Habitat suitability modelling and environmental drivers of Malagasy fruit bats (Pteropodidae)

Abstract Ecological niche models depict suitable areas of habitat for species, as well as the environmental factors that influence them. They provide insights into species demography, ecology and biogeography, which is important information for the conservation of their populations. In this study, ecological niche modelling was used to investigate the habitat availability and conservation status of three threatened fruit bat species (family Pteropodidae) endemic to Madagascar: Pteropus rufus , Eidolon dupreanum and Rousettus madagascariensis . Model construction was done in MaxEnt using climatic and eco-geographical variables. All ecological niche models performed well, although the limited sample size of occurrence points of E. dupreanum allowed less accurate delineation of its suitable area. The suitable habitat area was modelled using a 10th percentile training presence threshold and then filtered for forest area, which was only a mean of 21.1% the overall habitat area for all species. As fruit bats roost in trees and caves surrounded by forest, only the forest area within the ecological niche models represents a suitable habitat and has a size ranging 40,647 − 54,636 km² between species. Results also show that temperature annual range, annual precipitation, and forest cover may be the most important determinants of the occurrence of Pteropodidae. This study identified suitable forest tracts for the three endemic Pteropodids and thus the potential to expand the forest area under protection. It can be useful for further fieldwork to sample more occurrence points, estimating the population sizes of the species within Madagascar, gaining further information about their ecology, and thus facilitating applied conservation efforts of their wild populations.