The Population of Bats in The Proposed Arboretum of UMS Campus

The Population of Bats in The Proposed Arboretum of UMS Campus Megat Amir Iskandar Megat Ruslan, Jephte Sompud, Emily A. Gilbert, Shahira Ani Mazita Rahman, Tan Poh Ruey. School of International Tropical Forestry, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah email: [email protected] INTRODUCTION Bats are a remarkably successful group of animal and they constitutes the second largest mammalian order. There are approximately 178 genera and 962 species of known living bats. They usually inhabit areas that are temperate and tropical like. As far as we are aware, there is no publication that has documented the population of bats in the proposed Arboretum, of Universiti Malaysia Sabah. The vegetation in this Arboretum consists predominantly of the pioneer trees, i.e., Acacia sp. The proposed arboretum plays a significant part in the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) of urban forests. Griffiths et al. (2005) defined CCS as the capture and storage of the carbon from the potential source and also its purification, compression, transportation and injection. It is to reduce the emission of the Carbon Dioxide to the atmosphere and function as a solution to limit the increase in the atmospheric concentration of Green House Gases (GHG). The proposed arboretum is studied to investigate its relationship with bats population. Five mist nets were used for this study and they were established in a perpendicular orientation to the existing trail. Capture-Mark-Recapture method was conducted by applying a dot of paint at the back of the bats. Proposed Arboretum M. Amir © M. Amir © OBJECTIVES • The aim of this study is to document the population of bats in the proposed Arboretum (3.1 ha), UMS campus. M. Amir © METHODS MATERIAL PREPARATION RESULT - DATA ANALYSIS MIST NETTING CMR 12 Family Pteropodidae Species(Scientific Name) No. of Individuals Cynopterus brachyotis Short Nosed Fruit Bats No. Individuals 11 Pteropodidae Cynopterus horsfieldi Horsefield's Fruit Bats 4 Pteropodidae Cynopterus sphinx Greater Short Nosed Fruit Bats 7 The vegetation in proposed Arboretum consists of mainly pioneer species. The most abundant trees found here were Acacia species consisting about 70%. Dense green stands of Acacia trees were the most important natural desert habitat for insectivorous bats (Hackett, 2013). The naturally regenerated Acacia forest has a very important role to the bats population. It acts as a place for the bats to roost, since bats are a nocturnal animal, in daytime they will roost either on tree branches, under the exfoliating tree bark, natural tree cavities and also in other structures that provide an overhang (Anon, 1999a). As for the species of bats in the proposed Arboretum, there were only three species sampled, of which were the Cynopterus brachyotis, Cynopterus sphinx and Cynopterus horsfieldi. The most abundant species was the Cynopterus brachyotis with the total of 11 individuals. According to Parrotta (1992), the biological diversity of degraded tropical lands can be improved by planting multi-purpose tree species, of which plays an important role in restoring productivity and ecosystem stability of the land. 7 6 4 4 2 0 Cynopterus brachyotis Cynopterus horsfieldi Cynopterus sphinx No. Individuals M. Amir © M. Amir © CONCLUSION In CCS, reforestation can reduce the Green House Gases (GHG). It also restore the biodiversity of the forest and thus improve the habitats for the wildlife, including bats. The proposed Arboretum that is currently used by the School of International Tropical Forestry supports and sustains the urban bats population, despite of its small size. The proposed arboretum should be conserved and recognized as the University Arboretum as a natural carbon sink for carbon stocking. 11 10 8 DISCUSSION REFERENCE DOCUMENT BATS POPULATION DATA COLLECTION FOR 2 WEEKS M. Amir © M. Amir © Anon. 1999a. Bats (order: Chiroptera). Fish and Wildlife Management Leaflet Number 5. Wildlife Habitat Management Institute. Austin Griffiths. M., Cobb. P. & Laing. T. M. 2005. Carbon Capture and Storage: an arrow in the quiver of a silver bullet to combat climate change. A Canadian Primer. The Pembina Institute. Canada. Hackett. T. D., Korine. C. & Holderied. M. W. 2013. The Importance of Acacia trees for Insectivorous bats and Arthropods in the Arava desert. Department of Biological Sciences. University of Bristol. Bristol. United Kingdom. http://www.pubfacts.com/detail/23441145/The-importance-of-Acacia-trees-for-insectivorous-bats-and-arthropods-inthe-Arava-desert. Parrotta. J. A. 1992. The role of plantation forest in rehabilitating degraded tropical ecosystem. Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment. 41: pp. 115-133.