Characteristics of Tree Roosts of Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat and Southeastern Bat in Northeastern Louisiana

We found 44 Corynorhinus rafinesquii and 1 Myotis austroriparius tree roosts during the summer of 2000 on D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Louisiana. Corynorhinus rafinesquii and M. austroriparius are species of concern throughout their range. Little information exists on tree roosts of either species. The roost trees found in our study were hollow Nyssa aquatica with triangular-shaped basal openings, and all were located within a 5-ha tupelo stand. A high density of large-diameter cavity trees and a closed canopy characterized this stand. A canal bisected the stand and provided a source of permanent water. Roost trees and non-roost trees could not be compared due to biases in sampling technique. More research directed at roost selection factors by these bats is needed to form conservation plans; however, preliminary information indicates many, large-diameter cavity trees, especially Nyssa tree species, within bottomland hardwood forests are important as tree roosts for these bats.