THE EFFECTS OF FOREST TYPE AND SEASON ON THE ABUNDANCE AND SPECIES DIVERSITY OF BATS IN NORTHEASTERN THAILAND
Keywords:
Bat, assemblage, vegetation, season, Sakaerat Biosphere ReserveAbstract
Bats are the most species-diverse group of terrestrial mammals in Thailand. However, data on the ecology of forest bats in Thailand are lacking. This study determined the influence of the vegetation and season on the abundance and species diversity of forest bats in Sakaerat Biosphere Reserve, northeastern Thailand. From June, 2013 to May, 2014, bats were captured with 16 mist nets, set up from 18.00 to 24.00 h in dry dipterocarp forest, ecotone, dry evergreen forest, and plantation for 12 nights per season (in total, 36 sample nights). Captured bats were identified to the species level and marked with permanent ink and the fur was clipped on the dorsal side of the body. A total of 81,216 net meter hours resulted in the capture of 66 individuals, representing 6 families, 7 genera, and 9 species. Of these, megabats comprised 32%, while microbats constituted 68%. The most abundant species was Hipposideros larvatus (34.85%). The Shannon-Wiener diversity index of bats was 1.925, while the Shannon-Wiener evenness index of bats was 0.876. Dry evergreen forest was by far the most important habitat where 91% of the captures occurred achieving a Shannon-Wiener diversity index of 1.866, compared with the ecotone where only 9% of the captures occurred (diversity 1.011). No bats were captured in the dry dipterocarp forest and the plantation. Bat abundance was also significantly different among the seasons (H= 8.91, df = 2. p = 0.011). The Shannon-Wiener diversity index of bats was highest in the rainy season (1.595), followed by the winter (1.466), and the summer (0.562), respectively.
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