored Bat (Perimyotis subflavus) Near Indianapolis Airport

Abstract

I captured 16 Perimyotis subflavus on property owned by the Indianapolis International Airport, of those 16 animals I obtained roosting data on all 16 and foraging data on 11 individuals. The goal of this project was to see if a short broad winged bat’s foraging and roosting habits were affected by the fragmentation of habitat due to rapid urbanization. Using radio telemetry to find roosts and to create multi-azimuth triangulation I was able to create data points and place them onto a habitat map inside ArcGIS software. Sampling the size of woodlots available to the bats I was able to see that the bats only roosted in larger woodlots on the property. Using Euclidian distance analysis I was able to compare the distance of data points both with roosting and foraging from habitat classes to see that this species roosts in woodlots next to old fields and maintained habitats, does not roost in woodlots near commercial areas, and prefers foraging in forests, agricultural fields, maintained habitats, and old fields.