Bats (Chiroptera) of Bidoup Nui Ba National Park, Dalat Plateau, Vietnam

Abstract

We determined species diversity, seasonal reproduction, and echolocation patterns in the bat community of Bidoup Nui Ba National Park (BNBNP), Lam Dong Province, on the Dalat Plateau of the Central Highlands of Vietnam. We documented 27 species with 211 individuals captured in 26 994 m2 mist-net-hours and 3015 m2 harp-trap-hours of effort. We found five species of pteropodids and 22 species of insectivorous bats in four families, including regional records and species seldom captured in Vietnam. Bat species richness at BNBNP is now known to be 33 species, including six found in a prior study. Based on the inverse Simpson Index of Diversity, evenness of captures was low, reflecting the high abundance of a few species with many species documented by just one or two individuals. Insectivorous bats were pregnant in the late dry season, but not during the wet season when lactation occurred and volant juveniles were captured. Echolocation call characteristics were determined for 19 species of insectivorous bats. Call patterns were consistent with some but not all reports in the literature from elsewhere in southeast Asia. This suggests the existence of cryptic species or geographic and habitat variability in echolocation calls of southeast Asian bats that requires further study.