Bat diversity in tropical forest and agro-pastoral habitats within a protected area in the Philippines

Abstract

Parks and other protected areas in tropical forests often include secondary forest, cropland, and pasture. Documentation of the impact of such anthropogenic disturbance is essential for effective management. We re-sampled bats within Mount Isarog Natural Park (MINP), a protected area in southeastern Luzon, Philippines, seventeen years after a survey in old- and second-growth forest and in agro-pastoral areas was conducted in 1988. By employing harp traps and a tunnel trap, in addition to mist nets as used in the earlier study, we aimed to document species previously undetected by mist netting alone. We documented 26 bat species, seven of which were captured exclusively in harp traps, and two that were only captured in a tunnel trap. This survey resulted in nine new records of bat species for MINP, bringing the total number to 30. We did not recapture four species documented in 1988, all of which were noted in that study as uncommon. Nineteen species were captured in agro-pastoral areas on the south slope, including two Hipposideros spp. not captured at the forested sites.