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A five-year study of Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) occupancy on the island of Hawai`i
(2016-01-25) Gorressen, P. Marcos; Bonaccorso, Frank; Pinzari, Corinna; Todd, Christopher; Montoya-Aiona, Kristina; Brinck, Kevin
Using acoustic recordings of the vocalizations of the endangered Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) collected over a five-year period (2007–2011) from 25 survey areas across the island of Hawai`i, we modeled the relationship between habitat attributes and bat occurrence. Our data support the conclusion that hoary bats concentrate in the coastal lowlands of Hawai`i during the breeding season, May through October, and migrate to interior highlands during the winter non-breeding season. Highest occupancy peaked on the Julian date 15 September across the five-year average and during the season of fledging by the young of the year. Although the Hawaiian hoary bat is a habitat generalist species and occurs from sea level to the highest volcanic peaks on Hawai`i, there was a significant association between occupancy and the prevalence of mature forest cover. Trends in occupancy were stable to slightly increasing during the breeding season over the five years of our surveys.