Keen's long-eared bat (Myotis keenii) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 11

Summary of Status Report

Keen’s long-eared bat (Myotis keenii) is morphologically similar and closely related to the western long-eared bat (Myotis evotis). The two taxa cannot be identified in the field and their low divergence in mtDNA suggests they could be conspecific. M. keenii is confined to western Washington, British Columbia, and southeastern Alaska. About 80% of its distributional area is in Canada. It forages in estuaries, riparian habitats, and urban areas. Summer day roosts are located in trees, rock crevices, buildings and under boulders. Known night roosts are under bridges. The only know hibernacula are in caves associated with karst formations on Vancouver Island in montane areas (550-945 m). Ecomorphological traits and a diet study done on Haida Gwaii suggest that the diet consists of flying insects particularly moths and non-flying invertebrates such as spiders. Females produce a single young with parturition in July; young are volant by early August. There are no estimates of population size or trends across the range. This bat is rarely captured but it is not clear if this can be attributed to rarity or capture avoidance. Limiting factors include loss of tree roosts from forest harvesting, disturbance of hibernacula by cavers or forest harvesting activity, and predators such as owls or small rodents in caves. The portion of M . keenii’srange that is in protected areas or on Crown land protected by British Columbia Forest and Range Practices Code is unknown. Unresolved questions about this species’ taxonomy, rarity, dependence on old growth forest, hibernation and foraging habitat, and threats hinder an assessment of this bat’s conservation status.

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