Distribution status and roost characteristics of Indian Flying Fox Pteropus medius Temminck, 1825 (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) in Kurukshetra district, Haryana, India

Abstract

The Indian Flying Fox Pteropus medius plays a major role in the maintenance of a healthy ecosystem and is very specific in selecting roosting sites. The present study was conducted from January 2021 to March 2022 to document the occurrence of roosting colonies, the roosting sites and the population characteristics of P. medius in Kurukshetra district, Haryana. Of the 10 roosting sites identified in four tehsils of Kurukshetra district, 60% were located close to water sources, 20% were near agricultural fields, and the remaining sites were in roadside plantations. Eight roosting sites were observed to be permanent and two were temporary. A total of 233 trees belonging to seven families, eight genera, and nine species were identified as roost trees for this species. Our survey results show that P. medius preferred (77.42%) roosting majorly on trees of the Myrtaceae family (Eucalyptus), while very few individuals (0.5%) were recorded on Phoenix dactylifera. A positive Pearson correlation between the population of the roosting bats and the roost tree characteristics such as height (r = 0.320, p <0.001), dbh (r = 0.226, p <0.001), and circumference (r = 0.293, p <0.001) was also observed. The findings of the current study revealed that P. medius prefers to roost on tall trees with large diameters at breast height, located near water bodies and agricultural fields. Protecting such large and tall trees would benefit the conservation of roosting sites of this species and its populations.