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Chiropteran diversity and the key determinants of their distribution in Eastern Ghats, India

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Abstract

Understanding the patterns of biodiversity is central to species conservation planning. Here we illustrate chiropteran diversity and distribution pattern of the hill ranges of the Eastern Ghats of Odisha state, India using roost survey and mist net survey techniques. The present study recorded 23 bat species including two newly recorded species for the study site i.e., Hipposideros galeritus and Megaderma spasma. The bat capture rate was the highest in the moist deciduous forest describing higher bat populations compared with the places of human habitation. Utilities of 21 climate, three physiographic and two disturbance variables and species distribution modelling could reveal that the north-eastern part was more suitable for bat distributions than the southern part of the region. The climate, physiographic and disturbance variables were crucial in their distributions, where elevation and potential evapotranspiration were highly significant. Unlike other species, Taphozous melanopogon showed negative correlation with these variables. The mean diurnal temperature and precipitation seasonality have positive influence on bat distributions, indicating their resilience to seasonal precipitation changes and day time temperature fluctuations. The negative effect of temperature seasonality on the distribution of Pteropus giganteus could attribute to its vulnerability to climate change effects. The study provides inputs for monitoring the future spatio-temporal changes, suggesting long term conservation measures. It could generate basic information on the impacts of climate change on bat distribution in the future climate change scenario.

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Acknowledgements

The study was carried out with financial support from University Grants Commission, India to the first author. Authors would like to thank the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, Odisha for the required study permission (permission No. 396/4WL). We acknowledge the State Forest Department staffs and local people from different regions of Odisha for their help and support during the field study. We would like to thank M.D. Behera for his suggestions in manuscript preparation.

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  1. Department of Biodiversity and Conservation of Natural Resources, Central University of Orissa, Koraput, Odisha, 764021, India

    Subrat Debata & Sharat Kumar Palita

  2. Centre for Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere and Land Sciences (CORAL) & School of Water Resources, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal, 721302, India

    Rajendra Mohan Panda

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Debata, S., Panda, R.M. & Palita, S.K. Chiropteran diversity and the key determinants of their distribution in Eastern Ghats, India. Biodivers Conserv 28, 2385–2404 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-019-01715-w

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