Data from: Seasonal phenology of the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) at 60°N ...

• Main Authors: Reimer, Jesika, Barclay, Robert
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2023
• Subjects: FOS Biological sciences; Myotis lucifugus; little brown myotis; capture records; Myotis septentrionalis; Canada; Evelyn; Lady Evelyn Falls; Northwest Territories; South Slave Region
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25338/b8kh19; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.25338/B8KH19

To investigate the impact of short summers and long summer solar periods at high latitudes on the behavior of a nocturnal, hibernating mammal, we recorded the phenology of Myotis lucifugus (little brown myotis) at 60oN in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. In particular we assessed the timing of spring emergence from, and autumn entry into hibernation, reproduction, and seasonal mass fluctuations. We used a combination of acoustic monitoring and capture surveys at two hibernacula and two maternity roosts during 2011 and 2012. Myotis spp. were active at the hibernacula from late April to late September/early October, suggesting that the ‘active’ season length is similar to that of populations farther south. At maternity colonies, we detected M. lucifugus activity from early May to early October, with peaks during mid-July in both years. Lactation, fledging, and weaning all occurred later in the NWT than at more southern locations, and reproductive rates were significantly lower than rates observed ... : Capture data - We used mist nets (Avinet Inc. Dryden, New York), to capture bats adjacent to the two Myotis lucifugus maternity colonies (Thebacha and Lady Evelyn Falls), and various foraging sites around the South Slave region, during 2011 (35 nights; May - Sep) and 2012 (23 nights; Jun - Sep). At maternity colonies, we captured bats during emergence, before they had an opportunity to feed, and at all sites we held bats in a cloth bag for ≥ 0.5 h to allow defecation prior to weighing. A small number of bats were caught post-foraging; these records have been marked with an asterix in the 'massinacuracy' column of the dataset and were omitted from the mass-related analysis. We identified individuals to species, sex, age (adult or juvenile) and reproductive condition, weighed them with a portable balance, measured forearm with calipers, fitted them with a unique band (2.9 mm; Porzana Ltd., East Sussex, United Kingdom) for future identification, and released them at their point of capture. We classified adult ...