Towards a national bat research strategy for Australia: pointers arising from a survey of participants at the Sixth Australian Bat Conference in January 1994

Abstract

A questionnaire distributed to the participants of the Sixth Australian Bat Conference in January 1994 sought views about priorities for Australian bat research. The results demonstrate that there is a primary requirement for the funding of broad-based fundamental research and many of the research projects proposed by the participants are listed here. Bat research was considered to be hindered by lack of funding, cost of capital equipment and inaccessible research results buried in unpublished studies. Species of the genera Pteropus and Nyctophilus and cave-dwellers were thought to be good potential subjects for research, but there was little support for research and development of an industry based on commercial utilization of flying foxes. Most importantly, the results reveal the concern of bat specialists that bat conservation in Australia be based on a thorough understanding of bat biology.