Bats of Mount Silabur, Sarawak, and Its Potential for Conservation
Abstract
Karst landscape is recognised as one of the biologically important areas especially for bats. The limestone caves and forest within the landscape provide essential resources for the local bat fauna, albeit bat populations are severely threatened by anthropogenic disturbances occurring within and surrounding the ecosystem. In Sarawak, studies on bat diversity are biased towards protected areas, leaving aside non-protected areas including private lands such as Mount Silabur. Surveys on bat diversity were conducted at the limestone outcrop and the surrounding matrix of Mount Silabur with the primary aim of developing the first checklist of bats at Mount Silabur. A total of 27 species were recorded from 12 sampling nights representing approximately 34% of the total bat species recorded in Sarawak. The Cox’s Roundleaf Bat (Hipposideros coxi), a rare Bornean endemic species, was recorded from the cave system, signifying an important record for the area and also Sarawak. Furthermore, this is the sixth locality record for the species in Sarawak, Borneo. Interestingly, the total number of bat species recorded from Mount Silabur represented about 72% of the total bat species recorded (27 out of 38 species) from other major touristic caves in western Sarawak; Fairy Cave Nature Reserve and Wind Cave Nature Reserve. This warrants a need to develop an action plan to protect and conserve Mount Silabur cave system and the surrounding forest for its potential to serve as a shelter for bats and other cave and forest dependent taxa. The local community should implement and adhere to guidelines for cave related activities to minimise human driven disturbances on the ecosystem and its inhabitants.
References
Avigliano, E., Rosso, J.J., Lijtmaer, D., Ondarza, P., Piacentini, L., Izquierdo, M., Cirigliano, A., Romano, G., Bustos, E.N., Porta, A., Mabragana, E., Grassi, E., Palermo, J., Bukowski, B., Tubaro, P. & Schenone, N. (2019). Biodiversity and threats in non-protected areas: A multidisciplinary and multi-taxa approach focused on the Atlantic Forest. Heliyon, 5(8): e02292.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02292
Burgin, C.J., Colella, J.P., Kahn, P.L. & Upham, N.S. (2018). How many species of mammals are there? Journal of Mammalogy, 99(1): 1-14.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyx147
Day, M. & Urich, P. (2000). An assessment of protected karst landscapes in Southeast Asia. Cave and Karst Science, 27(2): 61-70.
Dudley, N. (Ed.). (2008). Guidelines for applying protected area management categories. Gland, Switzerland. IUCN.
https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2008.PAPS.2.en
Ethier, K. & Fahrig, L. (2011). Positive effects of forest fragmentation, independent of forest amount, on bat abundance in eastern Ontario, Canada. Landscape Ecology, 26(6): 865-876.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-011-9614-2
Francis, C.M. (2008). A guide to the mammals of Southeast Asia. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Frick, W.F., Kingston, T. & Flanders, J. (2019). A review of the major threats and challenges to global bat conservation. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1469: 5-25.
https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14045
Gillieson, D. (2005). Karst in Southeast Asia. In Gupta, A. (Ed.) The physical geography of Southeast Asia. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. 157-176.
https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199248025.003.0021
Gotelli, N.J. & Colwell, R.K. (2001). Quantifying biodiversity: procedures and pitfalls in the measurement and comparison of species richness. Ecology Letters, 4(4): 379-391.
https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1461-0248.2001.00230.x
Gray, C.L., Hill, S.L., Newbold, T., Hudson, L.N., Börger, L., Contu, S., Hoskins, A.J., Ferrier, S., Purvis, A. & Scharlemann, J.P. (2016). Local biodiversity is higher inside than outside terrestrial protected areas worldwide. Nature Communications, 7(1): 1-7.
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12306
Hall, L.S., Tuen, A.A., Ketol, B., Sait, I. & Abdullah, M.T. (2001). Senarai spesis kelawar di Gua Angin, Bau. Unpublished report. Kota Samarahan, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.
Hall, L.S., Richards, G.C. & Abdullah, M.T. (2002). The Bats of Niah National Park, Sarawak. Sarawak Museum Journal, 78: 255-282.
IUCN (2022). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2020-2. http://www.iucnredlist. org. Downloaded on 25th July 2022.
Jayaraj, V.K., Ketol, B., Marni, W., Sait, I., Mortada, M. J., Khan, F.A.A., Har, F.P., Hall, L.S. & Abdullah, M.T. (2011). Comparative distribution and diversity of bats from selected localities in Sarawak. Borneo Journal of Resource Science and Technology, 1(1): 1-13.
https://doi.org/10.33736/bjrst.257.2011
Jub, N., Barapoi, I.P., Abdul Aziz, N.A., Jalaweh, N., Hamdan, F.Z., Tuen, A.A., Mohd-Azlan, J., Laman, C.J. & Abdullah, M.T. (2003). Diversity of small mammals in Bau limestone habitat, Sarawak. Natural Resources, Environment and Development Conference, Kuching, Sarawak.
Karim, C., Tuen, A.A. & Abdullah, M.T. (2004). Mammals. Sarawak Bau Limestone Biodiversity. Sarawak Museum Journal, 80: 221-234.
Khalik, M.Z., Bozkurt, E. & Schilthuizen, M. (2020). Morphological parallelism of sympatric cave‐dwelling microsnails of the genus Georissa at Mount Silabur, Borneo (Gastropoda, Neritimorpha, Hydrocenidae). Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 58(3): 648-661.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jzs.12352
Khan, F.A.A., Sazali, S.N., Kumaran, J.V., Aban, S., Zaini, M.K., Ketol, B., Ryan, J.R., Julaihi, M., Hall, L.S. & Abdullah, M.T. (2007). Bats of Bako National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia Borneo. The Sarawak Museum Journal, 62 (84): 267-300.
Khan, F.A.A., Rahman, S.P.H., Tahir, N.F.D., Libar, R., Khalik, M.Z., Tuen, A.A., Mohd-Azlan, J. & Azhar, M.I.M. (2015). Birds and Mammals: Bats. In Rahman, M.A., Tuen, A.A. & Das, I. (Eds.), Tanjung Datu National Park: Where Borneo Begins, Natural History Publication and in association with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Pp. 85-87.
Kingston, T., Francis, C. M., Zubaid, A. & Kunz, T.H. (2003). Species richness in an insectivorous bat assemblage from Malaysia. Journal Tropical Ecology, 19(1): 67-79.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467403003080
Kingston, T., Juliana, S., Nurul-Ain, E., Hashim, R. & Zubaid, A. (2012). The Malaysian bat conservation research unit: from a national model to an international network. Malaysian Applied Biology, 41(2): 1-10.
Kingston, T. (2013). Response of bat diversity to forest disturbance in Southeast Asia: Insights from long-term research in Malaysia. In Adam, R.A. & Pedersen, S.C. (Eds.) Bat Evolution, Ecology and Conservation. New York: Springer. Pp. 169-185.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7397-8_9
Kumaran, J.V., Abdullah, M.T., Khan, F.A.A. & Ketol, B. (2006). Bat survey of Mount Penrisen and notes on the rare Kerivoula minuta, Kerivoula intermedia and Hipposideros coxi in Sarawak, Borneo. Journal of Biological Sciences, 6(4): 711-716.
https://doi.org/10.3923/jbs.2006.711.716
Kumaran, J.V., Ketol, B., Marni, W., Sait, I., Mortada, M.J., Khan, F.A.A., Har, F.P., Hall, L.S. & Abdullah, M.T. (2011). Comparative distribution and diversity of bats from selected localities in Sarawak. Borneo Journal of Resource Science and Technology, 1(1): 1-13. https://doi.org/ 10.33736/bjrst.257.2011.
https://doi.org/10.33736/bjrst.257.2011
Kunz, T.H. & Pierson, E.D. (1994). Bats of the world: an introduction. In Nowak, R.M. (Ed.). Walker's Bats of the World. Baltimore, Maryland: JHU Press.
McCune, J.L., Van Natto, A. & MacDougall, A.S. (2017). The efficacy of protected areas and private land for plant conservation in a fragmented landscape. Landscape Ecology, 32(4): 871-882. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-017-0491-1.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-017-0491-1
Mohd-Azlan, J., Neuchlos, J. & Abdullah, M.T. (2005). Diversity of chiropterans in limestone forest area, Bau, Sarawak. Malaysian Applied Biology, 34(1): 59-64.
Mohd-Azlan, J., Kaicheen, S.S., Lok, L. & Lawes, M. J. (2019). The role of forest fragments in small mammal conservation in an oil palm plantation in northern Sarawak, Borneo. Journal of Oil Palm Research, 31(3): 422-436. https://doi.org/10.21894 /jopr.2019.0034
https://doi.org/10.21894/jopr.2019.0034
Mohd-Ridwan, A.R., Tingga, R.C.T., Azhar, M.I., Hasan, N.H., & Abdullah, M.T. (2011). Bats of the Wind Cave Nature Reserve, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Tropical Natural History, 11(2): 159-175.
Morni, M.A., Khan, F.A.A., Rosli, Q.S., Dee, J.W., Tingga, R.C.T. & Rahman, M.R.A. (2018). Bats roost site preferences in wind cave nature reserve, Bau, Sarawak. Malaysian Applied Biology, 47(1): 57-64.
Naharuddin, N.M., Shazali, N.S., Libar, R., Karim, N.F., Abdul Rahman, M.R., Roslan, A., Azhar, M.I. & Khalik, M.Z. (2015). Bats of Bako National Park and additional notes on the rare partial albinism in fawn roundleaf bat (Hipposideridae: Hipposideros cervinus). Borneo Journal of Resource Science and Technology, 5(2): 44-52.
https://doi.org/10.33736/bjrst.221.2015
Pathe, I.N., Julaihi, A.M., Ketol, B., Imat, A., Ahmad Mazlan, A.F., Omar, K.A., Ab. Manaf, M.A., Muhammad Razaki, M.S., Wan Rahim, W.R. & Abdullah, M.T. (2005). Brief survey of small mammals of Jambusan Cave, Bau, Sarawak. Proceedings of the Eighth Hornbill Workshop on Protected Areas and Biodiversity Conservation, Kuching.
Payne, J., Francis, C.M. & Phillipps, K. (1985). Field Guide to the Mammals of Borneo. Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Society.
Phillipps, Q. & Phillipps, K. (2018). Mammals of Borneo and their ecology. Kota Kinabalu: John Beaufoy Publishing.
Phommexay, P., Satasook, C., Bates, P., Pearch, M. & Bumrungsri, S. (2011). The impact of rubber plantations on the diversity and activity of understorey insectivorous bats in southern Thailand. Biodiversity and Conservation, 20(7): 1441-1456.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-011-0036-x
Pulido-Bosch, A., Martin-Rosales, W., López-Chicano, M., Rodriguez-Navarro, C.M. & Vallejos, A. (1997). Human impact in a tourist karstic cave (Aracena, Spain). Environmental Geology, 31(3): 142-149.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s002540050173
Rajasegaran, P., Shazali, N. & Khan, F.A.A. (2018). Microclimate and physiological effects in the roosts of cave dwelling bats: implications in roost selection and conservation in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Zoological Science, 35(6): 521-527.
https://doi.org/10.2108/zs170144
Rayner, L., Lindenmayer, D. B., Wood, J. T., Gibbons, P. & Manning, A. D. (2014). Are protected areas maintaining bird diversity? Ecography, 37(1): 43-53.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2013.00388.x
Rosli, Q.S. (2014). Roost mapping of cave bats in Wind Cave Nature Reserve, Bau, Sarawak (Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, B.Sc. Thesis). Universiti Malaysia, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Sarawak Forestry Corporation (2022). Totally Protected Forest. Sarawak Forestry Coorperation. https://sarawak forestry.com/national-parks-nature-reserves/.
Senawi, J., Mahyudin, A., Daud, U.S., Amat, A., Lagundi, S., Gondilang, E., Sutail, E., Nariman, S. & Azhar, I. (2020). Bat diversity in Imbak Canyon Conservation Area: Note on their echolocation calls and ectoparasites. Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation, 17: 217-232.
https://doi.org/10.51200/jtbc.v17i.2664
Shazali, N., Rajasegaran, P. & Khan, F.A.A. (2018). Bats of Sarawak in totally protected areas: A review on their diversity, distribution and conservation status. In: Chong, Y.L., Freddy, K.S.Y. & Khan, F.A.A. (Eds.), Glimpses of Bornean Biodiversity. Kota Samarahan: UNIMAS Publisher.
Stone, F.D. & Howarth, F.G. (2007). Hawaiian cave biology: status of conservation and management. In Proceedings of the 2005 National Cave and Karst Management Symposium. National Speleological Society, Pp. 21-26.
Struebig, M.J., Kingston, T., Zubaid, A., Le Comber, S.C., Mohd-Adnan, A., Turner, A., Kelly, J., Bozek, M. & Rossiter, S.J. (2009). Conservation importance of limestone karst outcrops for Palaeotropical bats in a fragmented landscape. Biological Conservation, 142(10): 2089-2096.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2009.04.005
Struebig, M.J., Christy, L., Pio, D. & Meijaard, E. (2010). Bats of Borneo: Diversity, distributions and representation in protected areas. Biodiversity Conservation, 19(5): 449-469.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9482-5
Wilson, D.E., Helgen, K.M., Chin, S.Y. & Giman, B. (2006). Results of small mammal surveys at two sites in planted forest zones, Bintulu, Sarawak. Malayan Nature Journal, 59: 165-187.
Wong, T., Hamilton-Smith, E., Chape, S. & Frederich, K. (2003). Proceedings of the Asia- Pacific Forum on Karst Ecosystems and World Heritage. IUCN, Gland.
Copyright (c) 2022 Borneo Journal of Resource Science and Technology
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright Transfer Statement for Journal
1) In signing this statement, the author(s) grant UNIMAS Publisher an exclusive license to publish their original research papers. The author(s) also grant UNIMAS Publisher permission to reproduce, recreate, translate, extract or summarize, and to distribute and display in any forms, formats, and media. The author(s) can reuse their papers in their future printed work without first requiring permission from UNIMAS Publisher, provided that the author(s) acknowledge and reference publication in the Journal.
2) For open access articles, the author(s) agree that their articles published under UNIMAS Publisher are distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, for non-commercial purposes, provided the original work of the author(s) is properly cited.
3) For subscription articles, the author(s) agree that UNIMAS Publisher holds copyright, or an exclusive license to publish. Readers or users may view, download, print, and copy the content, for academic purposes, subject to the following conditions of use: (a) any reuse of materials is subject to permission from UNIMAS Publisher; (b) archived materials may only be used for academic research; (c) archived materials may not be used for commercial purposes, which include but not limited to monetary compensation by means of sale, resale, license, transfer of copyright, loan, etc.; and (d) archived materials may not be re-published in any part, either in print or online.
4) The author(s) is/are responsible to ensure his or her or their submitted work is original and does not infringe any existing copyright, trademark, patent, statutory right, or propriety right of others. Corresponding author(s) has (have) obtained permission from all co-authors prior to submission to the journal. Upon submission of the manuscript, the author(s) agree that no similar work has been or will be submitted or published elsewhere in any language. If submitted manuscript includes materials from others, the authors have obtained the permission from the copyright owners.
5) In signing this statement, the author(s) declare(s) that the researches in which they have conducted are in compliance with the current laws of the respective country and UNIMAS Journal Publication Ethics Policy. Any experimentation or research involving human or the use of animal samples must obtain approval from Human or Animal Ethics Committee in their respective institutions. The author(s) agree and understand that UNIMAS Publisher is not responsible for any compensational claims or failure caused by the author(s) in fulfilling the above-mentioned requirements. The author(s) must accept the responsibility for releasing their materials upon request by Chief Editor or UNIMAS Publisher.
6) The author(s) should have participated sufficiently in the work and ensured the appropriateness of the content of the article. The author(s) should also agree that he or she has no commercial attachments (e.g. patent or license arrangement, equity interest, consultancies, etc.) that might pose any conflict of interest with the submitted manuscript. The author(s) also agree to make any relevant materials and data available upon request by the editor or UNIMAS Publisher.
