Bat diversity in the lowland forests of the Heart of Borneo

Abstract

Borneo’s rainforests are renowned for their high levels of biodiversity, yet information on the distribution and structure of this diversity is lacking, particularly for less charismatic taxonomic groups. We quantified bat diversity across ten sites within a contiguous tract of largely undisturbed rainforest in the Heart of Borneo (HoB) transboundary conservation area. Using comparative analyses of 1,362 bat captures from six sites in Brunei Darussalam, together with data from four additional sites in neighbouring territories, we show that the main differences in bat assemblage composition between sites were driven by the abundances of a few cave-roosting species. Beta diversity (distance decay) was notably low and non-significant. Bat assemblage structure in these undisturbed palaeotropical forests is therefore relatively homogenous in the absence of environmental gradients. By adding 15 bat species to the Brunei national inventory, we confirm the area of north Borneo to be species-diverse and therefore a priority for conservation efforts. However, we also highlight that coastal forest to be included in a recent extension to the HoB hosts bat assemblages with the fewest species and lowest densities. We maintain that extending the HoB in Brunei to include a more diverse portfolio of habitat types is still warranted on the grounds of maximising botanical diversity and habitat area, as long as it does not detract attention from interior forests that support higher vertebrate diversity.