Andoniaina Radosoa Andrianaivoarivelo

Hunting of Endemic Rousettus Fruit Bats in Madagascar: The Demand for Bushmeat, the Impact on Bat Populations and the Socioeconomic Context

Radosoa (left) & Sylvestre.

Rousettus madagascariensis.

During our previous field expedition, we found that, Rousettus madagascariensis roosts are under severe pressure from hunting and deforestation and some of the actually five occupied bat roost we found will probably be deserted within few years if no conservation plan would be undertaken with stakeholders. By the end of the workshop I organized In May 2007 I organized a meeting for village representatives about fruit bat conservation, the village leaders were awarded about this fact and they (chef of villages) created a set of roost-based byelaws (dina in Malagasy) in July 2007 to promote roost conservation.and it became clear that even though they were willing to protect the roosts, I was lacking vital information with which I could create realistic conservation plans.

It became clear that whilst I knew that R. madagascariensis was hunted I did not know by whom, or how often or why. Only by answering these questions can I hope to ameliorate the conservation status of the roosts. Furthermore, I was lacking any assessment on the impact of the hunting. This is true for the whole of Madagascar. For any study on sustainable hunting I need basic biological parameters and although I have some data (e.g. reproduction, sex ratio), I now need to obtain information on predation and dispersal. The group of R. madagascariensis roosts are accessible and represent a unique opportunity to study how these bats move between roost sites. The information collected will directly inform conservation plans.

These will only be successful if I can understand the dynamics of the demand for bat bushmeat and the impact it has on bat populations. Although it may be possible to promote the forest and cave roosts protections at the same time, I need information on both if the bats key diurnal (roost) and nocturnal (food) habitats are to be protected. The data will be used to formulate specific plans for each roost based on my results. All of the recommendations I make will use good science, such as the movement or migration of this species between long distance roosts. My results are likely to be of interest to other conservation programmes in Madagascar. It will also be important because if my ideas suggest major changes in peoples’ behaviour, I need to provide strong reasons. My results, when I make them easily understandable to villagers will be fed into a revised dina (byelaws) for each roost.

For more information contact rraaddoo2001@yahoo.fr or go to http://www.madagasikara-voakajy.org

Project Update: January 2009

Marked Rousettus madagascariensis.

From 20 November to 19 December 2008, we marked 87 individuals of Rousettus madagascariensis fruit bats at four cave roosts in the District of Anosibe An'Ala, eastern Madagascar. Each bat was individually numbered with a necklace which will allow us to determine bat movement between roosts on the next visit and estimate population size. The distance between roosts ranged from 6 to 28 km.

There was no evidence of hunting at two roosts but the others were severely threatened by hunting. Hunters had visited one of the roost a few hours before our arrival and we found dead and injured bats on the cave floor. The hunting has caused the bats to abandon this roost but when we returned again three days later we found that 400 bats had recolonised the roost. This confirms the importance of my study both in learning more about the hunting and its impact on bats.

Project Update: August 2009

Ear tagged Rousettus bat.

Bats (Rousettus madagascariensis) were captured in four cave roost entrances when they exited or emerged the roosts in the Anosibe An’Ala District. Six to nine metre length of nets was used in each roost depending on the size of the roosts but not the colony. Our preliminary investigation demonstrated that bats are moving from roost to another, and tag marked captured and adult males were seen travelling between roosts.

Our results during three capture missions (November 2008, March and June 2009) showed that among the 61 recaptured bats, the seven adult males are emigrants, and the distance between the caves or travelled distances varies from seven to 40 km. The 54 ones were recaptured in the same roosts. Our next two capture sessions will take place in October 2009 and January 2010, more result on population dynamics and bat movements will be collected in the future missions.

Project Update: December 2009

During our four mark recapture mission we have captured 1302 individuals of Rousettus madagascariensis in four cave roosts of the District of Anosibe An’Ala. Our last capture session was in October and November 2009. 139 bats were recaptured in the same roosts and 24 moved to other roosts. I summarize in the table below our preliminary collected data.

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Table - Bat captures and recaptures per cave roost, and colony size estimate.doc	38.5 KB