In this paper, Jodi Sedlock and her colleagues contribute to our growing understanding of the status of SE Asian cave bats with a survey of bats in caves and forest on the karst-covered island of Bohol in the central Philippines. Overall, species richness in the surveyed caves was relatively low, and population sizes varied greatly along with the physical characteristics of the caves. The majority of the surveyed caves exhibited signs of past and/or current human disturbance, including activities such as hunting of bats, limestone mining, bird nest collecting, and treasure hunting, all of which presumably have induced bats to abandon their roosts. Information obtained by interviews suggest that many caves once housed much larger bat populations than were determined by the survey, although a few species of bats seem to have increased their population sizes over time, likely as a testament to their toleration of human disturbance. Caves with the healthiest species richness were those containing natural barriers to human entry, such as deep and fast flowing rivers, implying that such natural deterrence may currently be the strongest protector of cave bats.
Sedlock, J. L., R. P. Jose, J. M. Vogt, L. M. J. Paguntalan, and A. B. Carino. (2014) A survey of bats in a karst landscape in the central Philippines. Acta Chiropterologica 16(1): 197-211.
For a copy of this paper, please contact Jodi –sedlockj(at)lawrence(dot)edu
