Wednesday, August 5, 2009: 2:50 PM
Santa Ana, Albuquerque Convention Center
Background/Question/Methods
Endangered Indiana bats often use upland eastern US mixed-oak forest habitats for roosting and foraging during the warmer months of the year, setting up potential conflicts with efforts to conduct management prescribed fires during the early growing season. We used an integral model of a plume rising above a surface fire, information about the roosting behavior of the bat, and toxicological models of the effects of carbon monoxide (CO) and elevated temperatures in order to assess the risks of exposures to this tree-roosting bat. As validation, we compared plume model CO exposures with data on CO levels in plumes above prescribed burns.
Endangered Indiana bats often use upland eastern US mixed-oak forest habitats for roosting and foraging during the warmer months of the year, setting up potential conflicts with efforts to conduct management prescribed fires during the early growing season. We used an integral model of a plume rising above a surface fire, information about the roosting behavior of the bat, and toxicological models of the effects of carbon monoxide (CO) and elevated temperatures in order to assess the risks of exposures to this tree-roosting bat. As validation, we compared plume model CO exposures with data on CO levels in plumes above prescribed burns.
Results/Conclusions
For all fire behavior scenarios, the modeled effects of CO exposures were negligible. However, exposures to high temperatures within the plume were expected to be a significant risk factor for bats in torpor and flightless young. Fire managers can reduce risks by using ignition and other methods to reduce fireline intensity below injury thresholds. As well, there is support for assuring the availability of large trees on landscapes that provide roosting habitat when they die because bat roosting locations are highest above ground in the largest trees and, thus, experience reduced exposures to high temperatures during fires.
