Population trends and behaviours of bats in Maritime Canada

Abstract

In a rapidly changing world with many drivers of extinction, monitoring wild populations has become of increasing priority to researchers. For many bats (order Chiroptera) in North America, population assessments have become critical in monitoring population trends following disease disturbance, specifically White Nose Syndrome. White Nose Syndrome is a fungal disease that has resulted in mass mortality of many hibernating bat species in eastern North America since its detection in 2006. Given the time elapsed for many areas since White Nose Syndrome introduction, many affected populations have reached an established state where disease-associated mass mortality is not currently observed. As such, the motivation for population assessments has shifted more towards describing patterns of recovery in White Nose-affected populations. However, population assessments for bats, like for other taxa, may be biased and consequently impact the inferences made by researchers. This thesis aims to describe population trends of species affected by White Nose Syndrome in Maritime Canada and assess the impacts of research techniques on study findings. The specific objectives of this thesis were to (1) assess population trends of resident hibernating bats with respect to White Nose Syndrome detection in Maritime Canada, and (2) assess the potential biases of capture surveys on bats, a standard research method used to conduct population assessments and study bat activity.