1. Movements of Indian Flying Fox in Myanmar as a Guide to Human-Bat Interface Sites
- Author
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Marc T. Valitutto, Htay Htay Win, Aung Myo Chit, Kyaw Yan Naing Tun, Min Thein Maw, Jennifer C. Kishbaugh, Megan E. Vodzak, Suzan Murray, John F. McEvoy, Wai Zin Thein, Ohnmar Aung, and Ye Tun Win
- Subjects
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,Foraging ,Endangered species ,Animals, Wild ,Myanmar ,Movement ecology ,Chiroptera ,Zoonoses ,Flying fox (fish) ,Animals ,Cluster Analysis ,Humans ,Flying fox ,Endemism ,Ecosystem ,Mouth ,Ecology ,biology ,Zoonotic disease ,Rectum ,Emerging infectious disease ,Original Contribution ,Pteropus ,biology.organism_classification ,GPS tracking ,Geography ,Habitat ,Animal ecology ,Geographic Information Systems ,Viral sampling - Abstract
Frugivorous bats play a vital role in tropical ecosystems as pollinators and seed dispersers but are also important vectors of zoonotic diseases. Myanmar sits at the intersection of numerous bioregions and contains habitats that are important for many endangered and endemic species. This rapidly developing country also forms a connection between hotspots of emerging human diseases. We deployed Global Positioning System collars to track the movements of 10 Indian flying fox (Pteropus giganteus) in the agricultural landscapes of central Myanmar. We used clustering analysis to identify foraging sites and high-utilization areas. As part of a larger viral surveillance study in bats of Myanmar, we also collected oral and rectal swab samples from 29 bats to test for key emerging viral diseases in this colony. There were no positive results detected for our chosen viruses. We analyzed their foraging movement behavior and evaluated selected foraging sites for their potential as human-wildlife interface sites. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10393-021-01544-w.
- Published
- 2021