Abstract:
The Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) was listed as federally endangered in 1967 due to disturbance of hibernacula, white nosed syndrome and loss of summer habitat. Within Madison and Delaware Counties, Indiana there are multiple tracts of forested land that boast prime habitat for the species and large scale development projects have been proposed within these counties, which have the potential to impact this federally-endangered species. A habitat model was created for the Indiana bat, using habitat preferences in relation to historic presence data from Randolph County, Indiana. The model was verified using historic data from Henry and Rush Counties as well as multiple Poisson regressions to determine the validity of the model and the importance of the habitat variables on the overall validity of the model. The test data from Henry and Rush Counties verified that the model was capable of predicting Indiana bat habitat based on the presence data. The multiple Poisson regressions indicated that the environmental variables of canopy closure, and distance to both water sources and highly developed areas had the most bearing on determining the presence of Indiana bat. Neither distance to roads with high travel volumes, nor vegetative height had an impact the presence of Indiana bats as much as previously thought. The model was applied to Madison and Delaware Counties and specifically to the proposed location of the Mounds Lake Reservoir. A total of 567.4 acres of land was delineated as Indiana bat habitat, which comprised 30.91% of the total surface area of the reservoir. The results of the study can be used in future management of this endangered species, as well as a decision making tool when future developmental projects arise.
