Santiago Perea

University of Georgia | UGA · Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources

The tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus), once common in the eastern United States, has experienced significant mortality due to white‐nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease that primarily affects bats hibernating in caves and mines. In coastal regions of the southeastern United States, where caves and mines are scarce, tricolored bats often use ro...

The potential harm inflicted by forearm bands on bats has been debated for decades. To aid in decision‐making regarding bat marking, we conducted a comprehensive assessment of banding injuries using recapture data from a long‐term overwintering study in Georgia, USA, involving 776 banded tricolored bats (Perimyotis subflavus) with 284 recaptures. M...

Although previously close to extirpation in the southeastern United States, American black bear (Ursus americanus) abundance and distribution have increased with habitat management and harvest regulation. The north Georgia black bear population, the most abundant and widely distributed in the state, is currently being exposed to pressures from incr...

Considerable advances and breakthroughs in wildlife tracking technology have occurred in recent years, allowing researchers to gain insights into the movements and behaviours of a broad range of animals. Considering the accessibility and increase in use of tracking devices in wildlife studies, it is important to better understand the effects on the...

Working forests comprise a large proportion of forested landscapes in the southeastern United States and are important to the conservation of bats, which rely on forests for roosting and foraging. While relationships between bat ecology and forest management are well studied during summer, winter bat ecology remains understudied. Hence, we aimed to...

BioBlitzes, rapid field studies conducted by a collaborative team of scientists and conservation professionals in specific geographic areas, offer an opportunity to enhance research capabilities, foster partnerships, and provide learning opportunities for scientists, conservation professionals, and non-professional volunteers. Since the detection o...

Insectivorous bats in temperate zones have evolved strategies such as migration or hibernation to overcome challenges of reduced resource availability and increased energy demand during winter. In the southeastern United States Coastal Plain, bats are either year‐round residents and remain active during winter or are migrants from colder areas seek...

Long‐term monitoring programs are necessary to assess populations for conservation planning and management decisions. Hibernating bats in North America have declined because of numerous natural and human‐induced disturbances. White‐nose syndrome (WNS) has become the most serious threat to North American cave‐dwelling bats, leading to significant po...

When art meets science, new discoveries and ideas move past tables of data and turn into a visual language that can be effectively interpreted by everyone. Scientific illustrations work in tandem with academic progress in cementing new ideas and acting as a launch point for new discoveries. In this study, describe the research and collaboration to...

Knowledge and understanding of bat activity and habitat associations are important for effective conservation and management, especially in landscapes undergoing land use changes. Dasypterus intermedius (northern yellow bat), a broadly distributed species in the Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States, is a species of conservation concern d...

White-nose syndrome (WNS) has emerged as the most serious threat to North American cave-dwelling bat species, with estimated mortality of over 6 million. Tri-colored bat Perimyotis subflavus is one of the species most affected, with hibernaculum counts at caves in WNS-positive regions reduced by >90% from previous counts. While declines have been d...

Insectivorous bats in temperate zones have evolved strategies, including migration or hibernation, to face the challenges of reduced resource availability and increased energy demand during winter. However, in the southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain, many bats are year-round residents and remain active throughout the year. Some species (e.g., Lasiurus...

Site-occupancy of bats in forested landscapes has been linked to vegetation clutter, but clutter alone may not sufficiently explain observed site-occupancy. Abundance of prey likely has a strong influence on habitat use in forest landscapes as well. Therefore, we simultaneously examined influence of insect abundance and vegetation characteristics o...

There has been an increase in commercial bat detectors and noise filtering software for monitoring bat activity. In this study, we compare the recording efficiency of three bat detectors from the popular brand Wildlife Acoustics (Echo Meter 3, Echo Meter Touch Pro 1 and Song Meter 2 BAT) and the effectiveness of two noise filtering software (Kaleid...

Due to the increase of models and brands of bat detectors, assisted identification software and noise filtering software, we propose in this work: To compare the detectability between three bat detectors of the brand Wildlife Acoustics (Echo Meter 3, Echo Meter Touch Pro 1 and Song Meter 2); the effectiveness of 2 noise filtering software (Kaleidos...