Use of anthropogenic structures by bats in rubber plantations: A preliminary survey from Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka supports a high biodiversity and nearly one third of its mammalian fauna comprise of bats. Sri Lanka’s bats are understudied with few data available about their roosting habits, particularly in agricultural ecosystems. Here we report the findings of a preliminary survey, conducted to explore how bats use available anthropogenic structures in rubber plantations. We inspected abandoned buildings within six rubber plantations in Deraniyagala for the presence of bats. Eleven of the 14 abandoned buildings inspected were occupied by bats, viz, lesser false vampire bat (Megaderma spasma) and rufous horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus rouxii). Our results indicate that bats use anthropogenic structures for day roosting and as maternity roosts, as the presence of young-of-the-year (YOY) were observed in one of the roosts. We recommend implementing economically viable conservation measures such as creating artificial tree hollows and erecting artificial roosts like bat boxes in rubber plantations to provide permanent habitats for bats, as abandoned buildings may be demolished or repurposed in the near future.