KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY KUMASI COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES FACULTY OF RENEWABLE NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT OFWILDLIFE AND RANGE MANAGEMENT ASPECTS OF THE ECOLOGY OF FRUIT BAT (Eidolon helvum) IN THE UNIVERSITY OF ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, SUNYANI By James Agyei-Ohemeng Post Graduate Diploma March, 2015 i ASPECTS OF THE ECOLOGY OF FRUIT BAT (Eidolon helvum) IN THE UNIVERSITY OF ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, SUNYANI A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES, KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, KUMASI IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY IN WILDLIFE AND RANGE MANAGEMENT By James Agyei-Ohemeng Post Graduate Diploma March, 2015 i DECLARATION I declare that this thesis entitled “ASPECTS OF THE ECOLOGY OF FRUIT BAT (Eidolon helvum) IN THE UNIVERSITY OF ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, SUNYANI” is the results of my own original work and that no part of it has been presented for another degree in this University or elsewhere. James Agyei-Ohemeng ……………………….. ………………… (Student No: 20348604) Signature Date Certified by: Dr. Emmanuel Danquah ……………………….. ………………… (Academic Supervisor) Signature Date Dr. Emmanuel Danquah ……………………….. ………………… (Head of Department) Signature Date ii ABSTRACT Aspects of the ecology of straw coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum), including population dynamics, seed dispersal and effect on the roosting trees, were investigated in the University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani from January 2013 to July 2014. The Continuous Point Count Method was used to estimate the monthly population size of E. helvum. Using 64m2 (4m x 4m) quadrats and 32 seed traps made from plastic sheets, the contribution of dispersed plant species to the total undergrowth plant cover in the area was sampled and catalogued to show the contribution of undergrowth from bat droppings in the area. Using six (20m x 20m) sample plots each for areas occupied by bats and areas unoccupied by bats, basal area, canopy, and heights of identified trees with DBH ≤ 1m were measured to show the impact of bats on the roosting trees. The results indicated that: (1) bats were present in the study area throughout the survey period, however, their numbers varied between months. The bat population estimates in 2013 were high in March (180,000) and December (240,000), but between the months of May to October their population were low, (12,400; 15990; 12,500; 18,500; 10,600 and 28,500) respectively, in the colony. This pattern is similar to the year 2014. The mean number of bats per month was estimated at 55,469.55 bats (S.E=4.34, CV=8.68%) for the study period. The mean population estimates in the dry season count was 85,955.5±87,272.3 whilst the mean population estimate in the rainy season count was 46,932.3±58,122.9. However, there was no significant difference between the mean dry and rainy season population count of bat in the study area, t(8) = -0.922, p>0.05(2) Undergrowth plant species sampled indicated that the percentage contribution of some of the species dispersed by bats were Mallotus opposotifolia,(16.1%), Broussonetia papyrifera (10.6%), Ficus exasperata (6.6%), iii Solanum erianthum (6.2%) and Morus mesozygia (4.6%). These plant species altogether contributed 1.7% of the seedling composition in the undergrowth in the study area. These plants contributed to the ecological improvement by increasing the biodiversity in the study area through increased species cover and regeneration of dispersed species of the roost site.(3) Height and basal area of trees were the only factors that led to tree selection as roost by bats in the occupied zone. Trees in bat occupied areas, showed significant damages by bats through premature defoliation as well as loss of branches which resulted in reductions in canopy foliage of host trees, compared to the bat unoccupied areas. The main physical plant features that were affected are the tree canopy size and canopy cover. These bats have been known to have limited roost sites, so good management of their population to reduce threat to their survival is important. Sound strategies like monitoring population, roosting trees and habitat, in relation to the climatic conditions are required to be documented overtime to promote sound decisions and add to scientific knowledge to the study of bats. iv DEDICATION This Thesis is dedicated to Joyce, Ivy, Mordecai and Emmanuel Ohemeng v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This work would not have materialized without the support of my supervisor Dr. Emmanuel Danquah, his patience and good humor during the whole work is really appreciated. I also wish to acknowledge the support provided by Dominic Appiah and Sraku Shadrack, students of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Forest Resources Technology, for their invaluable help during the monthly counts. The competent and active support of Mr. Schroeder, the Technician of the University of Energy and Natural Resources during the plant species identification was exemplary and much appreciated. Finally special thanks go to Mr. Abebrese, the Dean of the School of Natural Resources for his guidance during the write up. It is my desire that this document will accurately reflect the many ideas and suggestions they all contributed. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ..................................................................................................................... II ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... III DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................ V ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..................................................................................................... VI TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... VII LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. IX LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... IX ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................................... XI CHAPTER ONE ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 1:1 BACKGROUND GAPS ....................................................................................................... 1 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT .................................................................................................... 5 1.3 GOAL AND OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER TWO ..................................................................................................................... 8 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................. 8 2.1 IMPORTANCE OF EIDOLON HELVUM ................................................................................ 8 2.1.1 THE ROLE OF BATS IN ENHANCING PLANT DEVELOPMENT ............................................ 8 2.1.2 CHALLENGES INVOLVED IN BAT POPULATION MONITORING ....................................... 10 2.1.3 FACTORS AFFECTING BAT POPULATION ...................................................................... 13 2.1.4 FRUGIVORE AND IMPORTANCE OF FRUIT BATS AS SEED DISPERSAL AGENTS ............ 16 2.1.5 BATS AS SEED DISPERSAL AGENTS ............................................................................ 19 2.1.6 IMPACT OF FRUIT BATS ON ROOST TREES .................................................................. 25 CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................... 28 3.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS .................................................................................... 28 3.1 STUDY AREA ................................................................................................................. 28 vii 3.1.1 LOCATION .................................................................................................................. 29 3.1.2 BIOPHYSICAL SETTING ............................................................................................... 30 3.1.3 THE ENVIRONS OF UENR .......................................................................................... 31 3.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY SPECIES AND POPULATION ............................................... 32 3.3 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE ......................................................................................... 33 3.4 DATA ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................... 35 CHAPTER FOUR ................................................................................................................. 37 4.0 RESULTS ........................................................................................................................ 37 4.1 POPULATION SIZE OF BATS IN UENR ............................................................................ 37 4.2 PLANTS EATEN AND DISPERSED BY E. HELVUM IN THE STUDY AREA ............................. 40 4.2.1 A LIST OF FOOD PLANTS EATEN BY STRAW-COLORED FRUIT BATS IN UENR .............. 40 4.3 IMPACT OF E. HELVUM ON ROOST TREES IN UENR ....................................................... 47 CHAPTER FIVE ................................................................................................................... 56 5.0 DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................. 56 5.1 FLUCTUATIONS IN POPULATION SIZE ............................................................................ 56 5.2 FRUGIVORY AND DISPERSAL ......................................................................................... 58 5.3 IMPACT ON TREES .......................................................................................................... 59 CHAPTER SIX ...................................................................................................................... 63 6.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................ 63 6.1 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 63 6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................................... 64 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................... 65 PLATES ................................................................................................................................. 84 APPENDIX............................................................................................................................ 88 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Map of Study Area ................................................................................................. 29 Figure2: Time series Plot of Bat Population from January 2013 to July 2014...................... 39 Figure 3: Histogram of relative abundance of seedlings in the study area ............................ 46 Figure 4: Graph showing the distribution of bat counts per point and tree distribution ........ 54 ix