Bats in mountainous regions are facing more threats and lack of data compared with their lowland counterparts, a recent study showed.
Lead author Rohit Chakravarty in an interview with Mongabay said there is much to be learned about bats dwelling in mountains, which are known to host one-third of the world’s biodiversity and half of the total bat biodiversity hotspots.
Of the 1,482 recognized bat species around the world, 1,331 are in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species database, meaning 151 species have yet to be evaluated in terms of threat status.
Chakravarty, who is also a researcher at the India-based NGO Nature Conservation Foundation, used the database to categorize species that predominantly exist in mountains as “mountain-dwelling” and those near the top of the mountains as “highland-dwelling.”
Their analysis showed that the 148 mountain-dwelling species are proportionately more data deficient than other species. Chakravarty is concerned that data-deficient species might also be threatened but there is not enough information to analyze their threat status. Meanwhile, the 46 highland-dwelling species “are proportionately more threatened” or are categorized as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.
Chakravarty said one reason for data deficiency is the difficulty of working in mountains. “You’re working in the night in areas that are hard to access, studying animals that are rather elusive.”
In addition to limited funding for bat research, he said mountain bats also face the threat of climate change.
“As the temperature warms up, lower-elevation species keep moving to higher elevations. But then the ones at the highest elevation, where are they going to go?” Chakravarty said, explaining that mountain bats with specific dietary niches may need to compete with lowland bats for food.
Chakravarty said bats are critical “insect controllers” in an ecosystem. “Insects that might cause a lot of defoliation in oaks [trees], bats sort of control those insects,” he said.
Winifred Frick, chief scientist of Bat Conservation International, said bats in tropical biomes are also important pollinators. “Loss of bats from these landscapes would have far-reaching implications for overall ecosystems health and productivity,” she said.
The study authors wrote that getting additional funding for targeted surveys is critical, especially “in the Global South which is generally understudied and where most of the data deficient or threatened mountain and highland dwelling bat species occur.”
For bat species that are better researched, Chakravarty suggested studies that look into their habitat and threats, as well as other areas where the species might occur.
Frick said it is important to protect roosting and foraging habitats of bats. “Highlighting the importance of bat diversity in mountain ecosystems [through this study] shows the importance of these areas for biodiversity, especially in areas that may be under threat for activities like mining or wind energy development,” she said.
Banner image of bats in a Malaysian limestone cave. Photo by Rhett A. Butler.
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