JOURNAL OF BAT RESEARCH & CONSERVATION 18

Nithin Divakar, Mahalakshmi Chelladurai, Kambrath Deepak, Sreejith Sivaraman, Sreehari Raman, Peroth Balakrishnan

Abstract: Salim Ali’s Fruit Bat Latidens salimalii is a rare endangered bat species endemic to the humid mountains of southern Western Ghats, peninsular India. Here we report new distributional range of L. salimalii from Wayanad hills (60km north-west of the nearest known locality) and two new roosting sites in Anamalai hills of southern Western Ghats. We also report the lowest altitude of 312msl where the species is found, and suggests further surveys to understand its actual distribution and changes to populations.

Leroy Suzanne A.G., Whitehead Paul F., Lamarche Bruno

Abstract: Bat synecology is notoriously hard to comprehend. Here, we propose a method encompassing many aspects of the bat ecosystem, i.e. the combined study of pollen and insects in its faeces (guano) together with vegetation surveys. In 1998-2004, we sampled recent and sub-recent guano of an insectivorous bat, Rhinopoma microphyllum (Brünnich 1782), which accumulated in a cave in an Ordovician Esker on the Adrar Plateau of Mauritania at the southern limit of the Sahara. This region is largely unexplored and was closed to field work for many years. The results indicate foraging not only near the esker, but also in small settlements at least 30 km away from their roost, such as in Chinguetti and Atar, as well as in the oases. The entomofauna include species attracted to artificial lights. Pollen analyses reveal that the bats visited both natural and cultivated landscapes including temporary cultivation in grayir. Individual guano samples were often characterised by different pollen taxa, indicating different flowering periods. The bats were thus not only influenced by and dependant on the highly erratic sequences of vegetational development after very irregular precipitation, but also on human activities. Findings of parasites, probably from the bats, provide some additional indication of bat vigour. Our multidisciplinary approach is a powerful tool with which to reconstruct various aspects of a delicate desert ecosystem, on which bats, a service-provider mammal by control of insect populations, closely depends.

* The results of a study on a hyena dropping found in the same cave are provided in supplementary information. Titre, résumé et légendes en français disponibles en matériel supplémentaire.​

Viskontene Alex, Baeva Irina, Solntseva Svetlana

Abstract: In the Altai Republic Red List almost all bats have ʻData Deficient’-status, and knowledge of their ecology in the region is still fragmented. The aim of this study was to illuminate one blind spot in bat research in this territory and compare it with known data. Bats were trapped for the first time near the Multa lakes, Altai, Russia, in July 2023. We captured six bats of three species: the eastern water bat (Myotis petax), David’s myotis (Myotis davidii), and the Ikonnikov’s bat (Myotis ikonnikovi). In the bats` faeces, six orders of arthropods were found: Coleoptera, Diptera, Trichoptera, Neuroptera, Lepidоptera and Mesostigmata. The ectoparasites inhabiting the trapped Myotis were Macronyssus charusnurensis, Spinturnix bregetovae, Nycteribia quasiocellata and one Cimex cf. lectularius. No fleas were captured. Our results suggest that the bats near Multa Lakes are similar to those studied in Altai-Sayan Region of Southern Siberia.

R. Charles Anderson, Katrin Schweigler, Sreehari Raman

Abstract: We report two records of Wrinkle-lipped Free-tailed Bat, Mops plicatus (Buchannan 1800), from the Maldives. The first came on board a live-aboard diving vessel during the night of 24-25 March 2024 while it was anchored near Rasdhoo Island, Alifu Alifu Atoll. The second was rescued from the sea alongside another live-aboard vessel anchored off Mulhafushi Island, Haa Alifu Atoll, during the evening of 15 April 2024. Both were released alive and were subsequently identified from photographs and external body measurements. Wind trajectory analysis suggests that both may have been wind-blown from Sri Lanka or southwest India. These are the first records of this species and, indeed, only the second and third confirmed records of any insectivorous bat from the Maldives.

Tamily Carvalho Melo dos Santos, Caroline Carvalho de Melo, Rickelmy Martins de Holanda, Gerson Paulino Lopes

Abstract: Bats are among the most taxonomically and ecologically diverse mammalian groups, yet many aspects of their ecology, including predator–prey interactions, remain poorly understood. Predation is a key driver of evolutionary arms races but is rarely observed in natural settings, particularly interactions involving nocturnal and elusive animals. Among snakes, the Amazon tree boa (Corallus hortulana) primarily prey on birds and mammals, including bats. Here, we report an observation of C. hortulana preying on a Seba’s short-tailed bat (Carollia perspicillata) in the Brazilian Amazon. Although bats appear to be an important food source for C. hortulana, our observation is only the fourth such record in the region. These records contribute to understanding the trophic interactions between bats and their predators, highlighting the need for further documentation of predation events in tropical ecosystems.