Habitat use and diel activity of insectivorous bats across land‐cover types on an Afrotropical oceanic island

Journal article

Tropical island biodiversity is declining at alarming rates. Yet, understanding how species are coping with such disturbance remains limited for Afrotropical islands. Here, we examined habitat use and diel activity of insectivorous bats across different land‐cover types covering the endemic‐rich Princípe Island, Central West Africa. We acoustically surveyed insectivorous bats across 48 sites throughout old‐growth forests, secondary re‐growth forests, cocoa shaded plantations, and horticultures. Based on 17,527 bat passes, we were able to record all four insectivorous bat species known to occur on Princípe, including the recently described Pseudoromicia principis, the most frequently recorded species. Taphozous mauritianus, a data deficient open‐space forager, was the least recorded species. Overall, insectivorous bat activity was comparable across secondary re‐growth forests, cocoa shaded plantations, and horticultural areas. Although overall activity was lower in old‐growth forests, Hipposideros ruber—a forest specialist—was found exclusively in old‐growth and secondary re‐growth forests. Diel activity patterns of Mops pumilus varied between forests and non‐forest habitats, whereas those of P. principis remained similar. Interspecific activity overlap decreased towards more altered land‐cover types. Our findings emphasize that conserving the remaining forests, along with the current mosaic of land‐cover types, is needed to maintain Príncipe's complete insectivorous bat assemblages.

Authors: Palmeirim, AF; Araújo‐Fernandes, AC; Castro‐Fernandes, AS; Guedes, P; dos Santos, Y

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Wiley
• Journal: Conservation Science and Practice
• Article number: e70143
• Publication date: 2025-10-03
• Acceptance date: 2025-08-04
• DOI: 10.1111/csp2.70143
• EISSN: 2578-4854
• ISSN: 2578-4854
• Language: English
• Keywords: land‐use change; human‐modified landscapes; endemic species; Chiroptera; Gulf of Guinea; tropical forests; São Tomé and Princípe; passive acoustic monitoring