USGS Fort Collins Science Center staff with the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) completed a data release containing the results from the North American Bat Monitoring Program's (NABat) species distribution model (SDM) for the northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis). The provided tabular data included predictions (with upper and lower confidence intervals) for northern long-eared bat occupancy probabilities (which represent the probability of presence) based on data from the entire summer season (May 1-August 31), averaged from 2017-2022, in each NABat grid cell (5km x 5km scale) across the range of the species. Specifically, predictions represented occupancy probabilities in the pre-volancy season in the summer (May 1–July 15), i.e., the period of time before juveniles can fly and become detectable by capture and/or acoustic surveys. Predictions were produced using an analytical pipeline supported by web-based infrastructure, Bayesian hierarchical modeling, and an SDM framework which integrated stationary acoustic and live-capture data to model the recent summer distribution of the species while accounting for imperfect detection and species misclassification. A tabular file is included detailing the average occupancy probability predictions (from 2017-2022) of each 5 km x 5 km grid cell in the species range, including means, standard deviations, and the 95% Bayesian credible intervals. Trends are not provided. These data can be cross-referenced to the NABat CONUS 5km master sample for analytical or visualization purposes. A text file containing the JAGS model used to estimate these occupancy probabilities for reference is also provided. This analysis reflects the best available data, science, and knowledge about the northern long-eared bat.
Predictions of northern long-eared bat occupancy probabilities from the species distribution model are available on Sciencebase. Associated data can be found here: Wray, A.K., Davis, H.T., Udell, B.J., Bohner, T.F., Inman, R.D., Lohre, B.T., Price, H.B., Reichard, J.D., Schuhmann, A.N., Straw, B.R., Tousley, F.C., Utrup, J., and Reichert, B.E., 2024, North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) Predicted Northern Long-Eared Bat Occupancy Probabilities: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P1BE5QTK.