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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 46(3)

What can echolocation recordings reveal about the species composition, habitat specificity and structure of mangrove bat communities in the Northern Territory?

N. L. McKenzie https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1316-8772 A * , R. D. Bullen B and D. J. Milne C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Bentley 6983, Australia.

B 43 Murray Drive, Hillarys, 6025, Australia.

C Northern Territory Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security, Palmerston, 0831, Australia.

* Correspondence to: norman.mckenzie1@gmail.com

Handling Editor: Laura Ruykys

Australian Mammalogy 46, AM24001 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM24001
Submitted: 5 January 2024  Accepted: 11 November 2024  Published: 9 December 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Australian Mammal Society.

Abstract

In June 2021 we used ultrasonic recorders to inventory zoophagic bats at mangrove patches in three bioregions on the Northern Territory coast: Darwin Coastal, Arnhem Coast and Gulf Coastal. All species could be separated in terms of their search-mode echolocation sequences using tropical Western Australian and Northern Territory reference libraries based on pulse peak frequency (Fpeak), fineness-of-tuning (Q−6dB), repetition-rate and shape. Twenty-five of the 27 species that comprise the ‘Top End’ zoophagic bat fauna are now known to occur in its mangroves, an average of 21.3 ± 0.3 (s.e.) species per bioregion. Northern Territory and Western Australian populations of all but three species show few discernable differences in the four echolocation metrics assessed. Unlike the tropical bioregions in Western Australia, no bat species is confined to mangroves in the Northern Territory. Even so, analysis of data from these and adjacent bioregions shows that bat community structures throughout tropical north-western Australia are adapted to their environmental setting.

Keywords: community structure, fineness-of-tuning (Q), habitat preferences, Kimberley, peak frequency, Pilbara, search-mode echolocation, wing beat frequency.

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