Acoustic Surveys for Bats are Improved by Taking Habitat Type into Account

Taking habitat type into account significantly improves the accuracy of bat species identification using acoustic surveys. A study at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada, found that echolocation calls recorded near cluttered habitats (e.g., tree edges) were more accurate for distinguishing between Myotis evotis, M. lucifugus, and M. ciliolabrum compared to those recorded in open spaces (coulees). The researchers created a local call library by recording bats in both habitat types and found that models trained on calls from cluttered environments performed better. This highlights the importance of incorporating local habitat context when developing acoustic monitoring tools for bat species, enhancing identification accuracy and model reliability.

Findlay, S. V., & Barclay, R. M. R. (2019). Acoustic Surveys for Bats are Improved by Taking Habitat Type into Account. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 44(1), 86–93. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.1053