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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Bat Boxes As Mitigation Tools: Factors Impacting Microclimate And Myotis Sodalis Roost Selection, Reed Crawford
Bat Boxes As Mitigation Tools: Factors Impacting Microclimate And Myotis Sodalis Roost Selection, Reed Crawford
Online Theses and Dissertations
Environmental degradation has led to declines in available natural roosting habitat for bats. To mitigate this loss, practitioners often deploy artificial roosts (e.g., bat boxes). There are no established species-specific practices for deployment strategy and roost design selection, but occupancy rates are known to vary across species and roost microclimates can be harmful to bats. Providing bats with thermally beneficial roosts during summer could enhance overwinter survival of WNS-affected species. To further our understanding of roost preference and microclimate, we deployed 40 rocket box roosts of 5 designs at field sites in Indiana and Kentucky. Roosts were deployed in clusters …
Possible Role Of Breeding Phenology, Brood Size, And Male Parental Care On The Number Of Nesting Attempts By Female Eastern Bluebirds, A Facultatively Multibrooded Species, Michael Daniel Patton
Possible Role Of Breeding Phenology, Brood Size, And Male Parental Care On The Number Of Nesting Attempts By Female Eastern Bluebirds, A Facultatively Multibrooded Species, Michael Daniel Patton
Online Theses and Dissertations
To maximize reproductive output, several species of songbirds attempt to raise two or more broods in a single breeding season. The results of previous studies have revealed much variation among species in the factors that influence the likelihood of female songbirds attempting to raise multiple broods during a breeding season. As such, additional studies are needed to better understand the roles of early breeding, brood sizes, and, especially, male parental care in determining the likelihood of having multiple broods. My objective, therefore, was to examine the possible effects of breeding initiation date, brood size, and male provisioning behavior on the …
Impacts Of Driving Factors On Annual Cicada Emergence In Relation To The Seasonal Abundance Of Eastern Copperheads (Agkistrodon Contortrix), Jesse Christian Sockman
Impacts Of Driving Factors On Annual Cicada Emergence In Relation To The Seasonal Abundance Of Eastern Copperheads (Agkistrodon Contortrix), Jesse Christian Sockman
Online Theses and Dissertations
For many species, life history events are cyclical and often correspond to specific environmental conditions. As a result of environmental variability, the optimal conditions that regulate the range and activity of highly regulated cyclical organisms, like cicadas, are subject to temporal change. Variability in cicada emergence and abundance has been shown to impact the species that rely on the rapid influx of nutrients. One such predator is the Eastern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) that has been noted feeding on emerging cicadas throughout their range. In eastern Kentucky, observations of copperheads congregating to feed on cicadas has been documented in recreational areas. …
Assessment Of Indiana Bat Reproductive Condition, Recapture Trends, And Temperatures Of Artificial Roosts In Kentucky, Michaela L. Rogers
Assessment Of Indiana Bat Reproductive Condition, Recapture Trends, And Temperatures Of Artificial Roosts In Kentucky, Michaela L. Rogers
Online Theses and Dissertations
Recovery of bat species impacted by white-nose syndrome (WNS) will necessarily require population growth. I assessed reproductive capability of the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) in Kentucky, where WNS was first detected in hibernacula in April 2011. Due to loss of fat reserves associated with WNS infection, coupled with the energetic expenditures associated with pregnancy, I hypothesized mass of reproductively-active females captured during the maternity season would decrease across my data collection period (2017-2019). Further, I predicted that reproductive rates in the study population would be lower than historic rates for Kentucky. Mist net surveys around artificial maternity roosts at …