Occurrence of bats in protected areas of Nepal: An update on species richness and distribution records

Bat surveys in 20 Protected Areas (PAs) of Nepal are sporadic and/or had targeted purposively a few localities, therefore, bat diversity from the PAs is yet to be explored. Bat species richness in PAs from two reviews until 2011 are inconsistent. In total, seven surveys have been undertaken in six PAs since 2011. Hence, an update and revision on chiropteran account from the PAs of Nepal is warranted. We reviewed available literatures and museum collection records, and further collated and plotted bat occurrence coordinates into the country and mapped them. In total, 44 of 53 bat species in Nepal have been recorded from 12 PAs. Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) reports highest species richness (22) followed by Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park and Buffer Zone (SNNP & BZ) (15), Makalu Barun National Park and Buffer Zone (MBNP & BZ) (14) and Chitwan National Park and Buffer Zone (CNP & BZ) (13). In contrast, survey localities are more in CNP & BZ (12), ACA and SNNP & BZ (equally 11) and MBNP & BZ (10). Species richness increased proportionately with higher survey efforts and including more habitat types in respective PAs. Three species: Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rh. pearsonii and Rh. sinicus are recorded from six out of 12 PAs. Pipistrellus javanicus (12), Hipposideros armiger (10), Cynopterus sphinx (9) and Rh. sinicus (9) are recorded from maximum number of surveyed localities in the PAs. All the PAs have limited occurrence records. Therefore, intensive surveys are recommended for understanding actual chiropteran diversity to the PAs of Nepal.

Bat diversity from an area of coastal Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil

We characterize the bat fauna of forested sites in the municipality of Domingos Martins, Espírito Santo state, southeastern Brazil, and update the list of bat species of the state. We conducted a rapid inventory using ground-level mist nets (27,000 m²·h effort) and occasional roost searching, which resulted in a list of 23 species belonging to Phyllostomidae (18 species), Vespertilionidae (3), and Molossidae (2). We report the first record of Molossops neglectus Williams & Genoways, 1980 and Myotis lavali Moratelli, Peracchi, Dias & Oliveira, 2011 from Espírito Santo, bringing the total number of confirmed species in the state to 86. The molossid Nyctinomops laticaudatus (É. Geoffroy, 1805) was exclusively recorded in its diurnal roost in rocky outcrops. Our study fills knowledge gaps in the distribution of bat species in southeastern Brazil, and more specifically in the highly diverse coastal Atlantic Forest of Espírito Santo. These data reinforce the importance of continuously inventorying and documenting bats in the Neotropics.

Patterns of Bat Diversity in an Undisturbed Forest and Forest Mosaic Habitats of the Afromontane Forest Biome of Western Cameroon

Anthropogenic activities continue to degrade natural montane ecosystems globally. Bats communities are altered by these changes. We analyzed how bats are affected by human-induced habitat changes by comparing the bat species diversity and functional diversity in undisturbed forest habitats and disturbed forest habitats of the Afromontane biome of Cameroon. We recorded 244 individuals from 13 species in the undisturbed forest, while 233 individuals from 16 species were recorded in the disturbed forest. Bat diversity was higher in disturbed habitats (D = 0.84) than undisturbed habitats (D = 0.67). Jackknife 1 species richness estimator suggests 21.53 species for the disturbed forest and 19.30 in the undisturbed forest. Closed-space forager insectivorous bats made up nearly half of the species in the undisturbed forest, but this dropped to 25% in the disturbed forest, meanwhile, edge-space foragers increased in the disturbed forest. Bat community analyses by ordination revealed a distinct bat community composition between the two forest types, demonstrated as a significant difference in diversity between the two forest types. The distribution of Rousettus aegyptiacus, Myonycteris angolensis, Hipposideros cf. ruber, and Micropteropus pusillus contribute the most to the difference in bat community composition between the two forest types. Edge and open-space species were likely to benefit from additional resources provided by the disturbed area, by expanding their range and distribution. However, this may not compensate for the decline in the population of forest species caused by the loss of pristine forests, thus measures to conserve montane forest remnants should be of utmost significance.

Bat species diversity trend along an elevation gradient: A study in Crocker Range Park, Sabah, Borneo

Bats (Order: Chiroptera) is a recognised group of bioindicators due to their sensitivity towards alterations in their immediate surroundings. With the threats of climate change becoming more severe on a daily basis, it is reasonable to collect data on how bat diversity is influenced by elevation. This will be useful to predict and monitor possible upslope shifting of bat species due to increase in surrounding temperature or anthropogenic pressure. Hence, this study aims to uncover the bat diversity trend at different elevations in Crocker Range Park (CRP), Sabah, Malaysia. Bat trappings were conducted in four substations within this park, covering an elevation spectrum from 450 to 1900 m a.s.l. The overall sampling managed to capture 133 individuals of bats, predominantly Pteropodidae, with the addition of two new species locality records for CRP, Murina peninsularis and Hypsugo vondermanni. Simple linear regression analyses revealed that both bat diversity and richness have an inverse linear relationship with elevation. Likewise, the Pearson’s correlation value, associating bat diversity with elevation, also shows that they have a negative relationship at r = -0.852. Heterogeneity of habitats explain this trend, as in the lower counterpart of CRP, lowland forests, which are richer in fruit and insect resources persist. Besides, lower land forests have better niche assortment, due to the distinctive layers stratification, allowing bats utilising different guilds to thrive in the same vegetation profile. This study further emphasises the role of CRP to protect most of the bat species found in Borneo, as well as serving as the baseline data for the future studies that look into the impact of temperature increment towards the upslope shifting of the bat population in CRP.

Diversity of cave-dwelling bats in Leang Londrong, Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park: An initial field note

Leang Londrong is one the caves in Maros-Pangkep Karst Formation utilized for nature tourism and has become a habitat for bats. Little is known on the bats inhabited the cave. Therefore, this study is aimed to investigate the diversity, abundance, morphometric of cave-dwelling bats in Leang Londrong, Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park as well as their distribution of roosting sites and micro-climate conditions between May-June 2021. The bats were trapped and collected by using two-layered mist nets erected in front of cave entrance. With captured-marked-recaptured (CMR) method, bat diversity, abundance, and morphometric, were examined. Direct measurements on roosting sites were employed to determine micro-climate conditions. There were 3 species of Microchiropteran bats found in the site namely Rhinolophus arcuatus, Hipposideros diadema and Myotis sp. Total number of all bats trapped in the net during the observation days was 10 individuals. The largest bat species found living in the cave was Hipposideros diadema (average body length of 101.1 mm; tail of 51.46 mm; ear 24.5 mm; forearm length of 96.12 mm; tibia length of 34.6 mm; hind foot of 14.32 mm; and 63.75 g of weight). Meanwhile, Myotis sp. was known to be the smallest. For micro-climate conditions, the five roosting sites inside the cave had the average temperature of 26.58°C (range: 26.2-27.3) with the humidity in average around 92.88% (range 89.6-93.8%), while the average light intensity was found to be 0 lx in each roost with the noise level recorded in average of 65.08 dB.