Population census and GPS tracking data for Mexican long-nosed bats (Leptonycteris nivalis) in Texas

The two files contain data associated with a final project report and Master of Science thesis on foraging behavior and population trends of endangered Mexican long nosed bats (Leptonycteris nivalis) funded by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Natural Resources Program. These cave emergence data were collected from review of thermal infrared video of bat emergence and summarize the colony size between 2008 to 2024 at Emory Cave in Big Bend National Park, Texas. Separate census data are provided for Mexican long-nosed bats and other species found in the cave in the summer.  The location data (coordinates collected by Lotek PinPoint GPS tags) for 21 bats was used to analyze foraging and movement behavior and are provided in a second document. These data were collected in summer of 2024 and have been adjusted by removing selected coordinates within a buffered region near the roost of approximately 1 km., , # Population census and GPS tracking data for Mexican long-nosed bats (*Leptonycteris nivalis*) in Texas

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.stqjq2cfg](10.5061/dryad.stqjq2cfg)

## Description of the data and file structure

Bat census was performed by manually counting bats in a replay of a thermal video file of the bats leaving their roost. Data are in the Emergence Counts file.

GPS location data were from Lotek Pinpoint GPS tags placed on Mexican long-nosed bats and programmed to take a fix every 10 min between sunset and sunrise. These data were used to estimate core ranges, movements, and foraging behavior.

### Files and variables

#### File: Emergence_Counts_at_Emory_Cave__TX__USA__2008_to_2024.xlsx

Emergence counts of bats from Emory Cave, Texas, between 2008 – 2024 (these data were used for publication in Journal of North American Bat Research, have been submitted to North American Bat Monitoring Program for Grid Cell GRTS ID 109135, and were part of a final grant report to Texas C...,