Wildlife Diversity Program Quarterly Report for July–September 2025
Cooperative Land Conservation
• Staff continue monitoring the largest southeastern myotis roost in an underground stormwater system in Raleigh. The num- ber of bats fluctuated throughout the year, from a low of approximately 125 during the winter to over 1,000 during the maternity season. In September, we placed radio transmitters on males and females to find additional roost locations. The females did not move to another location. However, we radio tracked one male to another but smaller colony of southeastern
myotis off Highway 401 in north Wake County, which is about 5 miles from the Raleigh colony. Tricolored bats also use the culvert off Highway 401 during different times of the year. These tricolored bats tested positive for Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), which is the fungus responsible for white-nose syndrome. • We completed data collection from the bat hibernacula study at 10 mines and caves throughout the Piedmont. A Kestrel temperature/ relative humidity logger inside and outside the hibernacula, bat acoustic recorder, and game camera were placed at each hibernacu- lum. Preliminary review of camera data and surveys of the hibernac- ula document tricolored bats utilizing some of the hibernacula
during the summer. Staff will continue the hibernacula study for one more season to better understand the environmental conditions in which tricolored bats become active in the winter. We also are monitoring three stormwater systems and cul- verts in addition to the large southeastern myotis colony. An intern has begun analyzing the data from the hibernacula study.
• The NCWRC, Greensboro Science Center (GSC), and UNC have begun the post-construction surveys for multiple taxa at the Stink- ing Quarter Stream and Wetland Mitigation Site. Monitoring during construction included acoustic monitoring, coverboard surveys, and game camera surveys. Construction was completed in May, and all taxa surveys have resumed. Samples were also collected for eDNA analysis. An NCWRC intern assisted with the project, primarily with pinning and identification of bees from the pre-construction surveys and the Causey Farm Mitigation Study. A UNC student received a grant to conduct a project at Stinking Quarter mitigation site. Together with Habitat Conservation and Aquatic Wildlife Diversity staff, the student developed a project that evaluates the efficacy of several trap types for surveying burrowing crayfish. The student’s project provided the NCWRC recommendations on the most effective trapping techniques and provided data on burrowing crayfish at Stinking Quarter Mitigation Site. The GSC staff found a software program that analyzes bird and amphibian calls. The pre-construction data analysis indicates the following SGCN bird species occurred at Stinking Quarter: barn owl, Kentucky warbler, brown-headed nuthatch, and northern bobwhite.
continued on next page
17
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator