FORAGING AREAS AND HABITAT USE OF THE VIRGINIA BIG-EARED BAT IN KENTUCKY

The Virginia big-eared bat (Plecotus townsendii virginianus) is an end angered subspecies of Townsend's big-eared bat. Little information exi sts about the movements and habitat requirements of these bats. We use d radio telemetry to determine Virginia big-eared bat foraging area si ze and use of habitat in Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF), Kentucky . We attached radio transmitters to 30 males in 1990 and 30 females in 1991. We monitored bats during 3 tracking periods each summer, tracki ng 9-11 bats during each period. Size of male foraging areas (87.4 ha, n = 6) in 1990 was not different from size of female foraging areas ( 121.9 ha, n = 13) in 1991 (P = 0.49). Size of female foraging areas en larged in August, when young became volant, relative to foraging area size for females in May (P < 0.05). Maximum distance any bat was obser ved from the roost was 8.4 km. Male and female bats used cliffs and fo rest habitat and were seldom recorded in open flight paths and disturb ed areas (P < 0.001). We recommend protection of foraging habitat alon g cliffs and within known home ranges to ensure long-term survival of Virginia big-eared bats