Diversity and conservation of cave-roosting bats in central Ghana

Evans Ewald Nkrumah; Heather Joan Baldwin; Ebenezer Kofi Badu; Priscilla Anti; Peter Vallo; Stefan Klose; Elisabeth Klara Viktoria Kalko; Samuel Kingsley Oppong; Marco Tschapka

doi:10.1177/19400829211034671

Diversity and conservation of cave-roosting bats in central Ghana

Evans Ewald Nkrumah^*, Heather Joan Baldwin, Ebenezer Kofi Badu, Priscilla Anti, Peter Vallo, Stefan Klose, Elisabeth Klara Viktoria Kalko, Samuel Kingsley Oppong, Marco Tschapka

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Background: Ghana is one of the six bat diversity hotspots on the African continent, yet its caves have not been fully explored for the bats they host.

Research Aims: We aimed to assess the species composition and diversity of five caves in central Ghana and identified those needing immediate conservation attention.

Methods: Using mist-nets, we captured bats over 102 full nights between October 2010 and July 2012 from the Upper Guinean forest and Savannah regions in central Ghana.

Results: A total of 10,226 bats belonging to nine species were recorded. PERMANOVA suggested significant variation in species composition among the caves. A SIMPER analysis revealed Coleura afra and Hipposideros jonesi to be the main discriminating species between caves, with a dominance of Hipposideros cf. ruber in all caves. The Bat Cave Vulnerability Index (BCVI) revealed Mframabuom cave from the Upper Guinean forest region as a high priority cave hosting threatened species, yet highly disturbed. The remaining caves were identified as medium priority caves.

Conclusion: The results of the study suggest the need for further research and an immediate conservation strategy as essential for approaching national conservation goals.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-10
Number of pages	10
Journal	Tropical Conservation Science
Volume	14
Early online date	28 Jul 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/19400829211034671
Publication status	Published - 2021

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2021. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

abundance
Africa
cave
Chiroptera
species richness

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10.1177/19400829211034671

Publisher version (open access)Final published version, 843 KBLicence: CC BY-NC

Cite this

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title = "Diversity and conservation of cave-roosting bats in central Ghana",

abstract = "Background: Ghana is one of the six bat diversity hotspots on the African continent, yet its caves have not been fully explored for the bats they host. Research Aims: We aimed to assess the species composition and diversity of five caves in central Ghana and identified those needing immediate conservation attention. Methods: Using mist-nets, we captured bats over 102 full nights between October 2010 and July 2012 from the Upper Guinean forest and Savannah regions in central Ghana.Results: A total of 10,226 bats belonging to nine species were recorded. PERMANOVA suggested significant variation in species composition among the caves. A SIMPER analysis revealed Coleura afra and Hipposideros jonesi to be the main discriminating species between caves, with a dominance of Hipposideros cf. ruber in all caves. The Bat Cave Vulnerability Index (BCVI) revealed Mframabuom cave from the Upper Guinean forest region as a high priority cave hosting threatened species, yet highly disturbed. The remaining caves were identified as medium priority caves. Conclusion: The results of the study suggest the need for further research and an immediate conservation strategy as essential for approaching national conservation goals.",

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AU - Vallo, Peter

AU - Klose, Stefan

AU - Kalko, Elisabeth Klara Viktoria

AU - Oppong, Samuel Kingsley

AU - Tschapka, Marco

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Diversity and conservation of cave-roosting bats in central Ghana

Abstract

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Keywords

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