Not rare, but threatened: the endemic Madagascar flying fox <i>Pteropus rufus</i> in a fragmented landscape

Jenkins, Richard K. B.; Racey, Paul A.; Andriafidison, Daudet; Razafindrakoto, Noromampiandra; Razafimahatratra, Emilienne; Rabearivelo, Andriamanana; Ratsimandresy, Zo; Andrianandrasana, Rabe H.; Razafimanahaka, H. Julie

doi:10.1017/s0030605307001883

Cited by 36 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…An extensive commercial chain of bat trade exists outside markets in Ghana (Kamins et al 2011). Other high levels of trade, include that of the large flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus) in Kalimantan, Indonesia (Harrison et al 2011) and of the Malagasy flying fox (Pteropus rufus) in Madagascar (Jenkins et al 2007;Oleksy et al 2015b). More commonly, bats are traded locally and on a lesser scale, with relatively few individuals sold in markets (e.g.…”

Section: Overview Of Bat Huntingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploitation of Bats for Bushmeat and Medicine

Mildenstein

Tanshi

Racey

2015

Bats in the Anthropocene: Conservation of Bats in a Changing World

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Bat hunting for consumption as bushmeat and medicine is widespread and affects at least 167 species of bats (or c. 13 % of the world's bat species), in Africa, Asia, across the islands of Oceania, and to a lesser extent in Central and South America. Hunting is particularly prevalent among the large-bodied fruit bats of the Old World tropics, where half (50 %, 92/183) the extant species in the family Pteropodidae are hunted. Pteropodids that are hunted are six times more likely to be Red Listed as threatened: 66 % of species in IUCN threatened categories (CR, EN, VU, NT), compared to 11 % of species in the 'Least Concern' (LC) category. However, there still appears to be an information gap at the international level. One third of the hunted species on the Red List are not considered threatened by that hunting, and nearly a quarter of the bat species included in this review are not listed as hunted in IUCN Red List species accounts. This review has resulted in a comprehensive list of hunted bats that doubles the number of species known from either the IUCN Red List species accounts or a questionnaire circulated in 2004. More research is needed on the impacts of unregulated hunting, as well as on the sustainability of regulated hunting programs. In the absence of population size and growth data, legislators and managers should be precautionary in their attitude towards hunting. Roost site protection should be a priority as it is both logistically simpler than patrolling bat foraging grounds and reduces the comparatively larger scale mortality and stress that hunting at the roost can cause. Education and awareness campaigns within local communities should demonstrate how bats are a limited resource and emphasize characteristics (nocturnal, slow reproducing and colonial) that make them particularly vulnerable to hunting pressure. IntroductionMost of the chapters in this book (Voigt and Kingston 2016) consider negative consequences for bats from indirect effects of anthropogenic perturbations. In contrast, this chapter explores the direct exploitation of bats by humans for bushmeat and medicine.A global review of bats as bushmeat was published in 2009 providing an overview of bat hunting based on published literature and a questionnaire widely distributed among bat biologists in (Mickleburgh et al. 2009). Here, we summarize what is currently known about the exploitation of bats for consumption and medicinal use, synthesizing the 2009 review with what has been published since and unpublished information the authors have gathered from colleagues. The result is a comprehensive list of hunted bats species that contains nearly twice as many species as known from either the IUCN Red List species accounts or the 2009 review. It is unclear whether the increased concern about hunting is the result of greater actual hunting pressure, or just represents our increased understanding of hunting impacts. What is clear is that reviews now explicitly attribute species declines and extinction risk to hunting pressure.Most of t...

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Section: Overview Of Bat Huntingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploitation of Bats for Bushmeat and Medicine

Mildenstein

Tanshi

Racey

2015

Bats in the Anthropocene: Conservation of Bats in a Changing World

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“…When roosts are lost during harvest operations, bat populations may be affected either directly as a result of injury or death (Borkin and Parsons 2010), or indirectly due to loss of available roosting habitat (Jenkins et al 2007). Several bat species use small roosting areas and few roosts (Carter and Feldhamer 2005;Kapfer et al 2007;Nixon et al 2009), which may be located entirely within clear-fell harvested areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bat colony size reduction coincides with clear-fell harvest operations and high rates of roost loss in plantation forest

Borkin

O’Donnell²,

Parsons

2011

Biodivers Conserv

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Clear-fell harvest of forest concerns many wildlife biologists because of loss of vital resources such as roosts or nests, and effects on population viability. However, actual impact has not been quantified. Using New Zealand long-tailed bats (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) as a model species we investigated impacts of clear-fell logging on bats in plantation forest. C. tuberculatus roost within the oldest stands in plantation forest so it was likely roost availability would decrease as harvest operations occurred. We predicted that post-harvest: (1) roosting range sizes would be smaller, (2) fewer roosts would be used, and (3) colony size would be smaller. We captured and radiotracked C. tuberculatus to dayroosts in Kinleith Forest, an exotic plantation forest, over three southern hemisphere summers (Season ). Individual roosting ranges (100% MCPs) post harvest were smaller than those in areas that had not been harvested, and declined in area during the 3 years. Following harvest, bats used fewer roosts than those in areas that had not been harvested. Over 3 years 20.7% of known roosts were lost: 14.5% due to forestry operations and 6.2% due to natural tree fall. Median colony size was 4.0 bats (IQR = 2.0-8.0) and declined during the study, probably because of locally high levels of roost loss. Post harvest colonies were smaller than colonies in areas that had not been harvested. Together, these results suggest the impact of clear-fell harvest on long-tailed bat populations is negative.

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“…The loss and degradation of native forest habitats is a major threat to P. rufus roosts (MacKinnon et al 2003, Jenkins et al 2007a The Sainte Luce fragment will be cleared for forest in the next 40 years by a mining company and it might be instructive to follow the impact of this disturbance on the colony by marking and radio tagging the bats.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%