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Can we protect island flying foxes?
Abstract
Flying foxes provide critical ecosystem services by pollinating and disseminating diverse plant species. Yet, they face intensifying threats, particularly on islands. The situation is epitomized by the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. In December 2016, the Mauritian government implemented the second mass cull of a threatened, endemic flying fox species, Pteropus niger, in 2 years. Government figures suggest that at least 45% of the overall P. niger population of just over 90,000 individuals were culled during the two campaigns; illegal killing and incidental mortality of pups during the culls raise likely losses to over 50%. The dire situation of island flying foxes worldwide calls for effective, science-based conservation strategies to prevent further loss of biodiversity and function.
... However, island endemism showed a positive link to hunting, with 19 % of all species being island-endemic and 47 % of them at risk of hunting. Island endemism is a significant factor in the risk of hunting species because large pteropodid bats are more likely than other species to be isolated on islands and since the majority (~80 %) of hunted species are island-endemic fruit bats (family Pteropodidae), for example, large flying foxes (Acerodon and Pteropus species) are at increased risk Conenna et al., 2017;Vincenot et al., 2017). Island endemics are apparently at higher risk compared to species distributed in continental areas, due to their limited distribution and ability to rapidly move from one habitat to another (Conenna et al., 2017), which further increases their risk from habitat change and stochastic threats such as typhoons in island territories is also increasing (Jones et al., 2010). ...
... Island endemic species are more prone to extinction due to their limited geographic range distribution and increased isolation, thus more vulnerable to exploitation and other threatening processes (Conenna et al., 2017;Esselstyn et al., 2006;Fritz et al., 2009aFritz et al., , 2009bJones et al., 2003;Purvis et al., 2000;Vincenot et al., 2017). In oceanic islands such as the Philippines, bats are a good source of meat because they are abundant, easy to find, and harvest (Fig. 8). ...
... However, it should be noted that species evaluated today are those that survived potentially higher former pressures in an era before the import of food, and in certain parts of the world archaeological data shows that bats were a major source of protein on otherwise depauperate islands (Hawkins et al., 2016;Lavery and Fasi, 2019), but this has changed with increased import of foods (Haden, 2009). This has driven the extinction of at least four pteropodid species in Micronesia (Vincenot et al., 2017) and up to 27 that have become at least locally extinct in the West Indies with hunting possibly playing a significant role (Morgan, 2001;Soto-Centeno and Steadman, 2015), and pressure on islands is of course high given the small population size and lack of adjacent populations for recovery (Sheherazade and Tsang, 2018;Wiles and Brooke, 2009). ...
Bats are routinely neglected in conservation, often regarded as uncharismatic and constantly maligned despite their provision of economic and ecosystem services. Yet many species are threatened, and while the loss of roosting and foraging habitat has been explored, the impacts of hunting on species survival are less well understood. Here, we analysed the hunting risk of 1320 bat species (of 1400 known) from around the world and explored the association between ecological traits and socioeconomic variables. Globally, at least 19 % of species are threatened by hunting. Large-bodied bats with narrow distributions are at increased risk of hunting, particularly in tropical regions. Multiple threats, such as habitat loss and modification, are likely to exacerbate the pressures experienced by hunted species. Furthermore, accessibility to bat habitats and low-income drive bat hunting in developing countries. With the global economic recession and the need for economic recovery following the pandemic, hunters may rely more on wildlife for subsistence and pose a threat to both biodiversity and public health. Achieving the balance between economics and conserving biodiversity is challenging due to socioeconomic factors, and the complex interplay of different forms of threat. Therefore, interventions to reduce bat hunting activities should include greater investment to facilitate sustainable livelihood development in the rural economy, and elevating public knowledge about bat ecosystem services, and their potential role in the transmission of zoonotic diseases.
... Les espèces de Pteropus sont distribuées le long de la bande intertropicale de l'Océanie (îles Cook) à l'Afrique de l'Est avec une grande majorité des espèces qui ont une distribution restreinte à une île ou un écosystème insulaire ( Figure 5) (Almeida et al., 2014;Bräutigam and Elmqvist, 1990;IUCN, 2020a;Pierson and Rainey, 1992a;Vincenot et al., 2017b). Bien que les conditions climatiques et environnementales semblent leur être favorables, elles ne sont pas présentes ni sur le continent Américain ni sur les îles qui l'entourent. ...
... Dans plusieurs régions, bien que ces espèces aient une place symbolique importante, souvent considérées comme totem ou ancêtre, elles sont chassées et consommées par les peuples indigènes cependant, bien qu'elles tendent à disparaitre, des règles strictes y sont associées (Bani, 1992;Bowen-Jones and Entwistle, 2002;. Dans certaines régions, les Pteropus vont constituer une partie importante de l'alimentation des populations locales, notamment une ressource en protéines animales recherchée (Mehdi, 2001 Les Pteropus sont des espèces intensivement chassées sur la quasi-totalité de leur aire de répartition (Brook et al., 2019;Epstein et al., 2009;Mickleburgh et al., 2009;Mildenstein et al., 2016;Vincenot et al., 2017b;Voigt and Kingston, 2016). Parmi les 61 espèces de Pteropus évaluées par la liste rouge de l'Union internationale pour la conservation de la nature (IUCN) à ce jour, au moins 86% sont chassées actuellement. ...
... Of the 65 taxa of flying-foxes (fruit bats of the genus Pteropus), those occurring on islands (53 species) are among those species facing multi-faceted threats (Brook et al., 2019;Vincenot et al., 2017b). The conservation of flying-foxes in tropical islands is of paramount importance as they are key species in the functioning of insular ecosystems (Cox et al., 1991;Vincenot et al., 2017b), providing essential ecological services such as plant pollination and seed dispersal (Aziz et al., 2017b;Hansen and Galetti, 2009). ...
Habitat degradation, invasive species and overexploitation are currently the three main threats to biodiversity. Here we present a study on the population status of two sympatric flying fox species, Pteropus ornatus (endemic) and P. tonganus (native), and the impact of hunting and predation by the feral cat Felis catus in New Caledonia. The study of flying fox roost occupancy in the North Province shows a 33% disapearance in 40 years. The flying fox population on Grande Terre is estimated at about 735,000 individuals (of both species) and the annual hunting rate at 7%. Integrated stochastic modelling of this population suggests that current harvesting levels could lead to a decline of up to 80% in the next 30 years. Temporary hunting ban and/or protected areas appear, in addition to being combinable, to be the most acceptable and effective management options for hunters. An analysis of the data available worldwide shows that all forms of cats prey on bats in all habitats and that this threat is probably largely underestimated. Finally, initial results suggest that flying fox predation by feral cats in New Caledonia is of the same order of magnitude as hunting. This study proposes a framework for assessing the sustainability of hunting game species in an integrated adaptive management approach, taking into account other threat factors such as invasive species.
... Furthermore, flying foxes can encourage the regeneration of degraded tropical forests by maintaining community diversity and promoting gene flow of dominant forest trees (Banack 1998). Island archipelagos have become hotspots for threatened bat species (Frick et al. 2019) and island-dwelling bats, including Pteropus spp., are increasingly threatened by human disturbance (Mickleburgh et al. 2002;Rocha 2015;Vincenot et al. 2015Vincenot et al. , 2017. Invasive alien species (IAS) have caused damage to oceanic island ecosystems globally, leading to unprecedented rates of species extinction (Paulay 1994;Tye et al. 2018). ...
... Pteropus niger feeds on the fruits of many native canopy tree species (Nyhagen et al. 2005;Florens et al. 2017a) that provide important services and resources to other plants and animals (Motala et al. 2007). The native forests therefore largely rely on the long-distance flight (Oleksy et al. 2019) and seed-dispersal abilities of P. niger for successful regeneration (Nyhagen 2004;Nyhagen et al. 2005;Florens et al. 2017a;Vincenot et al. 2017). The large number of IAS and lack of other large-bodied native seed dispersers make Mauritius an ideal platform to study the impact of IAS on flying foxes and their ecological roles. ...
... Potential competition for native fruits with M. fascicularis and lack of native habitat may have led P. niger to feed on commercially valuable orchard crops in plantations and private backyards, where it is now considered a pest and subjected to large-scale culling (Vincenot et al. 2017;Oleksy et al. 2021;Tollington et al. 2019). Pteropus spp. ...
Bats provide important pollination and seed-dispersal services to native angiosperms. However, many bat species are increasingly threatened by human disturbance, including the Mauritian flying fox (Pteropus niger), an endemic, keystone seed disperser. Native forests are scarce and P. niger frequently feeds in commercial plantations, where it now is considered a pest and subjected to frequent culling, thereby hindering conservation efforts. The invasive long-tailed macaque (Primates: Cercopithecidae, Macaca fascicularis) potentially competes with P. niger for scarce native fruits. We investigated the extent of dietary overlap between M. fascicularis and P. niger on Mauritius by sampling fruit drop for 17 tree species and identifying additional food species along line transects. Fruits of 13 of 17 species were eaten by animals and fruit production across tree replicates generally was low but highly variable. Although M. fascicularis ate only 4% of fruit overall, they consumed 20–100% of the fruits of seven species. Approximately 39% of dropped fruits were intact; based on field observations, most probably were dropped by M. fascicularis. Unlike P. niger, M. fascicularis ate mostly unripe fruit and depleted all fruit of certain species at an unripe stage. Hence, M. fascicularis may restrict P. niger’s diet and potentially disrupt seed dispersal of some tree species. Furthermore, small trees are more prone to fruit depletion at an unripe stage by macaques. In addition, asynchronous fruiting phenology across forest fragments may modulate the provision of native fruits to P. niger throughout the year. Although competition can be demonstrated only by controlled experimental studies that are logistically impossible in our scenario, our results highlight potential detrimental consequences that introduced frugivores may have on keystone seed dispersers. Finally, our results suggest that a more integrative and island-wide approach to forest restoration may be valuable for the conservation of P. niger.
... Flying-foxes (Pteropus spp.) naturally extend into the Pacific further than any mammalian lineage and clearly harbour the ability to transit long distances between isolated islands and mainlands (Flannery 1995). Despite their ability for longdistance flight, the bulk of Pteropus are island endemics limited in their distributional ranges to single paleotropical islands or archipelagos (Mickleburgh et al. 2002;Lavery et al. 2016;Vincenot et al. 2017). ...
... Island Pteropus are a valuable source of protein to Indigenous people, are conspicuous and relatively easy to hunt, have low rates of reproduction and can be the source of valuable cultural commodities (Mickleburgh et al. 2002;Lavery and Fasi 2017;Vincenot et al. 2017). Therefore, they are a highly threatened subset of bats. ...
... Therefore, they are a highly threatened subset of bats. In fact, 28 of the 31 species of Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable flying-foxes on the IUCN Red List are from islands (Mickleburgh et al. 2002;Vincenot et al. 2017). Many of these occur in the western Pacific where scientific research has been limited. ...
Bats are essential to the functioning of many island ecosystems. A large proportion of Pacific Island Pteropus are endemics, limited in their distribution to single paleotropical islands or close island groups. This subset is also highly threatened by hunting and habitat disturbance. Further exacerbating these threats is a dearth of scientific knowledge that makes long-term management and conservation planning difficult. We aimed to gather data on seven bat species from Nendö, Reef Islands, Tinakula, and Vanikoro (Solomon Islands), and Vanua Lava and Mota (Vanuatu). Between 1990 and 2019 we surveyed bats using walked transects, mist nets and camp counts, and collected data on diets and roosting sites. Data collection targeted four limited range endemics (Nendö tube-nosed bat (Nyctimene sanctacrucis), Banks flying-fox (Pteropus fundatus), Temotu flying-fox (Pteropus nitendiensis) and Vanikoro flying-fox (Pteropus tuberculatus), and three more widespread species (Vanuatu flying-fox (Pteropus anetianus), Pacific flying-fox (Pteropus tonganus) and Fijian blossom bat (Notopteris macdonaldi). Notopteris macdonaldi, P. nitendiensis, P. tonganus and P. tuberculatus were the most common species recorded on transects and mist net surveys. Transect encounter rates were 0.1-4.5 km À1 (P. nitendiensis), 0.2-20.0 km À1 (P. tonganus) and 0-7.2 km À1 (P. tuberculatus). Pteropus fundatus was rarer, we did not detect this species during daytime searches, and it was the least common mist net capture. We documented 65 Pteropus food plants in our study area. Nyctimene sanctacrucis was not detected on Nendö, Tinakula and Reef Islands despite considerable effort. We consider this bat is likely extinct, if in fact it is a distinct species.
... Of the 65 taxa of flying-foxes (fruit bats of the genus Pteropus), those occurring on islands (53 species) are among those species facing multi-faceted threats [10][11][12][13]. The conservation of flying-foxes in tropical islands is of paramount importance as they are key species in the functioning of insular ecosystems [13,14], providing essential ecological services such as plant pollination and seed dispersal [15][16][17]. ...
... Of the 65 taxa of flying-foxes (fruit bats of the genus Pteropus), those occurring on islands (53 species) are among those species facing multi-faceted threats [10][11][12][13]. The conservation of flying-foxes in tropical islands is of paramount importance as they are key species in the functioning of insular ecosystems [13,14], providing essential ecological services such as plant pollination and seed dispersal [15][16][17]. Most flying-fox species are hunted, legally or not, including species with vulnerable conservation status or worse (at least 49 species; [11,13]. ...
... The conservation of flying-foxes in tropical islands is of paramount importance as they are key species in the functioning of insular ecosystems [13,14], providing essential ecological services such as plant pollination and seed dispersal [15][16][17]. Most flying-fox species are hunted, legally or not, including species with vulnerable conservation status or worse (at least 49 species; [11,13]. Overexploitation and habitat loss have already led to the extinction of four species of flying-foxes and brought others to the verge of extinction, such as Pteropus rodricensis, P. aruensis or P. pselaphon [11]. ...
Assessing population trends and their underlying factors is critical to propose efficient conservation actions. This assessment can be particularly challenging when dealing with highly mobile, shy and nocturnal animals such as flying-foxes. Here we investigated the dynamics of hunted populations of Pteropus ornatus and P. tonganus in the Northern Province of New Caledonia. First, an ethno-ecological survey involving 219 local experts identified 494 flying-fox roosts. Current status was assessed for 379 of them, among which 125 were no longer occupied, representing a loss of 33% over ca. 40 years. Second, species-specific counts conducted at 35 roosts, and a sample of animals killed by hunters, revealed that the endemic species, P. ornatus, was dominant (68.5%). Between 2010 and 2016, 30 roosts were counted annually during the pre-parturition period. Roosts size averaged 1,425 ± 2,151 individuals (N = 180 counts) and showed high among-year variations (roost-specific CV = 37–162%). If we recorded significant inter-annual variation, we did not detect a significant decline over the 7-yr period, although one roost went possibly extinct. Population size of the two species combined was estimated at 338,000−859,000 individuals distributed over ca. 400 roosts in the Northern Province. Flying-foxes are popular game species and constitute traditional food for all communities of New Caledonia. Annual bags derived from a food survey allowed us to estimate harvesting rates at 5–14%. Such a level of harvesting for species with a ‘slow’ demography, the occurrence of poaching and illegal trade, suggest the current species use might not be sustainable and further investigations are critically needed.
... A recent example of human-wildlife conflict threatening bats is the culling of an endemic flying fox, Pteropus niger, on the island of Mauritius in 2015 and 2016. [59][60][61] The conflict derives from consumption of fruit crops, primarily lychee, by bats, but has been exacerbated by misinformation and misperception about the extent of damage caused by bats compared to other sources of fruit damage (e.g., non-native birds, fungal infection, rats, and wind). Political, economic, and capacity barriers currently prevent extensive use of crop netting, a technique that has successfully mitigated bat predation of fruit crops in Australia and Thailand. ...
... 61 In two mass culling events ordered by the government, over 38,000 individuals were reported killed, a loss of more than a third of the population in just 2 years. 59,62 The rapid and severe population loss from the government cull, and associated increases in hunting and persecution by the public, resulted in a change in status on the IUCN Red List from vulnerable to endangered. 44 In November 2018, a third cull with a target of 20% of the remaining 65,000 bats began. ...
... Continued population declines are projected for P. niger from the 2018 and future culls, illegal killing by farmers, hunting, reductions in natural forest habitat, and risk of mortality from cyclone events, highlighting how island bat species face multiple threats that are interrelated. 44,59 For island flying foxes, including P. niger in Mauritius, loss of natural habitat from deforestation increases conflicts with local farmers as bats become dependent on domesticated fruit trees for food in the absence of adequate forest habitat. 59,62 In Central and South America, vampire bats are a vector of rabies transmission to livestock and are culled in an attempt to control rabies transmission. ...
Bats are an ecologically and taxonomically diverse group accounting for roughly a fifth of mammalian diversity worldwide. Many of the threats bats face (e.g., habitat loss, bushmeat hunting, and climate change) reflect the conservation challenges of our era. However, compared to other mammals and birds, we know significantly less about the population status of most bat species, which makes prioritizing and planning conservation actions challenging. Over a third of bat species assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are considered threatened or data deficient, and well over half of the species have unknown or decreasing population trends. That equals 988 species, or 80% of bats assessed by IUCN, needing conservation or research attention. Delivering conservation to bat species will require sustained efforts to assess population status and trends and address data deficiencies. Successful bat conservation must integrate research and conservation to identify stressors and their solutions and to test the efficacy of actions to stabilize or increase populations. Global and regional networks that connect researchers, conservation practitioners, and local stakeholders to share knowledge, build capacity, and prioritize and coordinate research and conservation efforts, are vital to ensuring sustainable bat populations worldwide. This paper provides an overview of the global status of bat conservation by reviewing the major anthropogenic threats to bats and special challenges to bat conservation. The authors also discuss two habitats with particular significance for bat conservation, namely islands and subterranean features, and the value of bats to ecosystems. The article concludes with suggestions toward meeting the enduring challenges for global bat conservation.
... First, this HWC has been in existence for several years (Government of Mauritius, 2010) and has worsened recently (Florens, 2012a(Florens, , 2015a(Florens, , 2016 suggesting that it is not being dealt with in an effective manner. It culminated with the implementation of two consecutive mass-culling in about 14 months that together with other sources of mortality like poaching, halved the world population of the species (Vincenot et al., 2017) without forasmuch reaching the intended objective of increasing the profits of fruit growers (Boutia, 2017) who remain unsatisfied and calling for more actions (Anon., 2017c). Second, it was implemented by a government although the targeted species was already threatened with extinction (Florens, 2016;Hutson & Racey, 2013), and the mass-culling led to a worsened conservation status for the species (Kingston et al., 2018). ...
... Mauritius itself was little known in the HWC literature until the country opted to mass-cull the threatened flying fox following several years of reflection, consultation, planning, mitigation attempts and finally, amendment of the law (Florens, 2012a(Florens, , 2016Government of Mauritius, 2010). Given that the mass-culling opted for did not increase fruit growers profits (in fact fruit production dropped substantially after the mass-culls (Boutia, 2017)) and that the flying fox, a keystone species for the native biodiversity (Florens et al., 2017), became more threatened with extinction following the mass-culls (Kingston et al., 2018), it appears that Mauritius provides a rare opportunity to study what precisely should be avoided when trying to resolve such a HWC. The aim therefore is to critically appraise the build-up, components and dynamics that led to the approach chosen by Mauritius in this HWC so that lessons can be drawn and similar outcomes may be avoided locally and elsewhere and replaced with solutions instead. ...
... Pteropus niger can live to 19.4 years in captivity (Weigl, 2005) and likely less in the wild. The species plays an important ecological keystone role in Mauritius' native forests by disseminating seeds of plants that comprise about a quarter of the native woody species, just over half of the individuals of woody plants and nearly two thirds of the native forests' woody plants' biomass, estimated from basal area (Florens et al., 2017) and may also have a substantial role in pollinating several species (Nyhagen et al., 2005). ...
Human-wildlife conflicts (HWC) pose a growing threat to biodiversity worldwide and solutions can be as sound as the understanding of the HWC itself. Conservation biologists therefore must carefully examine their local situations to inform on which approach and strategies may be best. In this context, Mauritius implemented what may be the first mass-culls of an already threatened native species when it culled the flying fox (Pteropus niger) in 2015 and 2016 to try increase fruit producers’ profits. Although the Red List category of the species consequently worsened to ‘Endangered’ and fruit production dropped substantially, a third mass-cull was decided in 2018. A critical analysis is important to draw lessons that may help to prevent recurrences particularly that HWC involving Pteropus spp. are common and set to worsen. We synthesized the best literature available locally and also elsewhere in relevant situations, to critically appraise the setting, nature, timeline of events and outcome of both completed mass-culling campaigns to explore why and how they happened so as to help towards devising better approaches to such conflicts. The idea to cull P. niger originated around 2002 and a small cull was done in 2006. The first mass-cull started immediately after Mauritius’ biodiversity protection law was weakened in 2015 primarily to legalize culls of threatened native species, but still breached the law in place then. The 2016 mass-cull was recommended in line with the law, but was not evidence-based and consequently did not result in improved profits of fruit producers. Appeals supported by best scientific evidence from local and international organizations and conservationists to the effect that culls will not increase fruit production, but instead further endanger the species, were ignored. To forestall recurrences here and elsewhere, it matters to recognize their precursor signs and the conditions that favoured them including why the mass-culls were not stopped. The events provide a rare opportunity to explore the strategy that was used by conservationists and open the way to propose impactful alternatives or additional actions instead. The situation also exemplifies an eroding commitment towards biodiversity conservation, eased by withdrawal from evidence-based policy that suit short term goals of election cycles at the expense of longer term environmental interests.
... The only native mammals of Mauritius are bats, including two insectivorous microbats, Taphozous mauritianus and Mormopterus acetabulosus (Goodman et al. 2008) and Pteropus niger (Pteropodidae: Chiroptera), the last surviving of three fruit bat species of Mauritius (Florens 2016; Figure 1). Fruit bats (Pteropus spp.) play a vital role in the regeneration of native forests by providing essential ecosystem services, such as seed dispersal and pollination (Fujita & Tuttle 1991;Kunz et al. 2011;Vincenot et al. 2017), especially in oceanic-island ecosystems due to the lack of alternate species to fill these roles (McConkey & Drake 2015). Because of the recent human-induced extinctions of all the other large potential seed dispersers, P. niger is the only native species left on Mauritius able to disseminate the seeds of most native canopy trees (Vincenot et al. 2017). ...
... Fruit bats (Pteropus spp.) play a vital role in the regeneration of native forests by providing essential ecosystem services, such as seed dispersal and pollination (Fujita & Tuttle 1991;Kunz et al. 2011;Vincenot et al. 2017), especially in oceanic-island ecosystems due to the lack of alternate species to fill these roles (McConkey & Drake 2015). Because of the recent human-induced extinctions of all the other large potential seed dispersers, P. niger is the only native species left on Mauritius able to disseminate the seeds of most native canopy trees (Vincenot et al. 2017). Canopy trees play a key structural role in forests, regulate hydrological cycles, provide carbon stocks and essential conditions for forest-dependent species (Florens et al. in review;Nyhagen et al. 2005). ...
... However, it is known that before Pteropus becomes rare, its function as an effective seed disperser decreases or disappears due to changes in its social interactions and foraging behaviour (McConkey & Drake 2006). Therefore, a decline of Pteropoidae fruit bats may cause a cascade of linked native plant and animal population declines or extinctions (Vincenot et al. 2017). The loss of regenerating native canopy species could lead to the functional collapse of native ecosystems (D"Antonio & Dudley 1995;O'Dowd et al. 2003). ...
The last surviving Mauritian fruit bat species, Pteropus niger, although endangered, provides essential seed dispersal and pollination services for the threatened native flora. However, their foraging habitats in native forest remnants are dominated by alien invasive plants and are
inhabited by invasive alien animals like long-tailed macaques. Competition for food resources and a decrease of native fruiting trees appear to force fruit bats to top up their diet with cultivated
fruits. Consequently, a rapidly escalating conflict with local farmers resulted in a mass cull initiated by the Mauritian government that decimated around 50% of the fruit bat population.
Here, I investigate the impact of invasive alien plant control on the foraging habitat quality of fruit bats, by quantifying fruit production and fruit bat foraging intensity in weeded and nonweeded forest areas using ground quadrats. Moreover, I examine how native tree traits and fruit characteristics affect tree and fruit selection of flying foxes and long-tailed macaques. Weeding significantly increased both native fruit production and fruit bat foraging intensity. Fruit bats preferred to forage in weeded areas on tall trees with a large crown. In addition, fruit bats preferred large and ripe fruits, while long-tailed macaques more often used small unripe fruits. Peak of native fruit use by macaques coincided with lower use by fruit bats, suggesting resource competition. The results suggest that weeded forests provide a better foraging habitat for P. niger than non-weeded areas, and emphasize the importance of weeding for the recovery of native plant communities and their associated biodiversity. I conclude that weeding and controlling of the introduced long-tailed macaque population may be solutions to mitigate the current humanwildlife conflict. In the long term, failure to improve native foraging habitats of fruit bats is likely to increase their extinction risk on Mauritius.
... It seems that P. niger is losing its seed dispersing function. This may be the result of the culls of 2015 and 2016 which halved the population (Vincenot et al 2017). ...
... Over 50 % of the population of P. niger has been lost during the two culling campaigns carried out by the government (Vincenot et al. 2017). Following the culls it is likely that the species threatened status will worsen ((IUCN 2013; Florens 2015a). ...
... The largest species are found in the genera commonly referred to as flying foxes: Pteropus Brisson, 1762 and Acerodon Jourdan, 1837 (Nowak 1999, Simmons 2005, Almeida et al. 2011. Many species of pteropodids are at some risk of extinction (Pteropus has 35 species considered threatened and six already extinct -see IUCN 2021) primarily related to loss of habitat, extermination to protect plantations, control of diseases, and hunting (Mickleburgh et al. 2002, Vincenot et al. 2017). ...
... Even though there are also records of consumption of cultivated species (e.g. Anacardium, Carica, Mangifera, Morus, Musa, Psidium, and Solanum) -which could reinforce their notoriety as a crop pest (Srinivasulu & Srinivasulu 2002, Vincenot et al. 2017 but see Korine et al. 1999) -the number of observations of identifiably introduced fruits in the diet was small overall (approximately 16% of the records). Mangifera, for example, had only 48 records of consumption that were likely from introduced localities, besides being native in some of the realms. ...
Fruit bats of the family Pteropodidae are distributed in Africa, Asia, and Oceania,
including many Pacific islands. Although known as good seed dispersers, there is no
broader assessment of the diversity of the diet of the genera (44 to 46 recognized
genera) across different localities. We analyzed the frugivorous diet of the family
Pteropodidae through an extensive bibliographical review, using consumption
records to document bat-fruit relations across the Old World and variation among
the biogeographic realms proposed by Holt et al. (2013). Our review resulted in 239
studies and 2.597 records of 33 bat genera consuming 642 species of 320 genera
from 104 angiosperms families. The most consumed fruit genus was Ficus, in almost
all zoogeographic realms. However, bat-fruit relationships vary among realms with
numerous links to regionally endemic plant species, suggesting a relation between
the bats’ distribution and diversification of the associated flora. The genus Pteropus
in particular, shows a strong geographic pattern in diet composition. Data of this
nature help to visualize patterns in resource use among different regions of the globe
and across diverse bat species assemblages and can direct further research on the
evolution of pteropodid bats, their critical food resources, and their role in seed
dispersal and ecosystem processes.
... Its Genus Pteropus, relatively large fruit-eating species popularly known as flying-foxes, is facing a global decline, with 41 of its 59 extant species listed as Threatened and four species were recently designated extinct, making this one of the most endangered genera of mammals (IUCN 2020). Fifty-three Pteropus are endemic or restricted to islands, which increases their vulnerability (Vincenot et al. 2017). Finally, 51 flying-fox species are hunted for subsistence, recreational and cultural purposes with some species playing a central role in traditional Melanesian cultures (Bräutigam and Elmqvist 1990;Lavery and Fasi 2019;IUCN 2020). ...
... Invasive species, such as feral cats and yellow crazy ants (Palmas et al. 2017;Dorrestein et al. 2019;Oedin et al. 2021), and the expected increasing frequency of extreme climatic events with climate change (tropical storms, heat waves, bush fires; Welbergen et al. 2008;Westcott et al. 2018;Mo et al. 2020) may further affect bat population dynamics in tropical regions. Altogether, these multiple threats contribute to render hunting highly deleterious to flying-foxes (Vincenot et al. 2017;SPREP 2020). Most flying-foxes, however, are currently hunted or culled in the Indo-Pacific region (51 of the 59 Pteropus; IUCN 2020) and the issue of hunting sustainability is therefore critical for these species. ...
Hunting is a major threat to many species of wildlife. However, managing hunting systems to ensure their sustainability requires a thorough demographic knowledge about the impact of hunting. Here we develop a framework integrating ecological, modelling and sociological data to achieve a sustainability assessment of flying-fox hunting in New Caledonia and assess the relative merits of alternative management policies. Using age-specific stochastic population models, we found that the current annual hunting rate [5.5−8.5%] is likely to lead to a severe decline (− 79%) of Pteropus populations over the next 30 years. However, a majority of hunters surveyed (60%) were willing to soften their practices, offering an opportunity for adaptive management. Recurrent temporary hunting ban (at least 1 year out of 2) in combination with protected areas (≥ 25%) appears as the most effective and most accepted management option. Our integrative approach appears to be a promising method for ensuring that traditional hunting systems can remain sustainable in a rapidly changing world.
... Flying-foxes (Pteropus spp.) are keystone species, maintaining habitat structure and diversity by providing significant ecosystem services such as pollination and seed dispersal [1]. These services are particularly important for sustaining the island ecosystems occupied by 80% of all flying-fox species; however, over half of all insular flying-foxes are classified as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered [2,3]. On many islands, flying-foxes serve as the sole pollinator and seed disperser [4], and the loss of these species could prove catastrophic for the ecosystems that depend on these ecological services [5,6]. ...
... On many islands, flying-foxes serve as the sole pollinator and seed disperser [4], and the loss of these species could prove catastrophic for the ecosystems that depend on these ecological services [5,6]. Habitat loss and alteration are two of the biggest threats facing insular flying-foxes [2,3]. Altered landscapes are often re-vegetated with introduced or domestic plant species, hereafter referred to as alien plants, that may be preferred by flying-foxes because of their increased availability, larger crop sizes, longer fruiting periods and increased palatability [7]. ...
Habitat loss and alteration are two of the biggest threats facing insular flying-foxes. Altered habitats are often re-vegetated with introduced or domestic plant species on which flying-foxes may forage. However, these alien food plants may not meet the nutritional requirements of flying-foxes. The critically endangered Christmas Island flying-fox (CIFF; Pteropus natalis ) is subject to habitat alteration and the introduction of alien food plants, and therefore is a good model species to evaluate the potential impact of alien plant species on insular flying-foxes. In this study, we evaluated nutritional content of native food plants to determine how flying-foxes historically met their nutritional requirements. Furthermore, we compared the nutritional content of native and alien fruits to predict possible impacts of alien plants on insular flying-foxes. Native and alien fruits and flowers, and native foliage (leaves, petals, and petioles) commonly consumed by the CIFF were collected and evaluated for soluble sugars, crude protein, non-fiber carbohydrates, and nine minerals. Evaluation of native food plants suggests that flying-foxes meet energy requirements by consuming fruit and nectar. However, fruit and nectar are low in protein and essential minerals required for demanding life periods; therefore, flying-foxes likely supplement their diets with pollen and foliage. Thus, flying-foxes require a diverse array of plants to meet their nutritional requirements. Compared to native fruits, alien fruits contained significantly higher non-fiber carbohydrates, and this may provide an important energy source, particularly from species that bear fruit year-round. Median mineral concentrations in alien fruit species, however, were deficient compared to native fruits, suggesting major (or even seasonal) shifts in the proportion of alien species in the CIFF diet could lead to nutritional imbalances. This study confirms the need to quantify nutritional parameters in addition to feeding ecology when evaluating habitat quality to inform conservation actions that can be applied both locally and globally.
... Nonetheless, their service to forested insular ecosystems is easily disrupted by demographic declines, as flying foxes cease to function as seed dispersers long before they become rare [9]. This reckoning is all the more alarming as flying foxes are arguably the most endangered group of bats worldwide and are most threatened on islands [10]. The intense pressure that they face is best epitomized by the regular conflicts and mass fatalities observed in Australia [11][12][13][14] and the notorious mass culling campaigns inflicted to the remaining population of P. niger by the Mauritian government [10,[15][16][17]. ...
... This reckoning is all the more alarming as flying foxes are arguably the most endangered group of bats worldwide and are most threatened on islands [10]. The intense pressure that they face is best epitomized by the regular conflicts and mass fatalities observed in Australia [11][12][13][14] and the notorious mass culling campaigns inflicted to the remaining population of P. niger by the Mauritian government [10,[15][16][17]. ...
The Ryukyu flying fox ( Pteropus dasymallus ) is distributed throughout the island chain spanning across southern Japan, Taiwan, and possibly the Philippines. Although P . dasymallus is listed as VU (vulnerable) in the IUCN Red List, only few genetic works have been conducted to support its conservation. In this study we analyzed 19 markers (mtDNA haplotypes and 18 microsatellite markers) to evaluate genetic diversity and investigate the genetic structure of this species. mtDNA analysis was conducted with 142 DNA remote samples, mostly from faeces, and wing tissues collected on eight islands (Miyako, Ishigaki, Kohama, Kuroshima, Hateruma, Taketomi, Iriomote, Yonaguni). 39 haplotypes were identified in 526bp of the control region, and haplotype network showed no clear genetic structure. Microsatellite analysis was also conducted with 155 samples collected on six islands (Miyako, Ishigaki, Kohama, Taketomi, Iriomote, Yonaguni). It showed that the Yonaguni population exhibits low genetic diversity, high inbreeding, and clear genetic differentiation from other populations. Gene flow between Ishigaki and Miyako through small stepstone islands might be preventing inbreeding of the Miyako population. We provide for the first time indirect proof of long-distance inter-island dispersal in the Ryukyu flying fox and revealed genetic diversity, gene flow and genetic differentiation among the archipelago’s populations. These results will be useful for delineating conservation units and designing specific conservation policies for each island based on metapopulation genetic structure.
... Most emerging infectious diseases, such as the novel coronavirus, are the result of transmission of a pathogen from animals to humans that can result in human illness and death [1,2]; other negative impacts of wildlife on humans range from destruction of property to general nuisance [3,4]. Degradation of natural habitat and displacement of wildlife toward more urban areas not only increases the frequency of human-wildlife interactions, but also poses threats to wildlife health [5,6]. These risks exacerbate human-wildlife conflict (HWC) and easily permeate already contentious political arenas and polarized debates among those seeking to prioritize the protection of wildlife and those Priors are the values, knowledge, and experiences that serve as drivers in affective responses and evaluations of information and risk. ...
... Aside from public health concerns (e.g., spread of infectious disease), impacts to quality of life (e.g., noise and smell) and local economy (e.g., destruction of commercial food crops, destruction of property) have fueled regular coverage in conventional and social media platforms. Similar strained relations between humans and flying foxes have been noted all over their range of distribution, contributing to individual and collective management decisions that threaten the longevity of these species (e.g., mass culling, destruction of roosts) [4,6]. Urban flying foxes present an ideal case to model polarity in affective response and risk perception. ...
Effectively communicating risk is critical to reducing conflict in human-wildlife interactions. Using a survey experiment fielded in the midst of contentious public debate over flying fox management in urban and suburban areas of Australia, we find that stories with characters (i.e., narratives) are more effective than descriptive information at mobilizing support for different forms of bat management, including legal protection, relocation, and habitat restoration. We use conditional process analysis to show that narratives, particularly with accompanying images, are effective because they cause emotional reactions that influence risk perception, which in turn drives public opinion about strategies for risk mitigation. We find that prior attitudes towards bats matter in how narrative messages are received, in particular in how strongly they generate shifts in affective response, risk perception, and public opinion. Our results suggest that those with warm prior attitudes towards bats report greater support for bat dispersal when they perceive impacts from bats to be more likely, while those with cool priors report greater support for bat protection when they perceive impacts from bats to be more positive, revealing 1) potential opportunities for targeted messaging to boost public buy-in of proposals to manage risks associated with human-wildlife interactions, and 2) potential vulnerabilities to disinformation regarding risk.
... In conclusion, we note that megabats are vital ecosystem contributors that serve as potential disease vectors and have impacts on pollination and agriculture (e.g., Breed et al. 2010;Luis et al. 2013;Aziz et al. 2015;Olival 2016;Vincenot et al. 2017). Due to the critical conservation status of many megabats (Marshall 1983;Fujita and Tuttle 1991;Korine et al. 1999;Brown et al. 2011), many species may be exclusively represented by museum collections and in zoos if hunting and habitat degradation continues, or with the ongoing effects of climate change (Fujita and Tuttle 1991;Welbergen et al. 2008;Daniel et al. 2016;Vincenot et al. 2017). ...
... In conclusion, we note that megabats are vital ecosystem contributors that serve as potential disease vectors and have impacts on pollination and agriculture (e.g., Breed et al. 2010;Luis et al. 2013;Aziz et al. 2015;Olival 2016;Vincenot et al. 2017). Due to the critical conservation status of many megabats (Marshall 1983;Fujita and Tuttle 1991;Korine et al. 1999;Brown et al. 2011), many species may be exclusively represented by museum collections and in zoos if hunting and habitat degradation continues, or with the ongoing effects of climate change (Fujita and Tuttle 1991;Welbergen et al. 2008;Daniel et al. 2016;Vincenot et al. 2017). Therefore, investigation of the dental variation captured in museum skeletal collections will be essential to advancing our understanding of the evolution of Chiroptera. ...
Variation in the dentition yields insight into the evolutionary history of Mammalia. However, to date, there has been limited research on the dental variation in Pteropodidae, a family of bats found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. Most species are large, diurnal, non-echolocating, and eat fruit or nectar. Pteropodids are of significant concern in conservation due to rapidly declining populations resulting from habitat loss, climate change, and their impacts on agriculture and disease. We collected dental metrics from the mandibular postcanine teeth of 101 pteropodid specimens spanning six species within the family to test three hypotheses: H1) dental metrics are significantly different across pteropodid species; H2) variation in pteropodid dental metrics is associated with variation in body size; and H3) variation in pteropodid dental proportions is associated with phylogenetic relatedness. We find that dental linear metrics vary significantly across pteropodids and are significantly associated with body size. In contrast, dental proportions of pteropodids reflect phylogenetic relationships. We propose that the combination of approaches for quantifying postcanine dental variation can elucidate and refine our understanding of the various selective forces that shaped the Pteropodidae radiation.
... The unique biology of bats is important not only for understanding human health but also for maintaining and improving ecosystem health (7,58). Bats contribute disproportionately to ecosystem functions, for example, in the regeneration of tropical forests (59)(60)(61). The convergent evolution of mutualism with plants in both Old World and New World tropics has led to the dependence of many flowering plant species on bats for their reproduction and dispersal. ...
... Breaching ocean barriers through active flight, bats are often the only mammals native to oceanic islands and are important to the survival and maintenance of those isolated ecosystems. As people have brought in predators and commensal species, island bats have become increasingly imperiled, threatening to collapse local trophic chains and disrupt pollination and seed dispersal (61). Bats also feed on many pest insect species and act as a natural and effective pest control (6,(8)(9)(10)58). ...
Marsupial genomes, which are packaged into large chromosomes, provide a powerful resource for studying the mechanisms of genome evolution. The extensive and valuable body of work on marsupial cytogenetics, combined more recently with genome sequence data, has enabled prediction of the 2 n = 14 karyotype ancestral to all marsupial families. The application of both chromosome biology and genome sequencing, or chromosomics, has been a necessary approach for various aspects of mammalian genome evolution, such as understanding sex chromosome evolution and the origin and evolution of transmissible tumors in Tasmanian devils. The next phase of marsupial genome evolution research will employ chromosomics approaches to begin addressing fundamental questions in marsupial genome evolution and chromosome evolution more generally. The answers to these complex questions will impact our understanding across a broad range of fields, including the genetics of speciation, genome adaptation to environmental stressors, and species management.
Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Animal Biosciences, Volume 8 is February 15, 2020. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
... A population assessment conducted after the cull in 2016 resulted in an estimate of 62,000 individuals [28]. The culls have drawn widespread international criticism [25,29,26,30,31,6] with opponents claiming that it increases the risk of extinction of an already vulnerable species [25,26,31], and that evidence from other countries including Australia suggests that culling is an ineffective method of reducing conflict that raises welfare and ethical issues [25,30]. Furthermore, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that culling of bats leads to a reduction in fruit damage [30]. ...
... A population assessment conducted after the cull in 2016 resulted in an estimate of 62,000 individuals [28]. The culls have drawn widespread international criticism [25,29,26,30,31,6] with opponents claiming that it increases the risk of extinction of an already vulnerable species [25,26,31], and that evidence from other countries including Australia suggests that culling is an ineffective method of reducing conflict that raises welfare and ethical issues [25,30]. Furthermore, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that culling of bats leads to a reduction in fruit damage [30]. ...
The Mauritius fruit bat (Pteropus niger) has been the subject of repeated culling campaigns, apparently in response to pressure from the fruit-growing industry concerned over damage to commercially valuable orchard crops such as lychees. More than 31,000 fruit-bearing lychee trees also exist in private backyards, making this an issue pertinent to a wide cross-section of the Mauritian general public and not just those involved in commercial fruit production. The level of damage caused by bats to fruit crops is often debated and the low number of robust damage assessment studies hampers mitigation efforts. During the fruiting season of 2016/2017, we assessed the damage among backyard lychee trees attributable to fruit bats and other causes around Vacoas-Phoenix, Central Mauritius and evaluated the impact of using protective netting as a mitigation strategy. Fruit yield from panicles that were protected from depredation by nylon netting was approximately one third greater than that from unprotected panicles. We suspect that fruit bats were responsible for approximately 42% of the total damage but illustrate the difficulties in attributing damage to a single cause in such assessments. Although we demonstrate the value of protective netting, we recognize that barriers to implementation exist and that a more holistic approach that incorporates crop protection, forest restoration strategies and addresses negative public attitudes towards bats in general is required to ensure the persistence of this endemic species.
... rodricensis). Once widespread over Mauritius, the Mauritius Fruit Bat population decreased considerably from its original population due to habitat loss and degradation, cyclones, invasive alien species, climate change and illegal hunting (Hutson & Racey 2013;Vincenot et al. 2017). Due to lack of major cyclones for well over a decade, however, the population has increased, thus shifting its IUCN Red List status from Endangered (2008) to Vulnerable (in 2013), which was also based on an assurance that culling would not be considered (Hutson & Racey 2013). ...
... Mauritius Fruit Bats are considered keystone species as they provide critical pollinating and disseminating services (Vincenot et al. 2017). They are mainly nocturnal or crepuscular, and roost chiefly in primary forests or areas containing a mixture of native and introduced plant species. ...
Interactions between people and wildlife have both positive and negative aspects. Negative interactions, commonly termed human-wildlife conflict (HWC), have increased in recent decades due to a number of factors including difficulties in identifying and communicating the complexities of stakeholder values and positions over wildlife and its management. Here, we present the perceptions of two conservation organizations on the landscape of HWC involving the threatened Mauritius Fruit Bat Pteropus niger, Kerr 1792 in Mauritius, including damage to fruit crops and controversial government culls in 2015 and 2016. Participants identified 18 stakeholders in the conflict varying in importance and influence, examined where and how hostility is manifested, and delineated both perceived and real costs of the conflict. Additionally, 13 environmental and 17 social risk factors associated with the conflict were categorized, along with potential policy and management options for mitigation. We argue that initial in-house workshops are advantageous in understanding conservation conflicts before extending dialogue with other stakeholders.
... The unique biology of bats is important not only for understanding human health but also for maintaining and improving ecosystem health (7,58). Bats contribute disproportionately to ecosystem functions, for example, in the regeneration of tropical forests (59)(60)(61). The convergent evolution of mutualism with plants in both Old World and New World tropics has led to the dependence of many flowering plant species on bats for their reproduction and dispersal. ...
... Breaching ocean barriers through active flight, bats are often the only mammals native to oceanic islands and are important to the survival and maintenance of those isolated ecosystems. As people have brought in predators and commensal species, island bats have become increasingly imperiled, threatening to collapse local trophic chains and disrupt pollination and seed dispersal (61). Bats also feed on many pest insect species and act as a natural and effective pest control (6,(8)(9)(10)58). ...
Bats are unique among mammals, possessing some of the rarest mammalian adaptations, including true self-powered flight, laryngeal echolocation, exceptional longevity, unique immunity, contracted genomes, and vocal learning. They provide key ecosystem services, pollinating tropical plants, dispersing seeds, and controlling insect pest populations, thus driving healthy ecosystems. They account for more than 20% of all living mammalian diversity, and their crown-group evolutionary history dates back to the Eocene. Despite their great numbers and diversity, many species are threatened and endangered. Here we announce Bat1K, an initiative to sequence the genomes of all living bat species (n∼1,300) to chromosome-level assembly. The Bat1K genome consortium unites bat biologists (>132 members as of writing), computational scientists, conservation organizations, genome technologists, and any interested individuals committed to a better understanding of the genetic and evolutionary mechanisms that underlie the unique adaptations of bats. Our aim is to catalog the unique genetic diversity present in all living bats to better understand the molecular basis of their unique adaptations; uncover their evolutionary history; link genotype with phenotype; and ultimately better understand, promote, and conserve bats. Here we review the unique adaptations of bats and highlight how chromosome-level genome assemblies can uncover the molecular basis of these traits. We present a novel sequencing and assembly strategy and review the striking societal and scientific benefits that will result from the Bat1K initiative.
... Les deux principaux facteurs menant à cette extinc d'habitat (E . Vincenot, Vincent Florens, Kingston, 2017). Le graphique ci observations des habitants des îles Loyauté vont dans le même sens: selon eux, la principale menace est la chasse et en particulier la chasse au fusil. ...
... Les deux principaux facteurs menant à cette extinction sont la chasse et la perte . Vincenot, Vincent Florens, Kingston, 2017). Le graphique ci-dessous souligne que les observations des habitants des îles Loyauté vont dans le même sens: selon eux, la principale menace culier la chasse au fusil. ...
... Oceanic islands are particularly impacted in the current era of massextinction driven by human activities (Barnosky et al., 2011;Ceballos et al., 2015), as shown by the disproportionately large share of island vertebrate species extinctions since 1500 (about 95% from the total recorded extinctions) (Loehle & Eschenbach, 2012). Remaining island biodiversity including plants, invertebrates, bats and bird species are often threatened with extinction (Caujapé-Castells et al., 2010;Johnson & Stattersfield, 1990;Vincenot et al., 2017). This situation has stimulated conservation efforts on islands resulting in island species featuring disproportionately among the conservation success stories (e.g. ...
The Mauritius Kestrel Falco punctatus, once the rarest kestrel worldwide, became an icon of bird conservation after it recovered from four to six individuals in 1974 to some 800 by 2005 following intense conservation management. Its population however then halved within about a decade prompting a re-evaluation of the IUCN status and up listing of the species in 2014 and an increased conservation attention. Drivers of this new decline are unclear and the influence of habitat structure and diet on breeding success may be important contributors but have received relatively little attention, particularly in the way they may interact to influence production of new fledglings. We address this knowledge gap by studying whether breeding success is influenced by habitat structure (in terms of cover of the invasive Ravenala in native habitats, an alien plant causing strong structural shift in the forests that it invades, and extent of cleared area), diet composition and food pass frequency (as a proxy for food intake) and food quality at 28 nests of a reintroduced kestrel population in south east Mauritius during the 2015-2016 breeding season. The kestrel's diet comprised native and alien birds, reptiles, insects, and small alien mammals, with a disproportionately high proportion of Phelsuma gecko. A higher frequency of food provisioning and percentage cover of Ravenala both contributed to higher breeding success. Ravenala may increase gecko density or increase gecko detectability and predation by the kestrel, or both, while changed land use (pasture and sugar cane fields) may increase prey diversity in the form of non-forest prey known to be eaten by Kestrels (e.g. alien agamids, small mammals and birds). These prey related influences on breeding suggest that the Bambou mountain range provides a human-generated novel ecosystem altering food availability and increasing the kestrel's breeding success. However, Ravenala is an invasive alien species harmful to the wider forest biodiversity. Progressive weeding of Ravenala and concurrent re-introduction and augmentation of native palms and Pan-danus species which geckos can use at comparable densities to Ravenala, is recommended. This would likely improve the kestrel's hunting habitat quality and maintain high gecko density or detectability and the vegetation structure required for hunting manoeuvrability and prey availability without the negative consequences of inva-sive Ravenala.
... Dillenia biflora flowers with closed corollas can wait for the best (and possibly only worthwhile) pollinators, while protecting pollen and nectar from the rain, and the flowers from parasites. Considering the alarming threats to island bats [14,63] and the reliance of bat plants on their pollinators [64], bat conservation is crucial, particularly for chiropteropisunous plants. Such plants may also make a significant contribution to bats' diets and threats to them (e.g., mining, logging, and clearing to D. salomonensis [65] if it is chiropteropisunous), could affect dramatically local bat populations. ...
The Dilleniaceae is known to produce nectarless flowers pollinated by bees, but the fact that bats ingest Dillenia biflora pollen led us to question pollination assumptions for these trees. We aimed to identify the pollinators of D. biflora, check for nectar presence, and investigate potential for cleistogamy and global prevalence of this pollination system. We examined aspects of the pollination of D. biflora on two Fijian islands using video recordings, direct observations, hand pollination, measurements (flowers, bite marks, nectar), and monitoring. The flowers, receptive for one night, contained copious nectar and had permanently closed globose corollas that required removal by bats for pollination. All the 101 flowers that retained their corolla died and did not produce seeds by cleistogamy. The bat Notopteris macdonaldi was well adapted to corolla removal. Keeping corollas closed until bats manipulate the nectar-rich flowers is a beneficial strategy in high-rainfall environments with many flower parasites. We propose to name a pollination system reliant exclusively on bats "chiropteropisteusis." From clues in the literature, other species in the geographical range of Dillenia are probably chiropteropisunous. Chiropteropisteusis should be investigated in the Old-World range of Dillenia, many species of which are threatened. The remarkable "fall" of the entire corolla observed by an earlier botanist for several species in the genus is most likely attributable to bats. This discovery has important implications for the conservation of bat-dependent trees and their associated fauna, particularly considering the high level of threat faced by flying-foxes globally.
... This single species has an ecological keystone role of seeds dissemination on Mauritius as it is known to feed on fruits of, on average, about 53% of individual woody plants in various Mauritian forests, and particularly those of the larger trees [110], which are known to have important physical ecosystem engineer roles that enable the survival of many other forest species [111], including orchids. Yet, Mauritian authorities have long been planning to cull flying foxes [112,113] and since 2015, implemented multiple mass-culling campaigns on spurious justifications [114][115][116]. These recurrent mass-culling campaigns are unnecessarily heightening the risk of extinction of the flying fox [109] and must already be weakening its ecological keystone role given the way such roles are played out by this group of fruit bats [117]. ...
Mauritius was one of the last places on Earth to be colonized by humans offering one of the most complete history of what native species occurred originally and what was lost, when, and why. This situation can therefore serve as a laboratory to study human impacts in the current age of human-driven species extinction. Mauritius is also one of the most human-impacted places, thereby reflecting what awaits much of the tropics as human impacts intensify. We used available literature, herbarium samples, and personal observations and studies on the Orchidaceae to characterize its diversity, distribution and ecology, and the human-induced threats they face, to better inform their conservation in Mauritius. There are 91 native orchid species from 30 genera recorded on the island. Twenty species (22%) appear extinct, although some may survive undetected. New species and records continue to be added. Only 10% of the species are endemic to Mauritius, and 80% are unique to the south-west Indian Ocean islands. Most species are epiphytic, and the highest diversity occurs in native forests of the wet uplands. Mauritian orchids, particularly the larger ones, face many threats, some inexorably worsening. There exists much room to improve knowledge about Mauritian orchids that would better inform their conservation which is today still very neglected. This includes taxonomic research, detection of ecological patterns and trends, ecology of the species, as well as quantification and hierarchization of threats to prioritize conservation management. Studying Mauritius native orchids helps understand how devastating, sustained, and accelerating the many threats that human activities pose to orchid biodiversity can be and which await other countries currently less human-impacted than Mauritius.
... Flying foxes are vital in ecological and economic systems but also exceptionally vulnerable to extinction (Fujita & Tuttle, 1991;Vincenot et al., 2017), with hunting for bushmeat one of the most critical threats (Mildenstein et al., 2016). The Sulawesi Fruit Bat, Acerodon celebensis, a flying fox endemic to Indonesia's island of Sulawesi, is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN RedList, and may soon move to Endangered if hunting and habitat loss continue (Tsang & Sheherazade, 2016). ...
... This single species has an ecological keystone role of seeds dissemination on Mauritius as it is known to feed on fruits of, on average, about 53% of individual woody plants in various Mauritian forests, and particularly those of the larger trees [110], which are known to have important physical ecosystem engineer roles that enable the survival of many other forest species [111], including orchids. Yet, Mauritian authorities have long been planning to cull flying foxes [112,113] and since 2015, implemented multiple mass-culling campaigns on spurious justifications [114][115][116]. These recurrent mass-culling campaigns are unnecessarily heightening the risk of extinction of the flying fox [109] and must already be weakening its ecological keystone role given the way such roles are played out by this group of fruit bats [117]. ...
Mauritius was one of the last places on Earth to be colonized by humans offering one of the most complete history of what native species occurred originally and what was lost, when, and why. This situation can therefore serve as a laboratory to study human impacts in the current age of human driven species extinction. Mauritius is also one of the most human-impacted places, thereby reflecting what awaits much of the tropics as human impacts intensify. We used available literature, herbarium samples, and personal observations and studies on the Orchidaceae to characterize its diversity, distribution and ecology, and the human-induced threats they face, to better inform their conservation in Mauritius. There are 91 native orchid species from 30 genera recorded on the island. Twenty species (22%) appear extinct, although some may survive undetected. New species and records continue to be added. Only 10% of the species are endemic to Mauritius, and 80% are unique to the south-west Indian Ocean islands. Most species are epiphytic, and the highest diversity occurs in native forests of the wet uplands. Mauritian orchids, particularly the larger ones, face many threats, some inexorably worsening. There exists much room to improve knowledge about Mauritian orchids that would better inform their conservation which is today still very neglected. This includes taxonomic research, detection of ecological patterns and trends, ecology of the species, as well as quantification and hierarchization of threats to prioritize conservation management. Studying Mauritius native orchids helps understand how devastating, sustained, and accelerating the many threats that human activities pose to orchid biodiversity can be and which await other countries currently less human-impacted than Mauritius.
... Cynopterus has seven species listed as Least Concern, and Rousettus has three Vulnerable, five Least Concern and one Data Deficient (IUCN, 2021 considers nine Rousettus species). The primary causes are habitat loss, hunting, persecution to protect plantations, and control for zoonotic diseases Mickleburgh et al., 1992;Vincenot et al., 2017). ...
The olfactory capacity in bats and their strong preference for some fruits has led to the development of a forest restoration tool that uses the essential oils of their preferred fruit. The idea is based on the assumption that, once these bats were attracted by olfactory cues from the essential oils to a “new food source,” they would spend a certain amount of time flying around these new food sources. This technique has great potential for natural methods of regeneration assisted by dispersers, increasing arrival of chiropterochoric seeds in areas that otherwise may not be frequently visited by frugivorous bats. Although we developed this technique on Neotropical species, we believe it has the potential to be used around the world to recover degraded forests. Here, we explore parallels between New (Phyllostomidae) and Old World (Pteropodidae) seed dispersing bats to support this proposal. Review data showed that Cynopterus, Pteropus, and Rousettus seem to be the closest functional genera to those (Artibeus, Carollia, Sturnira) tested in the Neotropical region, based on their wide distribution, diet diversity and great consumption of Ficus - whose oils are known to attract fruit bats. Experiments need to be designed to further develop the technique to apply it to the Old World and contribute to the restoration of degraded forests.
... Flying-foxes (genus Pteropus) are phytophagous megachiropteran bats that play an important role in forest ecosystems as long-distance pollinators and seed dispersers (Eby 1991;Fujita and Tuttle 1991;Southerton et al. 2004); however, a large proportion of flying-fox taxa are at some risk of extinction (Vincenot et al. 2017). Their ecological function is likely encumbered by large reductions in their numbers (McConkey and Drake 2006). ...
Mass mortalities in flying-foxes occur in summers that reach extremely hot temperatures. In this study, we examine the spatiotemporal distributions of mortality from pup abandonments and extreme heat events in Australian flying-fox camps during the 2019–20 summer. We recorded data on flying-fox mortality in known affected camps and applied a standard method to estimate the number of deaths. Pup mortalities from abandonments were recorded in 10 camps in New South Wales. A minimum estimate of 2612 flying-foxes died in pup abandonments, the majority of which occurred in one camp in Bomaderry. Die-offs from extreme heat events were recorded in 40 camps associated with eight separate heat events in south-eastern Australia. A minimum estimate of 72 175 flying-foxes died during these heat events, which all occurred within the range of the threatened grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus). Further, 409 and 2251 live flying-foxes were taken into care from pup abandonments and heat events respectively. The minimum mortality estimated represents the highest recorded mortality of Australian flying-foxes within a single summer. This highlights a need to restore vegetation in flying-fox foraging areas and camps, address anthropogenic climate change and gather more empirical data to inform heat stress interventions to minimise flying-fox mortalities.
... Conflict was the least studied topic in our review (12% of studies) (Figure 1), only conducted in 14 countries, and only three of these (Japan, Kenya and Mauritius) also have studies on the ecological roles of the bats. An exception to this imbalance is Mauritius, where supposed losses of cultivated fruit to foraging Pteropus niger has resulted in two culls by the Government of Mauritius, causing the deaths of over 90,000 bats (Vincenot et al., 2017b). Researchers here have noted the ineffectiveness of culls (Florens and Baider, 2019), calculated minimal fruit losses to the bats (Oleksy et al., 2018), documented the ecological roles of the species (Nyhagen et al., 2005;Florens et al., 2017), and attempted to identify appropriate mitigation methods to reduce economic loss (Oleksy et al., 2018;Krivek et al., 2020). ...
Despite extensive documentation of the ecological and economic importance of Old World fruit bats (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) and the many threats they face from humans, negative attitudes towards pteropodids have persisted, fuelled by perceptions of bats as being pests and undesirable neighbours. Such long-term negativity towards bats is now further exacerbated by more recent disease-related concerns, particularly associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic. There remains an urgent need to investigate and highlight the positive and beneficial aspects of bats across the Old World. While previous reviews have summarised these extensively, numerous new studies conducted over the last 36 years have provided further valuable data and insights which warrant an updated review. Here we synthesise research on pteropodid-plant interactions, comprising diet, ecological roles, and ecosystem services, conducted during 1985-2020. We uncovered a total of 311 studies covering 75 out of the known 201 pteropodid species (37%), conducted in 47 countries. The majority of studies documented diet (52% of all studies; 67 pteropodid species), followed by foraging movement (49%; 50 pteropodid species), with fewer studies directly investigating the roles played by pteropodids in seed dispersal (24%; 41 pteropodid species), pollination (14%; 19 pteropodid species), and conflict with fruit growers (12%; 11 pteropodid species). Pteropodids were recorded feeding on 1072 plant species from 493 genera and 148 families, with fruits comprising the majority of plant parts consumed, followed by flowers/nectar/pollen, leaves, and other miscellaneous parts. Sixteen pteropodid species have been confirmed to act as pollinators for a total of 21 plant species, and 29 pteropodid species have been confirmed to act as seed dispersers for a total of 311 plant species. Anthropogenic threats disrupting bat-plant interactions in the Old World include hunting, direct persecution, habitat loss/disturbance, invasive species, and climate change, leading to ecosystem-level repercussions. We identify notable research gaps and important research priorities to support conservation action for pteropodids.
... In this study, our best-fit demographic model suggested a very recent population decline in the formosus population. The MLE for the time of population collapse (t f.de ) is 4 generations ago, which would be 28 years ago assuming a generation time of 7 years (Fox et al. 2008;Tidemann and Nelson 2011;Vincenot et al. 2017). The 95% CI spans from 7 years ago to 35 years ago, supporting that the event likely occurred very recently (see Figure 5B and Table 4). ...
Insular flying foxes are keystone species in island ecosystems due to their critical roles in plant pollination and seed dispersal. These species are vulnerable to population decline because of their small populations and low reproductive rates. The Formosan flying fox (Pteropus dasymallus formosus) is one of the five subspecies of the Ryukyu flying fox. P. d. formosus has suffered from a severe decline and is currently recognized as a critically endangered population in Taiwan. On the contrary, the Orii's flying fox (P. d. inopinatus) is a relatively stable population inhabiting Okinawa Island. Here, we applied a genomic approach called double digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing to study these two subspecies for a total of seven individuals. We detected significant genetic structure between the two populations. Despite their contrasting contemporary population sizes, both populations harbor very low degrees of genetic diversity. We further inferred their demographic history based on the joint folded site frequency spectrum and revealed that both P. d. formosus and P. d. inopinatus had maintained small population sizes for a long period of time after their divergence. Recently, these populations experienced distinct trajectories of demographic changes. While P. d. formosus suffered from a drastic ~10-fold population decline not long ago, P. d. inopinatus underwent a ~4.5-fold population expansion. Our results suggest separate conservation management for the two populations-population recovery is urgently needed for P. d. formosus while long-term monitoring for adverse genetic effects should be considered for P. d. inopinatus.
... Also, an animal which is known to consume whole flowers, like the Mauritian Flying Fox, is also likely to carry pollen on its fur without necessarily being a pollinator. In general, fruit bats were discovered to be vital for pollination and seed dispersal of at least 289 species of plant, of which, 186 were of vital economic resources (Fujita & Tuttle, 1991;Aziz et al., 2017;Vincenot et al., 2017). So the assumption that the Mauritian Flying Fox had a vital role to play in sustaining the forest ecosystem, especially with pollination, is deemed to be realistic. ...
The threatened Mauritian Flying Fox (Pteropus niger) has been facing repeated mass-culling since 2015 due to the perceived damage to commercial fruits. The significant reduction in numbers from that period had led to its International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Status being up-listed to endangered status. The purpose of the study is to employ a contingency valuation method (CVM) to determine the factors influencing the decision to contribute and how much to contribute for conserving the Mauritian Flying Fox by the Mauritian public in the midst of the human-wildlife conflict (HWC). A household drop-off survey with a sample size of 525 observations was employed. Favourable environmental attitudes, higher perceived ability to contribute (PAC), better knowledge about bats, higher aesthetic value of bats and lower negativistic attitudes towards bats were found to increase the probability of contributing to the conservation of the species. Conditional on these results, individuals with higher knowledge about bats and perceived ability to contribute were found willing to pay more for conserving the species. The findings help us to draw attention on the perspective of supporting a preservation fund for the Mauritian Flying Fox.
... Apart from the long-recognized role in improving human sonar and radar systems, bats play critical ecological roles as insect controllers, pollinators, and seed dispersers (Fenton and Simmons, 2014;Kunz et al., 2011). Yet, bats are vulnerable to a range of human threats, ranging from well-documented habitat loss and human hunting to newly-identified white-nose syndrome and wind energy production (Frick et al., 2020(Frick et al., , 2010Luo et al., 2013Luo et al., , 2015Vincenot et al., 2017;Voigt and Kingston, 2016;Stone et al., 2012;Lewanzik and Voigt, 2014). As a consequence, close to 1000 species of bats require conservation or research attention (Frick et al., 2020). ...
With >1, 400 species, bats comprise the second-largest order of mammals and provide critical ecological services as insect consumers, pollinators, and seed dispersers. Yet, bats are frequently associated with infectious human diseases such as SARS, MERS, and Ebola. As early as the end of January, 2020, at least five virological studies have suggested bats as a probable origin for SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. How does the public view the role of bats in COVID-19? Here we report pilot data collected shortly after the outbreak of COVID-19 using two online surveys, combined with a conservation intervention experiment, primarily on people who are receiving or have received higher education in China. We found that 84% of the participants of an online survey (n = 13, 589) have misunderstood the relationship between bats and COVID-19, which strengthened negative attitudes towards bats. Knowledge of bats, gender, and education level of the participants affected their attitudes towards bats. Participants who indicated a better knowledge of bats had a more positive attitude towards bats. The proportion of female participants who had negative attitudes towards bats was higher than that of male participants. Participants with a higher education level indicated a more positive attitude towards bats after the outbreak of COVID-19. A specially prepared bat conservation lecture improved peoples’ knowledge of bats and the positive attitudes, but failed to correct the misconception that bats transmit SARS-CoV-2 to humans directly. We suggest that the way virologists frame the association of bats with diseases, the countless frequently inaccurate media coverages, and the natural perceptual bias of bats carrying and transmitting diseases to humans contributed to the misunderstandings. This probably led to a rise in the events of evicting bats from dwellings and structures by humans and the legislative proposal for culling disease-relevant wildlife in China. A better understanding of the relationship between disease, wildlife and human health could help guide the public and policymakers in an improved program for bat conservation.
... Malgré le statut de conservation de cette espèce, des campagnes d'abatages massifs ont été conduites entre 2015 à 2018 par le gouvernement mauricien pour tenter de limiter les dégâts causés par cette espèce (Florens 2016;Oleksy et al. 2018). Ainsi, plus de 50 000 individus ont été abattus, réduisant la population de cette espèce de 62 500 à 37 000 individus en moins de 3 ans (Florens 2016;Vincenot et al. 2017;Kingston et al. 2018). Nous avons pu mettre en évidence que les chauvessouris des îles de l'ouest de l'océan indien abritent une grande diversité de CoVs (Joffrin et al. 2019). ...
Les zoonoses représentent 60% des maladies infectieuses émergentes, et 70% de ces zoonoses proviennent de la faune sauvage. Les chauves-souris sont les hôtes de nombreux agents infectieux, notamment de virus responsables de zoonoses chez l’Homme comme le virus Ebola, le virus Nipah ou le virus Hendra. Au cours des deux dernières décennies, de nouveaux virus issus des chauves-souris ont émergé dans les populations humaines et animales, avec des conséquences importantes pour la santé publique, vétérinaire, mais également pour l’économie. C’est notamment le cas des coronavirus (CoVs) tels que le syndrome respiratoire aigu sévère (SRAS), le syndrome respiratoire du Moyen-Orient (MERS) et le syndrome de diarrhée aiguë du porc (SADS), responsables de plusieurs milliers de décès humains ainsi que d’une mortalité élevée dans les élevages porcins. Bien que de nombreuses études aient identifié des CoVs de chauves-souris dans le monde, les connaissances actuelles sur la diversité et les risques associés à l'émergence de CoVs dans les écosystèmes insulaires tropicaux restent à évaluer avec précision. L’objectif de cette thèse était d’étudier l’écologie et l’évolution de coronavirus dans des populations de chauves-souris. Dans un premier temps, nous nous sommes intéressés au niveau d’exposition des hôtes aux CoVs, et à l’histoire évolutive de ces virus dans le contexte phylogéographique des îles de l’ouest de l’Océan Indien. Basée sur l’analyse de 1088 échantillons par biologie moléculaire, cette étude a mis en évidence, pour la première fois, la présence de CoV chez des chauves-souris insectivores à Mayotte, au Mozambique, à l’île de La Réunion, et à Madagascar. La prévalence globale de chauves-souris infectées par les CoVs était de 8,0% ± 1,2% avec une variation significative entre l’Afrique continentale et les îles, mais aussi entre familles de chauves-souris. Nous avons identifié une grande diversité génétique de α-CoVs et de β-CoVs, dont certains sont phylogénétiquement proches de CoVs humains (e.g. HCoV-NL63, HCoV-229E, MERS-CoV). Enfin, ces CoVs sont structurés phylogénétiquement par famille de chauves-souris, supportant une longue histoire de coévolution entre chauves-souris et leurs CoVs dans l’Océan Indien occidental. Nous avons dans un second temps réalisé une étude longitudinale sur la dynamique d’infection de CoV dans une colonie de maternité de Petit Molosse (Mormopterus francoismoutoui), espèce endémique de La Réunion. Basé sur la détection du génome viral dans des prélèvements environnementaux (fèces et guano), nous avons exploré l’effet de la structure de la population sur la dynamique d’infection pendant deux années consécutives. Les résultats montrent une variation très marquée des prévalences d’infection chez les chauves-souris au cours de la saison, avec la présence de deux pics d’infection : lors de la colonisation de la grotte de maternité (associé à une augmentation de la densité des hôtes), et environ un mois après le début de la parturition (associé à la perte d’immunité chez les nouveaux-nés). L’ensemble de ces travaux montre que l’évolution des CoVs des chauves-souris de l’ouest de l’Océan Indien est majoritairement due à de la coévolution entre les hôtes et leurs virus, bien que le contexte insulaire puisse également induire de la spéciation intra-île, au sein des familles de chauves-souris. La mise en évidence de facteurs écologiques et biologiques influant sur la dynamique d’infection à l’échelle d’une population souligne que les risques de transmission de CoVs à d’autres hôtes diffèrent en fonction des communautés de chauves-souris présentes sur chaque île, mais aussi de la structure des populations des hôtes et de sa variation temporelle.
... Flowers prepare characteristics seeds and are well displayed for easy accessibility and visibility to attract bats (Baker, 1961;Faegri and Vander Pijl, 1966;Von Helversen et al., 2000) [4,11,44] . Mauritius fruit bats are reported key stone species as they offered critical pollination and circulating services (Vincenot et al., 2017) [44] . ...
Chiropterans (bats) play an important role in the ecosystem. The economic loss may feeding of bats on fruits but this is negligible as against to their beneficial roles. The economics benefits getting from bats include biological pest control, plant pollination, seed dispersal, guano, agriculture, education and research. Many disorders of humans such as menstrual and respiratory problem are cured by meat of bats and other body parts. Therefore, hunting and poaching should be strictly prohibits.
... Flying foxes face threats mainly from hunting, natural habitat transformation, invasive alien species and climate change (Vincenot, Florens, & Kingston, 2017) which is likely to increase the occurrence and intensity of stochastic events such as cyclones (Elsner, Kossin, & Jagger, 2008;Kishtawal, Jaiswal, Singh, & Niyogi, 2012;Kuleshov, Qi, Fawcett, & Jones, 2008;Webster, Holland, Curry, & Chang, 2005). ...
... Flying foxes face threats mainly from hunting, natural habitat transformation, invasive alien species and climate change (Vincenot, Florens, & Kingston, 2017) which is likely to increase the occurrence and intensity of stochastic events such as cyclones (Elsner, Kossin, & Jagger, 2008;Kishtawal, Jaiswal, Singh, & Niyogi, 2012;Kuleshov, Qi, Fawcett, & Jones, 2008;Webster, Holland, Curry, & Chang, 2005). ...
... However, our results raise significant concerns that if giant rats or monkey-faced bats are indeed present, they are at imminent risk of extinction. Island flying-foxes are vulnerable to overhunting (Vincenot et al. 2017), and Pteralopex are tractable and easy to catch from their daytime roosts (Flannery 1995;THL, pers. obs.). ...
Basic knowledge of species diversity and distributions underpins the study of island biogeography and is fundamental for conservation planning. In Solomon Islands, new mammals continue to be described and several lineages are yet to be documented from large islands where, presumably, they should occur. On Malaita and Makira, no giant rats (Solomys or Uromys), or monkey-faced bats (Pteralopex) have been documented by scientists, but traditional knowledge suggests they exist. In East Kwaio, Malaita, we combined traditional knowledge and scientific methods to survey mammals and search for these taxa. Camera traps, mist nets, spotlight surveys, echolocation call recorders, rat traps and active searches were used to produce an inventory of the island’s mammals. No Solomys, Uromys or Pteralopex were captured. However, detailed accounts suggest that giant rats and monkey-faced bats were present as recently as 1996 and 2002 respectively. Moreover, we consider the presence of gnawed Canarium nuts an indicator that giant rats still persist. The human population of Malaita is dense, hunting pressure appears high, feral cats are common, and logging is rapidly reducing primary forests. A notable feature of this work has been the commitment towards collaboration and upskilling landowners in mammal survey techniques. This collaboration has helped fuel a growing conservation movement on Malaita and led to the designation of three large conservation areas. Gathering evidence for the existence of undescribed mammals on Malaita is paramount for reducing further extinctions in Melanesia. Continued support for skilled community members in East Kwaio will be key to collecting this evidence.
... A poignant example of this is seen in Mauritius, where the country's biodiversity protection law was weakened in 2015 to enable mass-culling of the Mauritian flying fox (Pteropus niger) in attempts to protect commercial fruits (Florens, 2012(Florens, , 2015(Florens, , 2016. By 2017, two mass-culling events and a surge in poaching (Kingston, Florens, Oleksy, Ruhomaun, & Tatayah, 2018;Vincenot et al., 2017) had halved the population. This situation prompted the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to change the species' Red List category from Vulnerable to Endangered (Kingston et al., 2018). ...
Flying foxes play keystone ecological roles in plant reproduction. Yet, they face numerous threats, including persecution for eating commercial fruits. This human-wildlife conflict has recently escalated to culling campaigns of a threatened flying fox on Mauritius. Finding non-lethal solutions to this human-wildlife conflict on the island is therefore extremely important. We hypothesized that invasive alien plants may reduce native fruit availability through competition and that weeding alien plants could improve the native foraging habitat quality of flying foxes – in turn, reducing their consumption of commercially important fruits. We compared native fruit production and foraging intensity of the Mauritian flying fox (Pteropus niger) in forests weeded of alien plants a decade previously and adjacent non-weeded forests. Fruits and ejecta were collected weekly during five months under 144 randomly chosen native trees of two canopy species whose fruits are eaten by flying foxes. Intraspecific variations in tree and fruit traits were used to examine flying fox foraging preference. Native fruit production was significantly higher in weeded forests for both tree species, and this was matched by higher flying fox foraging intensity. Flying foxes preferred large trees and fed predominantly on large and ripe fruits. The predominant consumption of ripe fruits emphasizes the importance of flying foxes as seed dispersers. Our results indicate that alien plant invasion substantially reduces native fruit production and that weeded forests provide a much better habitat for flying foxes. Our findings lend support to invasive alien plant control as a management strategy in mitigating such human-wildlife conflicts.
... Considering crops grown in the USA only, the estimated economic value of bats stands at $22.9 billion each year based on the number of insects they consume which both reduces destruction to the crops and the need to apply costly pesticides (Boyles et al. 2011). Bats play a key role in pollination with many plants relying solely upon them (Vincenot et al. 2017). Bats play a pivotal role in forest regeneration, particularly in the Neotropics due to their ability to cover long distances and their lack of aversion to crossing open landscapes (De La Peña-Domene et al. 2014). ...
Living organisms today face conservation challenges as never before. Anthropogenic pollution, climate change and habitat modifications combine to exert strong pressures on species survival. This is especially the case for bats due to their slow rate of reproduction, high metabolism and longevity. Bats account for ~20% of mammalian diversity and play a key role in ecosystem services by controlling pests and disease vectors, pollinating crops and dispersing seeds. Molecular markers have the potential to powerfully inform and assess conservation measures in a number of ways. Typically, the methods used borrow heavily from population and landscape genetics as well as phylogeography and phylogenetics. Several of the areas where conservation genetic methods have proved informative in bat studies are discussed using a selection of case studies in: phylogeography, designations of Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs), taxonomy and species delimitation, connectivity assessments, non-invasive genetics (population size estimates, rare species identification), and the study of swarming sites—hotspots of gene flow and potentially hybridisation. The future directions and needs for conservation genetic studies in bats are discussed and will hopefully include greater utilisation of high-throughput techniques due to methodological improvements and greater cost efficiency. This in turn should enable broader applications for non-invasive genetics, which have clear benefits for conservation studies. Finally, a need for better communication and utilisation of genetic results in conservation policy is needed as well as follow-up assessments of any measures taken.
... Flying foxes are highly vulnerable to over-hunting due to some of their ecological and life history traits (Epstein et al., 2009;Mickleburgh et al., 2009) and this group of bats is facing higher risk of extinction than other bats (Jones et al., 2003). Island flying fox species are suffering considerable and widespread decline worldwide (Vincenot et al., 2017) and their populations in Sulawesi might be severely impacted by the wildlife trade (Sheherazade and Tsang, 2015). However, the extent and structure of the wildlife trade network in Sulawesi remains unknown as previous studies focused on market vendors from North Sulawesi and not on other actors within the trade. ...
The island of Sulawesi in Indonesia is an important site for the wildlife trade that is currently undergoing rapid exploitation of its local fauna to supply wild meat markets of North Sulawesi. In this study, we used field surveys, ethnographic interviews, and daily counts in markets to document species of terrestrial wildlife on sale in North Sulawesi markets, and to identify the hunting sites, practices, and key actors within the wildlife trade. We quantify the volume of wild meat traded and their prices, with a particular focus on the flying fox trade.Wildlife meat was routinely available for sale in 73% of the markets and supermarkets surveyed in North Sulawesi. The wildlife taxa most commonly found in these markets were flying foxes, wild pigs, rats and snakes. Wildlife hunting and trade networks extend to all provinces of the island through a well-organized, dynamic and easy to access network involving many actors. We identified 45 flying fox roosts in Sulawesi, 38 of which were under active hunting pressure. A third of the active hunting sites are located in Southeast Sulawesi, which acts as a hub for bat hunting and trade. We estimate that the number of flying foxes annually traded in Sulawesi ranges from 662,551 to more than one million individuals and conclude that current rates of flying fox harvest are unstainable. Stricter law enforcement, implementation of hunting quotas, and further research efforts are therefore urgently needed to improve the sustainability of the wildlife trade in Sulawesi. Keywords: Wildlife trade, Hunting, Wildlife markets, Flying foxes, Indonesia, Sulawesi
... Bats represent 20% of mammalian diversity and have exceptional adaptations that have implications for understanding aging, disease ecology, sensory biology, and metabolism 5,6 . Many bats are also threatened or endangered due to human exploitation 7 or are rapidly declining due to pathogens 8,9 , and genome-level sequencing is of great importance for conservation of these species. Although Bat1K currently aims to sequence the genomes of all bat species, the standardization of collection of tissue samples for high-quality genomic sequencing remains a key challenge across the community of organismal biologists. ...
... Therefore, it is likely that there will be increased culls in NPs, requiring managers to consider the value and welfare of individual animals, and the views of the general public who fund NPs; using the meat and other parts from culled animals is one way to partially resolve this tension so as not to waste the lives of those animals. A word of caution, however, culling within NPs should only be to meet objectives for the broader conservation of wildlife species and not used as a means of allaying public calls of population reductions to meet, for example, nuisance control outside NPs (e.g., example of Mauritian flying fox, Pteropus niger; Vincenot, Florens, & Kingston, 2017). Also, to be clear, I am not advocating for an economic justification for conservation culling, I am being pragmatic and calling for the waste of life to stop. ...
As human populations increase and become wealthier, the demand for red meat will increase. Much of this increased demand will be supplied through the traditional livestock supply chains; however, there are alternative commodities that can be used to meet some of the demand. Game meat harvested from wildlife is a growing commodity in the developed world, valued for its nutritional qualities and taste. However, there are some perverse management actions whereby wildlife, culled for conservation purposes (usually because they are deemed to be overabundant within National Parks and Protected Areas), are often not utilized as either human or pet food. In this Perspective, I highlight how the products from these culled animals in NPs are used, or not, and discuss some innovative ways in which the products are, or could be, brought into the economic and livelihood system (i.e., utilitarian conservation). These include bringing products from culled animals into the human and pet food supply chains.
... In 2013, the IUCN down-listed the species from Endangered to Vulnerable due mainly to earlier increases in numbers [26]. In response to pressure from fruit growers, the Government of Mauritius authorised a national cull of over 30,000 individuals in 2015 and an additional 10,000 in late 2016 due to the damage they are perceived to cause to mango (Mangifera indica) and litchi (Litchi chinensis) fruit [26,27]. A recent study confirmed that fruit loss due to consumption by P. niger can be considerable (about a quarter of all fruits monitored overall, with birds damaging a further 6% of monitored fruits [28]), although such damage can be reduced greatly by covering trees with netting [28]. ...
Background: Flying foxes (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) are large bats that often roost in the sun, hence solar-powered GPS/GSM devices can track their movements over extended periods. The endemic Mauritian flying fox (Pteropus niger) has recently been subjected to large-scale culling because of perceived damage to commercial fruit, and a consequent reduction in numbers of > 50% since 2015 resulted in its IUCN Red List Status being up-listed to Endangered. Determining its movements will be important for management and conservation, for understanding potential responses to environmental change, and for understanding population admixture. Methods: Twelve bats were tagged with solar-powered GPS/GSM devices in 2014-2016. Tags remained active for up to almost a year (maximum 359 days: average 139 days (males) and 93 days (females)), providing some of the longest-term data on the movement ecology of bats yet obtained. Eight bats were probably hunted illegally, highlighting the scale of unauthorised persecution.
... In 2013, the IUCN down-listed the species from Endangered to Vulnerable due mainly to earlier increases in numbers [26]. In response to pressure from fruit growers, the Government of Mauritius authorised a national cull of over 30,000 individuals in 2015 and an additional 10,000 in late 2016 due to the damage they are perceived to cause to mango (Mangifera indica) and litchi (Litchi chinensis) fruit [26,27]. A recent study confirmed that fruit loss due to consumption by P. niger can be considerable (about a quarter of all fruits monitored overall, with birds damaging a further 6% of monitored fruits [28]), although such damage can be reduced greatly by covering trees with netting [28]. ...
Background
Flying foxes (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) are large bats that often roost in the sun, hence solar-powered GPS/GSM devices can track their movements over extended periods. The endemic Mauritian flying fox (Pteropus niger) has recently been subjected to large-scale culling because of perceived damage to commercial fruit, and a consequent reduction in numbers of > 50% since 2015 resulted in its IUCN Red List Status being up-listed to Endangered. Determining its movements will be important for management and conservation, for understanding potential responses to environmental change, and for understanding population admixture.
Methods
Twelve bats were tagged with solar-powered GPS/GSM devices in 2014–2016. Tags remained active for up to almost a year (maximum 359 days: average 139 days (males) and 93 days (females)), providing some of the longest-term data on the movement ecology of bats yet obtained. Eight bats were probably hunted illegally, highlighting the scale of unauthorised persecution.
Results
Males travelled on average 9 km each night, females 6 km. The nightly distance covered by adults of both sexes was higher in winter than in summer, though the opposite pattern occurred for immature males. These differences are probably related to seasonal changes in fruit availability (adults) and to dispersal by immature males. The maximum distance covered during one night was > 92 km. Home ranges of males averaged 74,633 ha, females 31,072 ha. Core foraging areas averaged 2222 ha for males, 1364 ha for females. Fifty roosts were identified, mainly in forest fragments. As the bats disperse seeds of native plants that form forest canopies, conservation of the bats will potentially maintain and enhance native forest cover, in turn providing roosting sites for the bats.
Conclusions
Solar-powered GSM tagging provides unprecedented potential for understanding the movement ecology of flying foxes. Mauritian flying foxes often move between the few remnant native forest fragments, which remain important for their conservation, and have potentially important roles in seed dispersal. Their nomadic movement fits with their panmictic genetic structure. Although their ability for long distance movements, sometimes over short timescales, permits rapid responses to local threats and environmental change, being restricted to Mauritius renders the bats extremely vulnerable to intense culling.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (10.1186/s40462-019-0156-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
... Over the past 3 years, the Mauritian flying fox (Pteropus niger), a Mascarene endemic and threatened island fruit bat, has been culled to half its global population in attempts to increase fruit producers' profits (1). As a result, its Red List status was recently reassessed from Vulnerable to Endangered (2). ...
... Pteropus (Mammalia: Chiroptera), commonly known as flying foxes, fulfill important ecosystem roles as seed dispersers and pollinators [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8], but are threatened by intensive hunting and habitat conversion [9][10][11][12]. Many species are still poorly known because their distributions are largely restricted to small, remote islands [13,14], which is correlated with heightened extinction risk [15]. ...
Pteropus griseus (gray flying fox) is a species of Old World fruit bat that is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Data Deficient. The species is found on small islands in the Lesser Sundas and Sulawesi, and is endemic to Indonesia, but no contemporary roosts are known, and the last study of the species was in Timor in the Lesser Sundas. In this study, we describe the first known day roost in Sulawesi for Pteropus griseus and collected anecdotal evidence regarding conservation threats to the colony. We compared data from flying foxes collected from this roost to other P. griseus specimens and those of closely related co-occurring species to confirm its identity. We confirmed that this roost is likely of Pteropus griseus, though the subspecies identity remains to be determined. However, it is newly threatened by middlemen traders of bat meat from North Sulawesi arriving to encourage local villagers near the roost to hunt the bats. Elevated levels of hunting may deplete the entire colony in a single season should no conservation action be taken to safeguard the roost.
Human–wildlife conflicts (HWC) arising from fruit bats eating commercial fruits is a worsening problem worldwide and is epitomized by the Mauritian flying fox (Pteropus niger), a species threatened with extinction yet repeatedly mass-culled since 2015. Non-lethal solutions for dealing with this HWC are needed, which are rooted in the evidence available. In this study, we tracked the movements of 12 flying fox individuals over two years in order to document the animal’s movement ecology, with a view to deriving recommendations to alleviate the ensuing HWC. We found that flying foxes prefer to forage and roost in forested areas located at elevations < 250 m. However, during the fruiting season of commercial trees, the animals tended to roost closer to and forage more often on commercial fruits during the early hours of the night. These findings have several implications for the improvement of commercial fruit protection, which should in turn alleviate HWC, notably through informing management to take into consideration the spatio-temporal expression of flying fox foraging.
Les renards volants insulaires (genre Pteropus) font partie des chauves-souris les plus menacées au monde et font face à de nombreuses menaces, notamment des conflits résultant de leur consommation de fruits commerciaux. Maurice a fourni un exemple prononcé d'un tel conflit lorsqu'elle a procédé à des abattages en masses d’individus de la dernière des trois espèces originelles de Pteropus indigènes ayant jusqu’ici échappé à l’extinction sur l’ile, malgré le fait qu’elle était déjà menacé d'extinction. Cette situation offre une occasion rare d’explorer les solutions possibles à un type de menace qui s’aggrave dans le monde entier. Nous avons étudié les approches et les arguments utilisés par les principales parties prenantes impliquées, à la fois pour et contre les campagnes d’abattage en masse, en tant que stratégie privilégiée dans ce conflit homme-faune, et nous avons évalué leurs forces et leurs faiblesses respectives ainsi que leur efficacité pour atteindre les objectifs visés. Bien que les campagnes d’abattage en masse de 2015 et 2016 aient échoué dans leur objectif d’augmenter les profits des producteurs de fruits, le gouvernement a ordonné un troisième abattage en 2018, ciblant 20% de la population déjà réduite de moitié, alors que l’Union internationale pour la conservation de la nature venait de transférer l’espèce de la catégorie «Vulnérable» à celle de «En danger» sur la liste rouge des espèces quelques mois plus tôt. Pour justifier leur position, les autorités continuent d’ignorer les meilleures données et raisonnements scientifiques existantes pour favoriser à leur place des affirmations farfelues. Le conflit homme-faune autour du Renard volant de Maurice continue de s’aggraver malgré les appels et les efforts de nombreux organismes de défense de la nature et de la conservation sur plusieurs années pour engager un dialogue. L’absence de résultats escomptés lors des campagnes précédentes d’abattage en masse n’a pas non plus amené Maurice à revoir sa position sur sa stratégie d’abattage massif.
La position de Maurice est cohérente à d’abord encourager les producteurs de fruits à s'opposer aux conversationnistes pour ensuite trancher dans un deuxième temps avec des décisions qui semblent, que superficiellement, soutenir les planteurs. Bien que cette position n’améliore en rien les profits des planteurs, elle donne toutefois l’impression que la rentabilité des planteurs demeure la principale préoccupation du gouvernement et aide à mobiliser un soutien politique, du moins à court terme, en vue des prochaines élections générales. Même si les défenseurs de l'environnement devraient continuer à encourager la recherche de solutions innovantes et le dialogue avec les politiciens, ainsi que l'éducation et la sensibilisation des parties prenantes pour encourager les solutions émanant de la base, ils devraient également reconnaître les limites de ces approches et s'engager, le cas échéant, dans des stratégies plus percutantes, y compris à travers des procès. À l’heure actuelle, la Cour suprême de Maurice a été saisie d’une plainte contre la décision du gouvernement de procéder à l’abattage en masse du renard volant en danger d’extinction.
Résumé : Si des progrès ont été réalisés dans le monde de la conservation, l’impact de l’homme et sa pression constante sur les populations animales sauvages n’ont jamais été aussi étendus et catastrophiques. À l’Île Maurice, sous la pression des lobbies de l’agriculture, le Renard volant de Maurice, encore appelé Roussette noire des Mascareignes ou Roussette de Maurice, Pteropus niger, a fait l’objet de campagnes de destruction massive en 2015 et 2016. Le pouvoir politique a au préalable légalisé sa destruction malgré son statut d’espèce endémique menacée. Si la destruction de sa population a été conséquente, l’effet escompté sur la production fruitière a été un échec cuisant (environ 70% de production de letchis en moins en 2017). Loin de remettre en cause ses abattages massifs inopérants sur la production fruitière, le gouvernement mauricien a implémenté un nouvel abattage visant 13 000 individus en 2018.
Mots clés : Abattage, Pteropus niger, Conservation Destruction, Production fruitière, letchis.
The endemic Mauritian flying fox Pteropus niger is perceived to be a major fruit pest. Lobbying of the Government of Mauritius by fruit growers to control the flying fox population resulted in national culls in 2015 and 2016, with a further cull scheduled for 2018. A loss of c. 38,318 individuals has been reported and the species is now categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. However, until now there were no robust data available on damage to orchards caused by bats. During October 2015–February 2016 we monitored four major lychee Litchi chinensis and one mango (Mangifera spp.) orchard, and also assessed 10 individual longan Dimocarpus longan trees. Bats and introduced birds caused major damage to fruit, with 7–76% fruit loss (including natural fall and losses from fungal damage) per tree. Bats caused more damage to taller lychee trees (> 6 m high) than to smaller ones, whereas bird damage was independent of tree height. Bats damaged more fruit than birds in tall lychee trees, although this trend was reversed in small trees. Use of nets on fruiting trees can result in as much as a 23-fold reduction in the damage caused by bats if nets are applied correctly. There is still a need to monitor orchards over several seasons and to test non-lethal bat deterrence methods more widely.
The mounting threats posed to the global environment by harmful human activities cannot be averted without effective legislation controlling those activities. However, the environmental laws designed for this purpose are themselves under global attack. Because it is binding and enforceable, legislation is a unique and essential instrument in the overall effort to keep humanity’s impacts on the planet from transgressing critical thresholds. For instance, biodiversity laws do so by designating and protecting natural areas and controlling the exploitation of wildlife populations. Yet, due to short-term economic and other interests, such laws face constant pressures aimed at weakening their regulating impact on human activities.
This new study reveals and illustrates the staggering number and diversity of tactics used to weaken biodiversity legislation across the globe. This ‘taxonomy of tactics’ encompasses dozens of categories, ranging from the creative re-definition of terms to the ‘fast-tracking’ of environmentally harmful projects, and from limiting concerned citizens’ access to court, to the silent or even express refusal of appointed authorities to enforce biodiversity laws.
Whereas the predicament of the planet’s wild fauna and flora would have been even worse without the legal protection they have received so far, the onslaught against biodiversity laws has prevented these from fully performing their assigned function. The global acceleration of wildlife population declines bears witness to this. To stem the tide, strategic approaches are needed to anticipate and counter attacks on biodiversity legislation; to make the most of existing laws, including through litigation if need be; and to develop new or improved laws where necessary.
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
.
Pteropodid bats damage a wide range of fruit crops, exacerbated by continuing loss of their natural food as forests are cleared. In some countries where such damage occurs, bats are not legally protected. In others, as a result of pressure from fruit growers, legal protection is either not implemented or overridden by legislation specifically allowing the killing of bats. Lethal control is generally ineffective and often carried out with shotguns making it an animal welfare issue, as many more animals are injured or orphaned than are killed. Here, we review the literature and current state of the conflict between fruit growers and pteropodids and describe a wide range of potential mitigation techniques. We compile an extensive list of bats and the fruit crops on which they feed where this has resulted in conflicts, or could lead to conflict, with fruit growers. We also discuss the legal status of bats in some countries where such conflicts occur. We found the most effective means of preventing bat damage to crops is the use of fixed nets (that generally prevent entanglement) covering a whole orchard. Netting individual trees, or fruit panicles, using small net bags, is also effective. Management methods that assist netting include pruning to maintain low stature of trees. These
This book focuses on central themes related to the conservation of bats. It details their response to land-use change and management practices, intensified urbanization and roost disturbance and loss. Increasing interactions between humans and bats as a result of hunting, disease relationships, occupation of human dwellings, and conflict over fruit crops are explored in depth. Finally, contributors highlight the roles that taxonomy, conservation networks and conservation psychology have to play in conserving this imperilled but vital taxon. With over 1300 species, bats are the second largest order of mammals, yet as the Anthropocene dawns, bat populations around the world are in decline. Greater understanding of the anthropogenic drivers of this decline and exploration of possible mitigation measures are urgently needed if we are to retain global bat diversity in the coming decades. This book brings together teams of international experts to provide a global review of current understanding and recommend directions for future research and mitigation.
Bat populations around the world are declining as a consequence of human activities. Bat conservation thus hinges on changing human behavior, but to do so, we must understand the origins and drivers of the behavior. As natural scientists, most bat biologists lack the knowledge and training to implement rigorous studies of the human dimensions of bat conservation, yet such studies are needed to guide successful intervention. As we travel through the Anthropocene, it is critical that bat conservation biologists adopt an interdisciplinary approach and work with researchers from the social sciences who hold these skills and knowledge. To facilitate conversation and collaboration with conservation social scientists, I review the key theoretical and empirical perspectives on human behavior toward wildlife and report on studies of bats in these contexts wherever possible. I also recommend ways in which bat biologists can use some of this knowledge to enhance less structured or opportunistic outreach efforts encountered during our research activities.
The low species diversity that often characterizes island ecosystems could result in low functional redundancy within communities. Flying foxes (large fruit bats) are important seed dispersers of large-seeded species, but their redundancy within island communities has never been explicitly tested. In a Pacific archipelago, we found that flying foxes were the sole effective disperser of 57% of the plant species whose fruits they consume. They were essential for the dispersal of these species either because they handled more than 90% of consumed fruit, or were the only animal depositing seeds away from the parent canopy, or both. Flying foxes were especially important for larger-seeded fruit (>13 mm wide), with 76% of consumed species dependent on them for dispersal, compared to 31% of small seeded-species. As flying foxes decrease in abundance, they cease to function as dispersers long before they become rare. We compared the seed dispersal effectiveness (measured as the proportion of diaspores dispersed beyond parent crowns) of all frugivores for four plant species in sites where flying foxes were, and were not, functionally extinct. At both low and high abundance, flying foxes consumed most available fruit of these species, but the proportion of handled diaspores dispersed away from parent crowns ("quality") was significantly reduced at low abundance. Since alternative consumers (birds, rodents, and land crabs) were unable to compensate as dispersers when flying foxes were functionally extinct, we conclude that there is almost no redundancy in the seed dispersal function of flying foxes in this island system, and potentially on other islands where they occur. Given that oceanic island communities are often simpler than continental communities, evaluating the extent of redundancy across different ecological functions on islands is extremely important.
Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company.
The success of biological conservation initiatives is not solely reliant on the collection of ecological information, but equally on public adherence to protection programs. Awareness and perception of target species condition the intensity and orientation of public involvement in conservation initiatives. Their evaluation is critical in the case of elusive animals, for which incertitude surrounding public attitude is maximized. This study featured the first assessment of public awareness and perceptual factors of a megabat (Pteropodidae). We investigated inhabitants’ feelings, knowledge, and frequency of sightings related to the solitary Ryukyu flying fox (Pteropus dasymallus) on Ishigaki island, Japan. The willingness to protect this species and mitigate its impact on agriculture was evaluated through contingent valuation. This fruit bat was not credited with aesthetic or scientific values, yet atypically did not trigger negativistic attitude. While respondents were reasonably aware of its existence, they were largely ignorant of its ecological importance. An overall lack of interest for this species was revealed by a low willingness-to-pay for its protection. The rejection of lethal control as means to protect orchards was, however, unequivocal. The success of P. dasymallus preservation may depend on the prior implementation of education programs focusing on aesthetic, ecological and utilitarian values.
Flying-foxes (Pteropodidae) are large bats capable of long-distance flight. Many species are threatened; some are considered pests. Effective conservation and management of flying-foxes are constrained by lack of knowledge of their ecology, especially of movement patterns over large spatial scales. Using satellite telemetry, we quantified long-distance movements of the grey-headed flying-fox Pteropus poliocephalus among roost sites in eastern Australia. Fourteen adult males were tracked for 2-40 weeks (mean 25 weeks). Collectively, these individuals utilised 77 roost sites in an area spanning 1,075 km by 128 km. Movement patterns varied greatly between individuals, with some travelling long distances. Five individuals travelled cumulative distances >1,000 km over the study period. Five individuals showed net displacements >300 km during one month, including one movement of 500 km within 48 hours. Seasonal movements were consistent with facultative latitudinal migration in part of the population. Flying-foxes shifted roost sites frequently: 64% of roost visits lasted 12 weeks, 10 moved >100 km in one or more weeks. Median cumulative displacement distances over 1, 10 and 30 weeks were 0 km, 260 km and 821 km, respectively. On average, over increasing time-periods, one additional roost site was visited for each additional 100 km travelled. These findings explain why culling and relocation attempts have had limited success in resolving human-bat conflicts in Australia. Flying-foxes are highly mobile between camps and regularly travel long distances. Consequently, local control actions are likely to have only temporary effects on local flying-fox populations. Developing alternative methods to manage these conflicts remains an important challenge that should be informed by a better understanding of the species' movement patterns.
The conservation status of the Ryukyu flying fox (Pteropus dasymallus), a solitary island fruit bat inhabiting the Ryukyu archipelago in Japan, Green Island in Taiwan, and some islands of the Batanes and Babuyan chain in the Philippines, was last assessed by the IUCN in 2008, when it was upgraded from Endangered (EN) to Near Threatened (NT). We review here the current status of P. dasymallus through a description of the perceived demographic trends of its different subspecies as well as the current threat factors that it faces. Important amendments to the initial assessment are advanced, such as a less pronounced consideration of the Philippines population, whose size seems much smaller than once expected. Coupled with new elements that were only recently reported (i.e. natural risks, such as typhoons and volcanic activity, as well as direct anthropogenic threats in the form of ongoing culling by farmers in Japan), these lead us to call for a prompt relisting of P. dasymallus to a higher threat level.
Flying foxes ( PTEROPUS niger , also known as Mauritius fruit bats) are currently listed as Vulnerable by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) ([ 1 ][1]). Originally inhabitants of all three Mascarene Islands, the P. niger population was driven extinct on Reunion and Rodrigues, leaving only the
Flying foxes are animals of extraordinary ecological and economic importance throughout forests of the Old World tropics Nearly 200 species play an essential role as forest pollinators and seed dispersers, yet they are frequently misunderstood intensely persecuted and exceptionally vulnerable to extinction Their role in the propagation of numerous important plants remains virtually uninvestigated. However, our review of already available literature demonstrates that at least 289 plant species rely to vatying degrees on large populations of flying foxes for propagation. These plants, in addition to their many ecological contributing produce some 448 economically valuable products. The fact that flying foxes are increasingly threaten and that few baseline data exist on population trends is cause for concern Many appear to be in severe decline, and several species are already extinct. We present initial observations on flying fox importance and survival threats in hopes of highlighting research and conservation needs.
The dependency of highly endemic island floras on few potential pollinators in depauperate island faunas suggests that pollinators and seed dispersers may be crucial in the preservation of biodiversity in isolated oceanic islands. We discuss the hypothesis that flying foxes are “strong interactors” in South Pacific islands where they serve as the principal pollinators and seed dispersers, This suggests that the ongoing decline and ultimate extinction of flying fox species on Pacific islands may lead to a cascade of linked plant extinctions. We propose an empirical test of this hypothesis: comparisons of plant reproductive success in Guam, which has virtually lost its flying fox populations, and Samoa, where significant populations remain.
Resumen: La dependencia de floras isleñas altamente endemicas en algunos polinizadores potenciales en faunas islenas depauperizadas sugiere que los polinizadores y los dispersadores de semillas pueden ser cruciales en la conservacion de la diversidad biologica en islas oceanicas aisladas. Discutimos la hipotesis de que los murcielagos fnugiwros (Pteropus sp.) son fuertes interactores en las islas del Pacifico sur, en donde funcionan como los principales agentes de polinizacion y de disperseón de semillas Esto sugiere que la continua disminucion y futura extinción de las especies de murciélagos frugivoros podrian llevara una extinción de plantas en cadena. Hemos propuesto una prueba empirica de esta hipótesis, mediante la comparación del éxito reproductivo de lasplantas en Guam, que prácticamente ha perdido sus poblaciones de murciélagos frugiwros, con el de Samoa, donde persisten poblaciones impmtantes.
Current threats to the planet's biodiversity are unprecedented, and they particularly imperil insular floras. In this investigation, we use the threat factors identified by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment as the main drivers of biodiversity loss on islands to define and rank 13 current, continuing threats to the plant diversity of nine focal archipelagos where volcanic origin (or in the Seychelles a prolonged isolation after a continental origin) has produced a high degree of endemicity and fragility in the face of habitat alteration. We also conduct a global endangerment assessment based on the numbers of insular endemic plants in the endangered (EN) and critically endangered (CR) IUCN categories for 53 island groups with an estimated 9951 endemic plant species, providing a representative sample of the world's insular systems and their floristic richness. Our analyses indicate that isolation does not significantly influence endangerment, but plant endemics from very small islands are more often critically endangered. We estimate that between 3500 and 6800 of the estimated 70,000 insular endemic plant species worldwide might be highly threatened (CR+EN) and between ca. 2000 and 2800 of them in critical danger of extinction (CR). Based on these analyses, and on a worldwide literature review of the biological threat factors considered, we identify challenging questions for conservation research, asking (i) what are the most urgent priorities for the conservation of insular species and floras, and (ii) with the knowledge and assets available, how can we improve the impact of conservation science and practice on the preservation of island biodiversity? Our analysis indicates that the synergistic action of many threat factors can induce major ecological disturbances, leading to multiple extinctions. We review weaknesses and strengths in conservation research and management in the nine focal archipelagos, and highlight the urgent need for conservation scientists to share knowledge and expertise, identify and discuss common challenges, and formulate multi-disciplinary conservation objectives for insular plant endemics worldwide. To our knowledge, this is the most up-to-date and comprehensive survey yet to review the threat factors to native plants on oceanic islands and define priority research questions.
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