PARENT SESSION
Contributed Oral Session 105: Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species: Fauna; Management
Wednesday, August 10, 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM, Meeting Room 522 A, Level 5, Palais des congrès de Montréal

Impact of human visits to caves on population dynamics of insectivorous cave bat (Hipposideros sp) in Savanadurga State Forest, Karnataka.

Kallur, Murali^*,1, Puttapriya, Harish¹, ¹ Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology, Bangalore, Karnataka, INDIA

ABSTRACT- Bat colonies in 36 caves in Savanadurga forest were counted, distance from the village was measured, frequency of human visits to caves was gathered, and area of each cave was estimated. The number of bat colonies 2001 and 2002 decreased from 453 to 380 indicating significant decline in number of colonies. There was a negative correlation between human visits and number of bats colonies in the cave indicating human activity directly affects the bat population (r= -0.6157). The trends of the bat population decrease indicate that there is significant impact of human induced pressure on the bat population particularly because of the visit to the caves. Thus strategies need to be worked out in order for people to use the excreta, a good manure for the cash crops such as vegetables, and towards enhancing the population of bats.

Key words: Savanadurga state forest, bats, human threats, population dynamics