Species richness and community structure of bats along a forest elevational transect in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

Over the past decades, elevational gradients have become a powerful tool with which to understand the underlying cause(s) of biodiversity. The Mt. Wilhelm elevational transect is one such example, having been used to study the birds, insects, and plants of Papua New Guinea (PNG). However, a survey of mammals from this forest elevational transect was lacking. We thus aimed to investigate patterns in the community structure and species richness of bats (Chiroptera) along the transect, link the species to available regional data, and explain the observed patterns by including environmental characteristics. Bat communities were surveyed between 200 m and a timberline at 3,700 m a.s.l. at eight study sites separated by 500 m in elevation. We conducted mist-netting and acoustic surveys to detect and identify species at each site. Regional data were compiled to compare local with regional diversity. Finally, biotic (i.e., food availability, habitat features) and abiotic (i.e., mean daily temperature, available land area) factors were included in our analyses to disentangle the ecological drivers underlying bat diversity. Results revealed that species richness decreases with ascending elevation and was best explained by a corresponding decrease in both area and temperature. We also observed community turnover along the transect at local and regional scales, along with the increase of species elevational ranges. Consequently, despite that the study was restricted to one mountain in PNG, it demonstrates how basic inventory surveys can be used to address ecological questions in other similar and undisturbed tropical mountains.