Bat species richness and activity in Dghoumes National Park (Southwest Tunisia): a preliminary survey

R Dalhoumi,H Beyrem,S Aulagnier,P Aissa

doi:10.32800/amz.2020.18.0089

Abstract

Bat fauna in eight of the main habitat types of Dghoumes National Park was inventoried using mist-netting, acoustic detection and roost search. Bats were active at night and recorded near water bodies and street lamps. We recorded the echolocation calls of six bat species: Eptesicus isabellinus, Pipistrellus kuhlii, Vansonia rueppellii, Asellia tridens, Tadarida teniotis and Rhinopoma cystops. Two bat colonies containing 111 individuals of R. cystops were found roosting in Jebel Morra cave and 54 individuals of A. tridens were found roosting in the ceiling of the Ecomuseum. Due to potential disturbance by visitors to the museum, we suggest strengthening management practices to ensure the usage of this roosting site in order to promote the conservation of A. tridens. Data published through GBIF (Doi: 10.15470/0u03uz)

Highlights

With more than 1,421 species (Simmons and Cirranello, 2020), Chiroptera is the second most speciose mammalian order in the world, constituting about a quarter of all mammal species (Hutson et al, 2001; Wilson and Reeder, 2005)
Three species were recorded near the street lamps at the park entrance with Pipistrellus kuhlii more commonly recorded (96.4 % of passes) than Eptesicus isabellinus and Asellia tridens
Four species were recorded at each water body: E. isabellinus, P. kuhlii, A. tridens and Tadarida teniotis, the latter being the least recorded

Summary

Introduction

With more than 1,421 species (Simmons and Cirranello, 2020), Chiroptera is the second most speciose mammalian order in the world, constituting about a quarter of all mammal species (Hutson et al, 2001; Wilson and Reeder, 2005). Bats have colonized all continents except Antarctica, with different levels of species richness (Owen, 1990; Georgiakakis et al, 2010; Curran et al, 2012; Fenton and Simmons, 2014; Weber and Cáceres, 2018). Bat species richness peaks in equatorial zones and is lowest in desert areas (Ramos Pereira and Palmeirim, 2013; Monadjem et al, 2018). The first data on southern Tunisian bats were published by Baker et al (1974) and Cockrum (in Dalhoumi et al, 2011). These authors recorded 6 bat species: Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Asellia tridens, Eptesicus isabellinus, Pipistrellus kuhlii, Plecotus gaisleri and Myotis punicus. The lack of knowledge of bat fauna in Tunisia requires intensive surveys focusing mainly on habitat use in this harsh environment

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