Seasonal variation in home range size of evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) in an urban environment

Abstract

Abstract Despite the negative impacts of urbanization on bats, green spaces in urban environments, such as parks, cemeteries, and golf courses, have the potential to provide resources necessary for these animals. Water resources in these areas include natural or semi-natural ponds, streams, and drainage ditches. Such water resources, however, are frequently ephemeral when subject to prolonged periods of high temperatures and low precipitation. We hypothesized that home ranges of evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) would increase in size or shift from urban green spaces into surrounding neighborhoods to access alternative resources, such as residential swimming pools, when water resources in green spaces are scarce. To explore whether seasonal variations in bat home ranges occurred, we radio-tracked resident evening bats in a local park system during their summer activity period 2017–2019 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. We used Local Convex Hulls created by associating point locations with their nearest neighbor to estimate home range size, location, and the percentage area that fell within the surrounding neighborhood. We compared these variables to temperature and precipitation using various regression models. We successfully tracked 30 bats over the 3-year period and found a positive correlation between home range size and temperature. Home range sizes increased 6-fold when temperatures exceeded 30°C. Our study indicates the importance of urban neighborhoods surrounding green spaces in providing alternative resources, such as water, for bats. If managed appropriately, these urban areas have the potential to act as oases for bat populations.