STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT OF TOWNSEND'S BIG-EARED BAT IN CALIFORNIA: A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT FOR A CANDIDATE SPECIES

Leila S Harris; California Department of Fish and Wildlife/ICF; leilaharris.wildlife@gmail.com; Michael L. Morrison, Joseph M. Szewczak, Ashley M. Long, Scott D. Osborn

We are assessing Townsend's big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii; hereafter COTO) roost sites throughout California. Broad-scale evaluation of COTO has not occurred since Pierson and Rainey's work in the late 1980s. The species is now a candidate for listing under the California Endangered Species Act. Understanding the current status and nature of roost sites will support management of this species, regardless of listing outcome. We are (1) revisiting historic roosts documented in State databases to determine presence; and (2) sampling potential habitat in randomly selected cells drawn from the Pacific Northwest Bat Grid system and NABat. Field work will continue through winter 2016-17. These data will inform a model seeking to explain COTO occupancy. Preliminary results suggest that many officially known sites no longer host bats, yet that a number of sites had never been reported to California Department of Fish and Wildlife by recreational communities, land managers and other agencies. As such, we have expanded our efforts to include these sites and to capitalize on opportunities to raise awareness. Developing this network of non-traditional partners and data sources may represent a relatively untapped resource for research and management applications for bats and other species.

Ecology and Conservation of Mammals