BAT HABITAT USE IN WHITE-MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST

In 1992 and 1993, we surveyed the foraging and feeding activity of bat species with broadband bat detectors at 2 foliage heights in 4 age cl asses of northern hardwood and spruce/fir forest stands in While Mount ain National Forest, New Hampshire and Maine. The association of bat a ctivity with trails and water bodies and the effect of elevation were measured. Mist nets, a harp trap, and ultrasonic detectors were used t o establish species presence. Bat activity was concentrated at trail a nd water body edges and was uniform within a forest stand at the same sampling height. Within the forest, bat activity was highest in overma ture (>119 yr, 35% of mean bat activity/night) hardwood stands and in regenerating (0-9 yr) stands of both forest types (26% of mean bat act ivity/night). The majority of bats trapped (56%) were adult male littl e brown bat (Myotis lucifugus). Our data indicate that a matrix of for est types and age classes including areas of regeneration (clearcuts a nd group cuts) and overmature hardwood, in combination with trails and water bodies, help fulfill the summer habitat requirements of bats in White Mountain National Forest.