Roost Selection and Diet Analysis of Leschenault's Rousette Bat (Rousettus Leschenaulitii Desmarest, 1820) in Bhimad Area Tanahu, Nepal.
Date
2021
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Zoology
Abstract
Bats are mammals belonging to the order Chiropteran the second largest to the order among
26 mammalian groups. Bats are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight with
their forelimbs adapted as wings. The main objectives of this study were to identify cohabitant
bat
species
with
Rousettus
leschenaultii
at
the
study
cave,
determine
population
and
evaluate factors influencing roosting refugia, enumerate diets of Rousettus
leschenaultii at the study area Bhimad, Tanahun Nepal. Possible roosting sites were
surveyed and mist netting was used to capture bat and observed directly. Morphometric
measurements, taxonomic characters, were used to identify species. High resolution
photographs were taken to estimate the population. The height of roost site, distance of
roosting sites of bats inside Chamero cave was measured using measuring tape (Pythagoras
theorem). The seeds of potential food of fruiting plants, mostly ripe fruits were collected.
Plastic sheets of 1-1m size were placed randomly in six different locations inside the cave
to collect fecal matters of bats. Total 156 fecal samples were collected from the Chamero
cave twice in a month.The correlation between population and height of roost refugia,
distance of roost refugia from cave entrance were analyzed using correlation in R-studio.
Also, regression analysis was performed to analyze relation between bat population and
physical factors. The collected samples of guano were analyzed using collected potential
food items. The family wise composition of diet items were analyzed using MS Excel 2010.
A total four roosting sites were identified with eight species of bats. The height of roosting
refugia and bat population was found to be moderately correlated (r=0.55) whereas,
distance of roosting refugia from cave entrance and bat population was found to be in a
weak correlation (r=0.44). Among four roosting sites Bhalu cave has the highest diversity
of bat species with being longest cave. The bat species were found to be roosting in the
highest refugia inside Chamero cave. The distance of roosting refugia from cave entrance
don’t have any effect on roosting refugia. Thirty three plant species were collected as
potential diets from 20 families. A total of 11 species of fruiting plant were identified as
diet of Rousettus. Among these twenty five percent were found to be cultivated fruits and
75% were found to be wild fruits. This study on the diversity and habitat of bats can help
understand the ecological interaction. This can enhance knowledge of locals especially
farmers about importance of bats.
Description
Keywords
Roost selection, Diet analysis