Bats in a cave tourism and pilgrimage site in eastern India: conservation challenges
SUBRAT DEB A T A
Abstract Caves and other subterranean habitats are crucial for the survival of many bat species, but often deteriorate as a result of visits by tourists. The aim of the study was to understand the conservation challenges associated with the cave dwelling bats at Gupteswar cave tourism and pilgrimage site in eastern India and to develop conserva- tion recommendations. I counted bat populations andmoni- tored tourist visits once per month for 12 months during September 2016–August 2017. Roosting and breeding activ- ities of eight species of bats, including two nationally threat- ened species, were recorded from five caves. The number of bats counted during the 12 survey days was 785–940 indi- viduals. Tourism activity occurred throughout the year but was higher during local festive seasons; the maximum num- ber of tourist entries recorded in a single day was 2,769. Installation of gated entrances, scheduling of visits to con- trol overcrowding, restriction of access to caves with mater- nity colonies during breeding seasons, and minimal use of electric bulbs for illumination would minimize disturbance to the bats. Installation of educational display boards would help to create awareness of the conservation importance of bats amongst the cave visitors.
Keywords Bats, cave tourism, Chiroptera, conservation, disturbance, Gupteswar cave tourism site, India, tourism
Supplementary material for this article is available at
doi.org/10.1017/S003060531900098X
Introduction
such tourism is largely dependent upon ecosystem ser- vices such as provisioning, regulation and cultural services (Pueyo-Ros, 2018). Cave tourism makes an estimated contri- bution of USD 100 million annually to the global economy (Cigna&Forti, 2013) and brings direct benefits to local com- munities (Pennisi et al., 2004; Cousins & Compton, 2005). However, poorly managed tourism can pose significant
N SUBRAT DEBATA (Corresponding author,
orcid.org/0000-0001-8296-1734)
Department of Biodiversity and Conservation of Natural Resources, Central University of Orissa, Koraput 764021, Odisha, India, and Aranya Foundation, Panchasakha Nagar, Dumduma, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India E-mail
subrat.debata007@
gmail.com
Received 8 December 2018. Revision requested 14 January 2019. Accepted 16 August 2019. First published online 25 November 2020.
ature-based tourism expresses the relationship be- tween nature and society, and the sustainability of
threats to cave biodiversity by negatively affecting cave habitats and microclimates (Mann et al., 2002; Paksuz & Özkan, 2012), for which cave dwelling organisms such as bats have specific requirements (IUCN SSC, 2014). Bats are one of the most abundant and widely distributed mam- malian groups; they provide services such as pollination, seed dispersal, insect pest control, and distribute materials and nutrients (Boyles et al., 2011; Kunz et al., 2011), and are essential for maintaining cave biodiversity (Deharveng & Bedos, 2012). As cave ecosystems are inherently devoid of primary productivity, bat guano provides organic input that supports the survival of endemic and highly specialized cave fauna whose life cycles depend upon the nutrients from guano(Fenolioetal., 2006;Deharveng &Bedos, 2012). Many nectarivorous bats inhabiting caves in fragmented habitats are the most important pollinators of various agricultural crops (Sritongchuay et al., 2016). Unfortunately, populations of many bat species, including cave dwelling species, are threatened by loss and degradation of habitat, hunting, persecution, emerging diseases and climate change (Meyer et al., 2010). Of these, habitat loss and degradation are the greatest threats to bats over most of their range (Mickleburgh et al., 2002; Racey & Entwistle, 2003; Jones et al., 2009; Kingston, 2010; Meyer et al., 2010). Globally, c. 449 species of bats prefer caves and other subterranean habitats (Luo et al., 2013) for roosting, hiber- nating, mating, aggregating and raising their young (Kunz, 1982; Hutson et al., 2001; Kunz & Lumsden, 2003; Murray & Kunz, 2005). Preference of bats for such places depends on the characteristics and quality of the habitat (Murray & Kunz, 2005; Struebig et al., 2009; Phelps et al., 2016). Human activities such as caving, tourism, guano harvest- ing and other deliberate or accidental disturbances in and around roosting caves put negative pressure on bats and cause declines (Özgül et al., 2000; Furman & Özgül, 2002, 2004; Papadatou et al., 2009; Luo et al., 2013; IUCN SSC, 2014). Protection of caves can contribute to the conservation of bats and other cave dwelling organisms (Niu et al., 2007; Paksuz & Özkan, 2012; Luo et al., 2013). There is increas- ing interest from government agencies, academics, NGOs and corporate agencies in conservation of cave dwelling bats (Bat Conservation International, 2013; Furey & Racey, 2016). For example, human activities have been regulated and roosting sites have been protected from disturbance in Turkey (Paksuz & Özkan, 2012), USA (Richter et al., 1993; Martin et al., 2003) and Spain (Alcalde et al., 2012). Many organizations have developed guidelines for protec- tion of cave roosts (Sheffield et al., 1992), and conservation
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Oryx, 2021, 55(5), 684–691 © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S003060531900098X
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