Landscape heterogeneity supports bat diversity: Importance of wetlands and intermediate forest cover in coastal British Columbia

Despite widespread recognition of the critical ecosystem services provided by bats and the dire conservation status of many species, key knowledge gaps remain about the habitat and landscape features that promote bat diversity. These gaps hinder effective conservation planning, particularly as climate change and land-use intensification influence ecosystems. We investigated how bat species richness and activity vary with local habitat type, landscape forest cover, and protected area status on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Using ultrasonic acoustic detectors, we surveyed 132 forest gaps between mid-May and mid-July across three years (2022–2024) in both protected and unprotected areas. Richness and activity were consistently higher at wetlands than at non-wetland meadows or anthropogenic openings, particularly for Myotis species. Richness and activity typically peaked in landscapes with intermediate forest cover, although the optimal amount and spatial scale varied among species groups defined by overlapping call characteristics. Protected areas supported higher activity of the Little Brown Myotis ( Myotis lucifugus )–Long-legged Myotis ( M. volans ) group, but protection status offered no consistent benefit for other species groups. Species richness and activity also increased with warmer nightly temperatures and peaked mid-season. Our results emphasize the ecological importance of wetlands and forest–wetland mosaics for supporting bat communities, including species of conservation concern such as Little Brown Myotis. More broadly, they highlight the need to integrate wetland protection and structural heterogeneity into conservation planning, ensuring that working landscapes contribute to biodiversity protection in regions facing intensifying land-use and climate pressures.