Abstract
North-western Australia comprises the Kimberley Craton and parts of three adjacent sedimentary basins. It has a tropical climate and habitats that range from semiarid plains supporting grasslands to mesic uplands supporting woodlands as well as narrow riparian forests and patches of rainforest; mangrove forests occur along the coast. Its bat fauna comprises three obligate phytophages and 27 obligate zoophages. Analysis of zoophagic bats at 171 sites scattered throughout this study area revealed two compositionally distinct ensembles. One, comprising 19 species, occupies mangrove forest and includes three species known only to occupy mangroves in Western Australia. The other, comprising 20 species, occupies landward habitats and includes four species that are found only in landward ecosystems. Both ensembles are structured in terms of resource allocation, but nestedness observed in assemblage composition can be explained by environmental factors, implying the influence of environmental controls. Sixteen species belong to both ensembles, but seven of these require cave roosts and occur only near cavernous country while three others are confined to rocky riparian habitats. The richest assemblages were recorded in rugged cavernous landscapes in complex vegetation structures near permanent freshwater pools in the most mesic areas.
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