Threatened but not conserved: flying-fox roosting and foraging habitat in Australia
Libby A. Timmiss A , John M. Martin
A B F , Nicholas J. Murray A C , Justin A. Welbergen D , David Westcott E , Adam McKeown E and Richard T. Kingsford A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
B Institute of Science and Learning, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Bradley’s Head Road, Mosman, NSW 2088, Australia.
C College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.
D The Hawkesbury institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW 2753, Australia.
E Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, 47 Maunds Street, Atherton, Qld 4883, Australia.
F Corresponding author. Email: jmartin@zoo.nsw.gov.au
Australian Journal of Zoology - https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO20086
Submitted: 27 October 2020 Accepted: 8 February 2021 Published online: 3 March 2021
Journal Compilation © CSIRO 2021 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND
Abstract
Conservation relies upon a primary understanding of changes in a species’ population size, distribution, and habitat use. Bats represent about one in five mammal species in the world, but understanding for most species is poor. For flying-foxes, specifically the 66 Pteropus species globally, 31 are classified as threatened (Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered) on the IUCN Red List. Flying-foxes typically aggregate in colonies of thousands to hundreds of thousands of individuals at their roost sites, dispersing at sunset to forage on floral resources (pollen, nectar, and fruit) in nearby environments. However, understanding of flying-fox roosting habitat preferences is poor, hindering conservation efforts in many countries. In this study, we used a database of 654 known roost sites of the four flying-fox species that occur across mainland Australia to determine the land-use categories and vegetation types in which roost sites were found. In addition, we determined the land-use categories and vegetation types found within the surrounding 25 km radius of each roost, representing primary foraging habitat. Surprisingly, for the four species most roosts occurred in urban areas (42–59%, n = 4 species) followed by agricultural areas (21–31%). Critically, for the two nationally listed species, only 5.2% of grey-headed and 13.9% of spectacled flying-fox roosts occurred in habitat within protected areas. Roosts have previously been reported to predominantly occur in rainforest, mangrove, wetland, and dry sclerophyll vegetation types. However, we found that only 20–35% of roosts for each of the four species occurred in these habitats. This study shows that flying-fox roosts overwhelmingly occurred within human-modified landscapes across eastern Australia, and that conservation reserves inadequately protect essential habitat of roosting and foraging flying-foxes.
Keywords: bat, fruit-bat, pollinator, conservation, threatened species, Pteropus, vegetation community, mammal.
References
Chaudhary, A., and Mooers, A. (2018). Terrestrial vertebrate biodiversity loss under future global land use change scenarios. Sustainability 10, 2764.| Terrestrial vertebrate biodiversity loss under future global land use change scenarios.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Currey, K., Kendal, D., van der Ree, R., and Lentini, P. E. (2018). Land manager perspectives on conflict mitigation strategies for urban flying-fox camps. Diversity 10, 39.
| Land manager perspectives on conflict mitigation strategies for urban flying-fox camps.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Department of the Environment and Water Resources (DEWR) (2007). Australia’s native vegetation: a summary of Australia’s major vegetation groups. Australian Government, Canberra, ACT. Available at: http://www.environment.gov.au/resource/australiasnative-vegetation-summary-australias-major-vegetation-groups [accessed 10 April 2017].
Divljan, A., Parry-Jones, K., and Eby, P. (2011). Deaths and injuries to grey-headed flying-foxes, Pteropus poliocephalus shot at an orchard near Sydney, New South Wales. Australian Zoologist 35, 698–710.
| Deaths and injuries to grey-headed flying-foxes, Pteropus poliocephalus shot at an orchard near Sydney, New South Wales.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Eby, P., and Law, B. S. (2008). Ranking the feeding habitat of grey-headed flying-foxes for conservation management. Department of Environment, Heritage, Water and the Arts: Canberra.
Edson, D., Field, H., Mcmichael, L., Jordan, D., Kung, N., Mayer, D., and Smith, C. (2015). Flying-fox roost disturbance and Hendra virus spillover risk. PLoS One 10, e0125881.
| Flying-fox roost disturbance and Hendra virus spillover risk.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 26625128PubMed |
Fox, S. (2011). The Spectacled flying-fox: a review of past and present knowledge. In ‘The Biology and Conservation of Australasian Bats’. (Eds B. Law, L. Lumsden, D. Lunney, and P. Eby.) pp. 136–145. (Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales: Mosman, NSW.)
Fujita, M. S., and Tuttle, M. D. (1991). Flying Foxes (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae): threatened animals of key ecological and economic importance. Conservation Biology 5, 455–463.
| Flying Foxes (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae): threatened animals of key ecological and economic importance.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Garnett, S., Whybird, O., and Spencer, H. (1999). The conservation status of the spectacled flying-fox Pteropus conspicillatus in Australia. Australian Zoologist 31, 38–54.
| The conservation status of the spectacled flying-fox Pteropus conspicillatus in Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Giles, J. R., Plowright, R. K., Eby, P., Peel, A. J., and McCallum, H. (2016). Models of eucalypt phenology predict bat population flux. Ecology and Evolution 6, 7230–7245.
| Models of eucalypt phenology predict bat population flux.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 27891217PubMed |
Granek, E. (2002). Conservation of Pteropus livingstonii based on roost site habitat characteristics on Anjouan and Moheli, Comoros islands. Biological Conservation 108, 93–100.
| Conservation of Pteropus livingstonii based on roost site habitat characteristics on Anjouan and Moheli, Comoros islands.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Gulraiz, T. L., Javid, A., Mahmood-Ul-Hassan, M., Maqbool, A., Ashraf, S., Hussain, M., and Daud, S. (2015). Roost characteristics and habitat preferences of Indian flying-fox (Pteropus giganteus) in urban areas of Lahore, Pakistan. Turkish Journal of Zoology 39, 388–394.
| Roost characteristics and habitat preferences of Indian flying-fox (Pteropus giganteus) in urban areas of Lahore, Pakistan.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hahn, M. B., Epstein, J. H., Gurley, E. S., Islam, M. S., Luby, S. P., Daszak, P., and Patz, J. A. (2014). Roosting behaviour and habitat selection of Pteropus giganteus reveal potential links to Nipah virus epidemiology. Journal of Applied Ecology 51, 376–387.
| Roosting behaviour and habitat selection of Pteropus giganteus reveal potential links to Nipah virus epidemiology.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hayward, M. W. (2011). Using the IUCN Red List to determine effective conservation strategies. Biodiversity and Conservation 20, 2563–2573.
| Using the IUCN Red List to determine effective conservation strategies.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
IUCN (2020). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2020–2. Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org [accessed 9 August 2020].
Kung, N. Y., Field, H. E., Mclaughlin, A., Edson, D., and Taylor, M. (2015). Flying-foxes in the Australian urban environment – community attitudes and opinions. One Health 1, 24–30.
| Flying-foxes in the Australian urban environment – community attitudes and opinions.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 28616461PubMed |
Law, B. S. (1995). The ecology of bats in south-east Australian forests and potential impacts of forestry practices: a review. Pacific Conservation Biology 2, 363–374.
| The ecology of bats in south-east Australian forests and potential impacts of forestry practices: a review.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lentini, P. E., and Welbergen, J. A. (2019). Managing tensions around urban flying‐fox roosts. Austral Ecology 44, 380–385.
| Managing tensions around urban flying‐fox roosts.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Markus, N., and Hall, L. (2004). Foraging behaviour of the black flying-fox (Pteropus alecto) in the urban landscape of Brisbane, Queensland. Wildlife Research 31, 345–355.
| Foraging behaviour of the black flying-fox (Pteropus alecto) in the urban landscape of Brisbane, Queensland.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
McClelland, K. L., Fleming, P. J. S., and Malcolm, P. J. (2011). Grey-headed flying-foxes in orchards: a collaborative project on damage estimates, contributing factors and mitigation strategies – triumphs and tribulations of flying-fox conservation and management in NSW. In ‘The Biology and Conservation of Australasian Bats’. (Eds B. Law, L. Lumsden, D. Lunney, and P. Eby.) pp. 391–398. (Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales: Mosman, NSW.)
McDonald-Madden, E., Schreiber, E. S. G., Forsyth, D. M., Choquenot, D., and Clancy, T. F. (2005). Factors affecting grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus: Pteropodidae) foraging in the Melbourne metropolitan area, Australia. Austral Ecology 30, 600–608.
| Factors affecting grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus: Pteropodidae) foraging in the Melbourne metropolitan area, Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Meade, J., van der Ree, R., Stepanian, P. M., Westcott, D. A., and Welbergen, J. A. (2019). Using weather radar to monitor the number, timing and directions of flying-foxes emerging from their roosts. Scientific Reports 9, 10222.
| Using weather radar to monitor the number, timing and directions of flying-foxes emerging from their roosts.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 31308411PubMed |
Oleksy, R., Racey, P. A., and Jones, G. (2015). High-resolution GPS tracking reveals habitat selection and the potential for long-distance seed dispersal by Madagascan flying-foxes Pteropus rufus. Global Ecology and Conservation 3, 678–692.
| High-resolution GPS tracking reveals habitat selection and the potential for long-distance seed dispersal by Madagascan flying-foxes Pteropus rufus.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Palmer, C., and Woinarski, J. C. Z. (1999). Seasonal roosts and foraging movements of the black flying fox (Pteropus alecto) in the Northern Territory: resource tracking in a landscape mosaic. Wildlife Research 26, 823–838.
| Seasonal roosts and foraging movements of the black flying fox (Pteropus alecto) in the Northern Territory: resource tracking in a landscape mosaic.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Palmer, C., Price, O., and Bach, C. (2000). Foraging ecology of the black flying-fox (Pteropus alecto) in the seasonal tropics of the Northern Territory, Australia. Wildlife Research 27, 169–178.
| Foraging ecology of the black flying-fox (Pteropus alecto) in the seasonal tropics of the Northern Territory, Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Parish, S., Richards, G., and Hall, L. (2012). ‘A Natural History of Australian Bats: Working the Night Shift.’ (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.)
Parsons, J. G., Cairns, A., Johnson, C. N., Robson, S. K., Shilton, L. A., and Westcott, D. A. (2006). Dietary variation in spectacled flying-foxes (Pteropus conspicillatus) of the Australian Wet Tropics. Australian Journal of Zoology 54, 417–428.
| Dietary variation in spectacled flying-foxes (Pteropus conspicillatus) of the Australian Wet Tropics.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Plowright, R. K., Foley, P., Field, H. E., Dobson, A. P., Foley, J. E., Eby, P., and Daszak, P. (2011). Urban habituation, ecological connectivity and epidemic dampening: the emergence of Hendra virus from flying foxes (Pteropus spp.). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 278, 3703–3712.
| Urban habituation, ecological connectivity and epidemic dampening: the emergence of Hendra virus from flying foxes (Pteropus spp.).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Possingham, H. P., Andelman, S. J., Burgman, M. A., Medellín, R. A., Master, L. L., and Keith, D. A. (2002). Limits to the use of threatened species lists. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 17, 503–507.
| Limits to the use of threatened species lists.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Powers, R. P., and Jetz, W. (2019). Global habitat loss and extinction risk of terrestrial vertebrates under future land-use-change scenarios. Nature Climate Change 9, 323–329.
| Global habitat loss and extinction risk of terrestrial vertebrates under future land-use-change scenarios.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
R Core Team (2017). R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. Available at: www.R-project.org/
Ratcliffe, F. (1938). ‘Flying Foxes and Drifting Sands.’ (Sirius Book Publication: Sydney, Australia and London, England.)
Ratnayake, H. U., Kearney, M. R., Govekar, P., Karoly, D., and Welbergen, J. A. (2019). Forecasting wildlife die‐offs from extreme heat events. Animal Conservation 22, 386–395.
| Forecasting wildlife die‐offs from extreme heat events.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Roberts, B. (2012). The ecology and management of the grey-headed flying-fox Pteropus poliocephalus. Ph.D. Thesis, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
Roberts, B. J., Eby, P., Catterall, C. P., Kanowski, J., and Bennett, G. (2011). The outcomes and costs of relocating flying-fox camps: insights from the case of Maclean, Australia. In ‘The Biology and Conservation of Australasian Bats’. (Eds B. Law, L. Lumsden, D. Lunney, and P. Eby.) pp. 277–287. (Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales: Mosman, NSW.)
Roberts, B. J., Catterall, C. P., Eby, P., and Kanowski, J. (2012). Latitudinal range shifts in Australian flying-foxes: a re-evaluation. Austral Ecology 37, 12–22.
| Latitudinal range shifts in Australian flying-foxes: a re-evaluation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ruffell, J., Guilbert, J., and Parsons, S. (2009). Translocation of bats as a conservation strategy: previous attempts and potential problems. Endangered Species Research 8, 25–31.
| Translocation of bats as a conservation strategy: previous attempts and potential problems.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Tait, J., Perotto-Baldivieso, H. L., Mckeown, A., and Westcott, D. A. (2014). Are flying-foxes coming to town? Urbanisation of the spectacled flying-fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) in Australia. PLoS One 9, e109810.
| Are flying-foxes coming to town? Urbanisation of the spectacled flying-fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) in Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 25295724PubMed |
Threatened Species Scientific Committee (2001). Commonwealth Listing Advice on Pteropus poliocephalus (grey-headed flying-fox). Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra, ACT. Available at: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/p-poliocephalus.html
Threatened Species Scientific Committee (2019). Conservation advice: Pteropus conspicillatus spectacled flying-fox. Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra, ACT. Available at: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/185-conservation-advice-22022019.pdf
Todd, C. M. (2019). The ecology and conservation of the Christmas Island flying-fox (Pteropus natalis). Ph.D. Thesis, Western Sydney University. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.7/uws:57389
Vanderduys, E., Macdonald, S. L., McKeown, A., Norris, E., Hoskins, A. J., Bradford, M., and Westcott, D. A. (2020). Testing hypotheses for urban roosting by the little red flying-fox (Pteropus scapulatus). In ‘The Little Red Flying-fox: Ecology and Management of Australia’s Most Abundant and Enigmatic Flying-fox. Report to Queensland Department of Environment and Science’. (Eds D. Westcott et al.) pp. 324–373. (CSIRO.)
Vardon, M. J., and Tidemann, C. R. (1999). Flying-foxes (Pteropus alecto and P. scapulatus) in the Darwin region, north Australia: patterns in camp size and structure. Australian Journal of Zoology 47, 411–423.
| Flying-foxes (Pteropus alecto and P. scapulatus) in the Darwin region, north Australia: patterns in camp size and structure.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Welbergen, J. A., and Eby, P. (2016). Not in my backyard? How to live alongside flying-foxes in urban Australia. The Conversation. Available at: http://theconversation.com/not-in-my-backyard-how-to-live-alongside-flying-foxes-in-urban-australia-59893
Welbergen, J. A., Klose, S. M., Markus, N., and Eby, P. (2008). Climate change and the effects of temperature extremes on Australian flying-foxes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 275, 419.
| Climate change and the effects of temperature extremes on Australian flying-foxes.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Welbergen, J. A., Booth, C., and Martin, J. M. (2014). Killer climate: tens of thousands of flying foxes dead in a day. The Conversation. Available at: http://theconversation.com/killer-climate-tens-ofthousands-of-flying-foxes-dead-in-a-day-23227
Welbergen, J. A., Meade, J., Field, H., Edson, D., McMichael, L., Shoo, L. P., Praszczalek, J., Smith, C., and Martin, J. M. (2020). Extreme mobility of the world’s largest flying mammals creates key challenges for management and conservation. BMC Biology 18, 101.
| Extreme mobility of the world’s largest flying mammals creates key challenges for management and conservation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 32819385PubMed |
Westcott, D. A., Mckeown, A., Murphy, H. T., and Fletcher, C. S. (2011). A monitoring method for the grey-headed flying-fox, Pteropus poliocephalus. CSIRO Published Guidelines.
Westcott, D. A., McKeown, A., Parry, H., Parsons, J., Jurdak, R., Kusy, B., Sommer, P., Zhao, K., Dobbie, M., Heersink, D., and Caley, P. (2015). Implementation of the national flying-fox monitoring program. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra.
Williams, N. S. G., Mcdonnell, M. J., Phelan, G. K., Keim, L. D., and van der Ree, R. (2006). Range expansion due to urbanization: increased food resources attract grey-headed flying-foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) to Melbourne. Austral Ecology 31, 190–198.
| Range expansion due to urbanization: increased food resources attract grey-headed flying-foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) to Melbourne.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wintle, B. A., Kujala, H., Whitehead, A., Cameron, A., Veloz, S., Kukkala, A., Moilanen, A., Gordon, A., Lentini, P. E., Cadenhead, N. C. R., and Bekessy, S. A. (2019). Global synthesis of conservation studies reveals the importance of small habitat patches for biodiversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 116, 909–914.
| Global synthesis of conservation studies reveals the importance of small habitat patches for biodiversity.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 30530660PubMed |
