Identifying priority areas for bat conservation in the Western Ghats mountain range, peninsular India

Understanding patterns of species distribution and diversity plays a vital role in biodiversity conservation. Such documentation is frequently lacking for bats, which are relatively little studied and often threatened. The Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot in peninsular India is a bat hotspot with 63 species. We conducted a comprehensive bat survey across the southern Western Ghats and used maximum entropy modeling (MaxEnt) to model the potential distribution of 37 bat species for which sufficient data were available. We generated binary maps of each species using species-specific thresholds to estimate suitable habitat areas and overlaid binary maps of species to produce bat hotspots (we use the term bat hotspot for regions that were suitable for more than 25 bat species). We also estimated species richness across protected area networks in the southern Western Ghats to assess the level of protection. The highest levels of species richness were found mainly along the southmost Periyar-Agastyamalai landscape. The study also identified a 1,683 km(2) area of potential bat hotspot and 726 km(2) (43%) of the total bat hotspots are currently within the protected area network. However, more than 50% of suitable habitats for each of the 37 species remain unprotected. Therefore, conservation decisions are needed to take into account both bat hotspots and species with restricted distributions.

Automated summary

Understanding patterns of species distribution and diversity is important for biodiversity conservation. This study conducted a comprehensive bat survey in the Western Ghats region of peninsular India and used maximum entropy modeling to predict the potential distribution of bat species. The study also assessed the level of protection for these bat species across protected area networks in the region.