Bats of Borneo: diversity,distributions and representation in protected areas |
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Authors: | Matthew J Struebig Lenny Christy Dorothea Pio Erik Meijaard |
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Institution: | (1) School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK;(2) The Nature Conservancy, East Kalimantan Program, Jalan Polantas no. 5, Markoni, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia;(3) Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland |
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Abstract: | Protected areas are valuable in conserving tropical biodiversity, but an insufficient understanding of species diversity and
distributions makes it difficult to evaluate their effectiveness. This is especially true on Borneo, a species rich island
shared by three countries, and is particularly concerning for bats, a poorly known component of mammal diversity that may
be highly susceptible to landscape changes. We reviewed the diversity, distributions and conservation status of 54 bat species
to determine the representation of these taxa in Borneo’s protected areas, and whether these reserves complement each other
in terms of bat diversity. Lower and upper bound estimates of bat species composition were characterised in 23 protected areas
and the proposed boundaries of the Heart of Borneo conservation area. We used lower and upper bound estimates of species composition.
By using actual inventories, species representation was highly irregular, and even if some reserves were included in the Heart
of Borneo, the protected area network would still exhibit low complementarity. By inferring species presence from distributions,
composition between most reserves was similar, and complementarity was much higher. Predicting species richness using abundance
information suggested that bat species representation in reserves may lie between these two extremes. We recommend that researchers
better sample biodiversity over the island and address the conservation threats faced in Borneo both within and outside protected
areas. While the Heart of Borneo Initiative is commendable, it should not divert attention from other conservation areas. |
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