Influence of tropical lowland rainforest transformation systems on the community, trophic and genetic structure of bats in Jambi, Sumatra

Methodology
Mist nets and harp traps will be installed in every core plot. Each plot will be sampled for two consecutive nights. Mist netting will be done from 18:00 to 24:00 hours and nets will be checked at 1 hour interval. Ground and subcanopy level mist netting will be employed to provide better representation of bat community structure. Caught bats will be measured and identified and will be assigned to its respective trophic category. Pollen load of nectarivorous bats will be gathered with a cotton swab and fecal samples will be collected for diet composition and overlap analysis. Tissue samples (Wing punch) will also be acquired for recapture monitoring and genetic diversity analysis using ISSR as molecular marker. Ultrasound recordings of bats will be made upon release for echolocation structure analysis.

Expected Results
We will have baseline diversity data of bats in all 4 different land-use systems of the two landscapes. Comparative data on species assemblage (species richness, composition, abundance) and species activity patterns (temporal and spatial use of different habitats) will provide insights to the community structure response. The pollen identification and faecal analysis will reveal the diet composition and will provide insights to the dietary niche breadth and trophic structure. The genetic analysis (ISSR analysis) of the tissue samples will reveal their genetic diversity and variation across land use systems. Reference echolocation calls and signal design will also be described.