Management and Cave Protection for Federally-listed Bats and Co-occuring Stygobitic Fauna in Oklahoma
Management and Cave Protection for Federally-listed Bats and Co-occuring Stygobitic Fauna in Oklahoma
Date: 2022 to 2022
Primary Contact: Jeremy Ross
Research Location: Norman, Oklahoma
Funding: State of Oklahoma, Wildlife Conservation Department
Summary:
The main purposes of the project are:
to maintain the bat population in targeted caves by preventing unnecessary human entry and disturbance to critical roosts,
to survey stygobitic fauna in Oklahoma and delineating biologically important subterranean systems to include historical localities of Amblyopsis rosae and species of groundwater crayfish endemic to Oklahoma,
if necessary, to participate in baseline survey techniques that will monitor the impact of the causative agent of White-nose Syndrome on targeted cave-dwelling bat species, and
to initiate presence surveys of caves that have been historically identified as potnetial roosting habitat for the threatened Northern Long-eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis) and, if documented, develop and prioritize plans for management and colony protection measures.
