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Bats
Focusing on areas in the Kootenay regions to identify bat distribution and population patterns during winter, can further identify regions susceptible to White Nose Syndrome. Areas with habitat features such as open water, mines, rock crevices in addition to elevation and ecotype zones can provide information about bat preferences during wintertime. The Reeves Macdonald (REMAC) mine at Pend D'Oreille is a suitable area for year-round monitoring to determine the variety of species active in this mine. Similarly, further investigation at the Queen Victoria mine could reveal trees as a possible preferable habitat for bats. Methods such as radiotracking has proven useful in the past, showing substantial use of trees within 400-500m of the mine during the winter season, continued use of this method as well as acoustic and genetic methods will aid determine bat patterns in BC. Further investigation could challenge this data and subsequently identify suitable areas for bat hibernation. Comparisons of these two mines and dependence on trees as a hibernation habitat could highlight travel patterns between the two sites; whether bats depend on trees and mines mid-winter and if the same species hibernate at both sites. Specifically, the Silverhaired bat that is found hibernating at both sites, but further research is required to confirm distribution and population patterns. In terms of human influence, continued protection of the REMAC mine could protect bats from human destruction and disturbance. The REMAC mine is fairly inaccessible to humans therefore efforts may be worthwhile focusing on other sites to conserve bats. Radiotracking in the Creston area could identify bat activity during fall and winter and how elevation and drainage affect hibernation. M. Lucifugus and M. Yumanensis are species that are undetected during mid-winter and could be hibernating at other roosts across the Columbia Basin during winter, suggesting further areas to be investigated.