TY - JOUR
T1 - Conservation value of forest fragments to Palaeotropical bats
AU - Struebig, Matthew J.
AU - Kingston, Tigga
AU - Zubaid, Akbar
AU - Mohd-Adnan, Adura
AU - Rossiter, Stephen J.
N1 - Funding Information:
We are grateful to Christoph Meyer and an anonymous reviewer for critical suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript. Thanks to the Economic Planning Unit of the Malaysian Government for granting us permission to conduct bat research in Malaysia, and the Malaysian Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP), the Pahang State Forestry Department, the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA), and numerous private landowners for allowing us access to research sites. Thanks also to Paul Banks, Monika Bożek, Christine Fletcher, Joanne Kelly, Lee-Sim Lim, Juliana Senawi, Rakhmad Sujarno Kudus, Anthony Turner and Zamiza Zainal for assistance with fieldwork, and to Richard Nichols and Philippa Lincoln for statistical advice. Research in fragments was funded by a PhD studentship awarded to MJS from the Natural Environment Research Council UK, and a grant from Bat Conservation International/US Forest Service. Research in Krau Wildlife Reserve was supported by grants to TK from Lubee Bat Conservancy, National Science Foundation (NSF # 0108384, DEB & East Asia and Pacific Program), Earthwatch Institute, and National Geographic (Committee for Research & Exploration; Conservation Trust).
PY - 2008/8
Y1 - 2008/8
N2 - Forested landscapes in Southeast Asia are becoming increasingly fragmented, making this region a conservation and research priority. Despite its importance, few empirical studies of effects of fragmentation on biodiversity have been undertaken in the region, limiting our ability to inform land-use regimes at a time of increased pressure on forests. We estimated the biodiversity value of forest fragments in peninsular Malaysia by studying fragmentation impacts on insectivorous bat species that vary in dependence of forest. We sampled bats at seven continuous forest sites and 27 forest fragments, and tested the influence of fragment isolation and area on the abundance, species richness, diversity, composition and nestedness of assemblages, and the abundance of the ten most common species. Overall, isolation was a poor predictor of these variables. Conversely, forest area was positively related with abundance and species richness of cavity/foliage-roosting bats, but not for that of cave-roosting or edge/open space foraging species. The smallest of fragments (<150 ha) were more variable in species composition than larger fragments or continuous forest, and larger fragments retained substantial bat diversity, comparable to continuous forest. Some fragments exhibited higher bat abundance and species richness than continuous forest, though declines might occur in the future because of time lags in the manifestation of fragmentation effects. Our findings suggest that fragments >300 ha contribute substantially to landscape-level bat diversity, and that small fragments also have some value. However, large tracts are needed to support rare, forest specialist species and should be the conservation priority in landscape-level planning. Species that roost in tree cavities or foliage may be more vulnerable to habitat fragmentation than those that roost in caves.
AB - Forested landscapes in Southeast Asia are becoming increasingly fragmented, making this region a conservation and research priority. Despite its importance, few empirical studies of effects of fragmentation on biodiversity have been undertaken in the region, limiting our ability to inform land-use regimes at a time of increased pressure on forests. We estimated the biodiversity value of forest fragments in peninsular Malaysia by studying fragmentation impacts on insectivorous bat species that vary in dependence of forest. We sampled bats at seven continuous forest sites and 27 forest fragments, and tested the influence of fragment isolation and area on the abundance, species richness, diversity, composition and nestedness of assemblages, and the abundance of the ten most common species. Overall, isolation was a poor predictor of these variables. Conversely, forest area was positively related with abundance and species richness of cavity/foliage-roosting bats, but not for that of cave-roosting or edge/open space foraging species. The smallest of fragments (<150 ha) were more variable in species composition than larger fragments or continuous forest, and larger fragments retained substantial bat diversity, comparable to continuous forest. Some fragments exhibited higher bat abundance and species richness than continuous forest, though declines might occur in the future because of time lags in the manifestation of fragmentation effects. Our findings suggest that fragments >300 ha contribute substantially to landscape-level bat diversity, and that small fragments also have some value. However, large tracts are needed to support rare, forest specialist species and should be the conservation priority in landscape-level planning. Species that roost in tree cavities or foliage may be more vulnerable to habitat fragmentation than those that roost in caves.
KW - Chiroptera
KW - Habitat fragmentation
KW - Isolation
KW - Malaysia
KW - Nestedness
KW - Oil palm
KW - Species-area relationship
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=49149096534&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.biocon.2008.06.009
DO - 10.1016/j.biocon.2008.06.009
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:49149096534
SN - 0006-3207
VL - 141
SP - 2112
EP - 2126
JO - Biological Conservation
JF - Biological Conservation
IS - 8
ER -