This database contains 4 major datasets. <br><br>1. The first dataset contains taxono... more This database contains 4 major datasets. <br><br>1. The first dataset contains taxonomic checklists for all extant cave-dwelling bats species extracted from the expert-based International Union for the Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List database version 2020.1. It also contains the General metadata for traits included in the current version of the database: habitat preference, ecological status, feeding groups, geographical range, island endemism, geopolitical endemism, distribution range, biogeographical breadth, generation length, body mass, and threatening process.2. The second dataset contains the bat cave geographical location (latitude/longitude) and recorded species.3. The third dataset included in the database contains the measured land-use and landscape features of the cave surroundings using the georeferenced data from the second dataset.4. The fourth dataset lists the parasitic bat flies and their Laboulbeniales fungal hyperparasites associated with cave bats.
Peninsular Malaysia is currently thought to host the highest biodiversity of Old World bats of an... more Peninsular Malaysia is currently thought to host the highest biodiversity of Old World bats of any region, with 110 species recorded. However, the availability of literature to facilitate a similarly thorough species ‘checklist’ is not as readily available for other parts of Southeast Asia, including Sulawesi, Indonesia. Here we highlight 13 new species records from the long-term bat monitoring programme on Buton Island, South East Sulawesi, expanding on Patterson et al.’s (2017) previous inventory for this study area. One species (Hipposideros galeritus) is a new record for Sulawesi, and seven species (Cynopterus c.f. minutus, Rousettus celebensis, Megaderma spasma, Hipposideros c.f. ater, Myotis c.f. horsfieldii, Myotis c.f. moluccarum, and Myotis c.f.muricola) are new records for Buton Island. The remaining five species (Thoopterus nigrescens, Dobsonia exoleta, Acerodon celebensis,Mosia nigrescens, and Mops sarasinorum) have been previously reported from Buton but were missing fr...
Understanding biodiversity patterns as well as drivers of population declines, and range losses p... more Understanding biodiversity patterns as well as drivers of population declines, and range losses provides crucial baselines for monitoring and conservation. However, the information needed to evaluate such trends remains unstandardised and sparsely available for many taxonomic groups and habitats, including the cave-dwelling bats and cave ecosystems. Here, we present the DarkCideS 1.0, a global database of bat caves and bat species based on curated data from the literature, personal collections, and existing datasets. The database contains information for geographical distribution, ecological status, species traits, and parasites and hyperparasites for 679 bat species known to occur in caves or use caves in their life-histories. The database contains 6746 georeferenced occurrences for 402 cave-dwelling bat species from 2002 cave sites in 46 countries and 12 terrestrial biomes. The database has been developed to be a collaborative, open-access, and user-friendly platform, allowing con...
Recordings of bat echolocation and social calls are used for many research purposes from ecologic... more Recordings of bat echolocation and social calls are used for many research purposes from ecological studies to taxonomy. Effective use of these relies on identification of species from the recordings, but comparative recordings or detailed call descriptions to support identification are often lacking for areas with high biodiversity. The ChiroVox website (www.chirovox.org) was created to facilitate the sharing of bat sound recordings together with their metadata, including biodiversity data and recording circumstances. To date, more than 30 researchers have contributed over 3,900 recordings of nearly 200 species, making ChiroVox the largest open-access bat call library currently available. Each recording has a unique identifier that can be cited in publications; hence the acoustic analyses are repeatable. Most of the recordings available through the website are from bats whose species identities are confirmed, so they can be used to determine species in recordings where the bats wer...
While some species thrive in urban areas, many are absent from such environments. Those that are ... more While some species thrive in urban areas, many are absent from such environments. Those that are successful often have high behavioural flexibility that allows them to exploit new niches in a human-modified landscape. Northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) is an endangered bat species rarely identified in urban areas, though it is unclear whether this is due to absence or difficulties in surveying. We investigated the ecology of a population of northern myotis within Canada’s largest conurbation, including reproductive status, roosting preference, and movements. Using capture surveys, we confirmed the presence of reproductive females and healthy juveniles over two seasons. Using radio telemetry and acoustic surveys, we identified a cluster of tree roosts in the centre of the forest, and foraging areas concentrated around waterways within the bounds of the forest. These observations suggest the roosting and movement ecology of this population is similar to that observed for this sp...
This database contains 4 major datasets. <br><br>1. The first dataset contains taxono... more This database contains 4 major datasets. <br><br>1. The first dataset contains taxonomic checklists for all extant cave-dwelling bats species extracted from the expert-based International Union for the Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List database version 2020.1. It also contains the General metadata for traits included in the current version of the database: habitat preference, ecological status, feeding groups, geographical range, island endemism, geopolitical endemism, distribution range, biogeographical breadth, generation length, body mass, and threatening process.2. The second dataset contains the bat cave geographical location (latitude/longitude) and recorded species.3. The third dataset included in the database contains the measured land-use and landscape features of the cave surroundings using the georeferenced data from the second dataset.4. The fourth dataset lists the parasitic bat flies and their Laboulbeniales fungal hyperparasites associated with cave bats.
Peninsular Malaysia is currently thought to host the highest biodiversity of Old World bats of an... more Peninsular Malaysia is currently thought to host the highest biodiversity of Old World bats of any region, with 110 species recorded. However, the availability of literature to facilitate a similarly thorough species ‘checklist’ is not as readily available for other parts of Southeast Asia, including Sulawesi, Indonesia. Here we highlight 13 new species records from the long-term bat monitoring programme on Buton Island, South East Sulawesi, expanding on Patterson et al.’s (2017) previous inventory for this study area. One species (Hipposideros galeritus) is a new record for Sulawesi, and seven species (Cynopterus c.f. minutus, Rousettus celebensis, Megaderma spasma, Hipposideros c.f. ater, Myotis c.f. horsfieldii, Myotis c.f. moluccarum, and Myotis c.f.muricola) are new records for Buton Island. The remaining five species (Thoopterus nigrescens, Dobsonia exoleta, Acerodon celebensis,Mosia nigrescens, and Mops sarasinorum) have been previously reported from Buton but were missing fr...
Understanding biodiversity patterns as well as drivers of population declines, and range losses p... more Understanding biodiversity patterns as well as drivers of population declines, and range losses provides crucial baselines for monitoring and conservation. However, the information needed to evaluate such trends remains unstandardised and sparsely available for many taxonomic groups and habitats, including the cave-dwelling bats and cave ecosystems. Here, we present the DarkCideS 1.0, a global database of bat caves and bat species based on curated data from the literature, personal collections, and existing datasets. The database contains information for geographical distribution, ecological status, species traits, and parasites and hyperparasites for 679 bat species known to occur in caves or use caves in their life-histories. The database contains 6746 georeferenced occurrences for 402 cave-dwelling bat species from 2002 cave sites in 46 countries and 12 terrestrial biomes. The database has been developed to be a collaborative, open-access, and user-friendly platform, allowing con...
Recordings of bat echolocation and social calls are used for many research purposes from ecologic... more Recordings of bat echolocation and social calls are used for many research purposes from ecological studies to taxonomy. Effective use of these relies on identification of species from the recordings, but comparative recordings or detailed call descriptions to support identification are often lacking for areas with high biodiversity. The ChiroVox website (www.chirovox.org) was created to facilitate the sharing of bat sound recordings together with their metadata, including biodiversity data and recording circumstances. To date, more than 30 researchers have contributed over 3,900 recordings of nearly 200 species, making ChiroVox the largest open-access bat call library currently available. Each recording has a unique identifier that can be cited in publications; hence the acoustic analyses are repeatable. Most of the recordings available through the website are from bats whose species identities are confirmed, so they can be used to determine species in recordings where the bats wer...
While some species thrive in urban areas, many are absent from such environments. Those that are ... more While some species thrive in urban areas, many are absent from such environments. Those that are successful often have high behavioural flexibility that allows them to exploit new niches in a human-modified landscape. Northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) is an endangered bat species rarely identified in urban areas, though it is unclear whether this is due to absence or difficulties in surveying. We investigated the ecology of a population of northern myotis within Canada’s largest conurbation, including reproductive status, roosting preference, and movements. Using capture surveys, we confirmed the presence of reproductive females and healthy juveniles over two seasons. Using radio telemetry and acoustic surveys, we identified a cluster of tree roosts in the centre of the forest, and foraging areas concentrated around waterways within the bounds of the forest. These observations suggest the roosting and movement ecology of this population is similar to that observed for this sp...
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Papers by Melissa Donnelly