Figure 1. — Capture site and day roosts of a male Indiana bat in relation to Big Springs Cave 

 and Elklick Run on the Fernow Experimental Forest in West Virginia. 



Tree-roosting bats generally select trees that are larger in 

 diameter and taller than the surrounding stand (Sasse and 

 Perkins 1996; Vonhof and Barclay 1996; Callahan et al. 

 1997; Foster and Kurta 1999). Although both male and 

 female Indiana bats show large rangewide variation in the 

 size (8 to 86.6 cm d.b.h) and types of trees or snags 

 chosen for roosts (Menzel et al. 2001b), Kurta et al. 

 (1996) found that roost trees tended to be larger on 

 average than other trees in the surrounding stand. The 

 three roosts on the Fernow were similar to or larger than 

 the majority of live trees or dead snags used by females at 

 maternity roosts in the Midwest (Gardner et al. 1991; 

 Kurta et al. 1996; Callahan et al. 1997) or as day roosts 

 for males in the early spring or late fall in the 

 Appalachians (Hobson and Holland 1995; Kiser and 

 Elliot 1996; MacGregor et al. 1999). Female bats often 



choose a large tree or snag that extends to the canopy or 

 above to take advantage of increased solar exposure that 

 keeps the roost warm and aids the growth and 

 development of juvenile bats (Menzel et al 2001a). 

 Presumably, male Indiana bats roosting in and around Big 

 Springs Cave are not so constrained because all three 

 roosts were situated on more northern (cooler) aspects. 

 Callahan et al. (1997) speculated that male Indiana bats 

 seek cooler roosts to conserve energ)^ Other measured 

 variables such as canopy cover were similar to or within 

 ranges reported for tree roosts from throughout the 

 Indiana bat's distribution (Menzel et al. 2001b). 



Rangewide, Indiana bats show an affinity for roost trees 

 with exfoliating bark (P-omme et al. 1995; Callahan et al. 

 1997). Menzel et al. (2001b) identified snags of 23 tree 



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