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Abstract Accurate knowledge of species distributions is foundational for effective conservation efforts. Bats are a diverse group of mammals, with important roles in ecosystem functioning. However, our understanding of bats and their ecological importance is hindered by poorly defined ranges, mostly as a result of under-recording. This issue is exacerbated in Africa by the ongoing rapid discovery of new species, both de novo and splits of existing species, and by inaccessibility to museum specimens that are mostly hosted outside of the continent. Here we present the African bat database – a curated set of 17,285 unique locality records of all 266 species of bats from sub-Saharan Africa, vouched for by specimens and/or genetic sequencing, and aligned with current taxonomy. Based on these records, we also present Maxent-based distribution models and calculate the IUCN Red List metrics for Extent of Occurrence and Area of Occupancy. This database and online visualization tool provide an important open-source resource and is expected to significantly advance studies in ecology, and aid in bat conservation.

Global biodiversity decline is continuing largely unabated. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species (hereafter, Red List) provides us with the gold standard for assessments, but taxonomic coverage, especially for invertebrates and fungi, remains very low. Many players contribute to the Red List knowledge base, especially IUCN Red List partners, IUCN-led assessment projects, and the Specialist Groups and Red List Authorities (RLA) of the IUCN Species Survival Commission. However, it is vital that we develop the next generation of contributors and bring in new, diverse voices to build capacity and to sustain the huge assessment effort required to fill data gaps. Here, we discuss a recently established partner network to build additional capacity for species assessments, by linking academia directly into the assessment processes run by Specialist Groups and RLAs. We aim to increase Red List “literacy” amongst potential future conservationists and help students to increase publication output, form professional networks, and develop writing and research skills. Professors can build Red List learning into their teaching and offer Red Listing opportunities to students as assignments or research projects that directly contribute to the Red List. We discuss the opportunities presented by the approach, especially for underrepresented species groups, and the challenges that remain.

Biologists have an imperfect understanding of the reproductive biology of bats, which is primarily limited to mating systems and development of neonates. Few studies have addressed parturition in bats. Most of these are not contemporary and are based on data obtained from captive animals housed in laboratories. No studies have been conducted to assess the natural parturition process of Geoffroy’s Rousette Fruit Bat Rousettus amplexicaudatus, a Yinpterochiropteran native to Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. This study provides the first comprehensive description of parturition in this species. It is based on the natural behaviors exhibited in a wild colony of R. amplexicaudatus in the southern Philippines, which were recorded using high definition video cameras. The qualitative birthing model developed in this study, based on data collected from 16 pregnant females, provides new insights into the reproductive biology of this species. Female R. amplexicaudatus give birth while hanging upside-down. Pups are born in the head-first presentation. Females do not immediately sever the pups’ umbilical cord after birth. Instead, the cord acts as a tether, preventing the pup from falling to its death in the event that it loses its grip on the female. This appears to be an adaptive strategy meant to help overcome some of the challenges associated with giving birth while suspended and hanging upside-down.

Accurate knowledge of species distributions is foundational for effective conservation efforts. Bats are a diverse group of mammals, with important roles in ecosystem functioning. However, our understanding of bats and their ecological importance is hindered by poorly defined ranges, mostly as a result of under-recording. This issue is exacerbated in Africa by the ongoing rapid discovery of new species, both de novo and splits of existing species, and by inaccessibility to museum specimens that are mostly hosted outside of the continent. Here we present the African bat database – a curated set of 17,285 unique locality records of all 266 species of bats from sub-Saharan Africa, vouched for by specimens and/or genetic sequencing, and aligned with current taxonomy. Based on these records, we also present Maxent-based distribution models and calculate the IUCN Red List metrics for Extent of Occurrence and Area of Occupancy. This database and online visualization tool provide an important open-source resource and is expected to significantly advance studies in ecology, and aid in bat conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We created a database of lost and rediscovered tetrapod species, identified patterns in their distribution and factors influencing rediscovery. Tetrapod species are being lost at a faster rate than they are being rediscovered, due to slowing rates of rediscovery for amphibians, birds and mammals, and rapid rates of loss for reptiles. Finding lost species and preventing future losses should therefore be a conservation priority. By comparing the taxonomic and spatial distribution of lost and rediscovered tetrapod species, we have identified regions and taxa with many lost species in comparison to those that have been rediscovered—our results may help to prioritise search effort to find them. By identifying factors that influence rediscovery, we have improved our ability to broadly distinguish the types of species that are likely to be found from those that are not (because they are likely to be extinct). Some lost species, particularly those that are small and perceived to be uncharismatic, may have been neglected in terms of conservation effort, and other lost species may be hard to find due to their intrinsic characteristics and the characteristics of the environments they occupy (e.g. nocturnal species, fossorial species and species occupying habitats that are more difficult to survey such as wetlands). These lost species may genuinely await rediscovery. However, other lost species that possess characteristics associated with rediscovery (e.g. large species) and that are also associated with factors that negatively influence rediscovery (e.g. those occupying small islands) are more likely to be extinct. Our results may foster pragmatic search protocols that prioritise lost species likely to still exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global biodiversity decline is continuing largely unabated. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species (hereafter, Red List) provides us with the gold standard for assessments, but taxonomic coverage, especially for invertebrates and fungi, remains very low. Many players contribute to the Red List knowledge base, especially IUCN Red List partners, IUCN-led assessment projects, and the Specialist Groups and Red List Authorities (RLA) of the IUCN Species Survival Commission. However, it is vital that we develop the next generation of contributors and bring in new, diverse voices to build capacity and to sustain the huge assessment effort required to fill data gaps. Here, we discuss a recently established partner network to build additional capacity for species assessments, by linking academia directly into the assessment processes run by Specialist Groups and RLAs. We aim to increase Red List "literacy" amongst potential future conservationists and help students to increase publication output, form professional networks, and develop writing and research skills. Professors can build Red List learning into their teaching and offer Red Listing opportunities to students as assignments or research projects that directly contribute to the Red List. We discuss the opportunities presented by the approach, especially for underrepresented species groups, and the challenges that remain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In September 2023, an IUCN Red List Training and Assessment Workshop for Africa's bats took place in Swakopmund, Namibia. The workshop aimed to establish a network of trained experts to keep Red List assessments of Africa's bats up to date, launch regional collaborations for bat conservation and research programs, and integrate bats into the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) initiative. The workshop resulted in the training of all participants as Red List assessors and the initiation of 26 Red List assessments for species that had not been previously assessed. Additionally, efforts are being made to ensure bats are considered in existing KBAs and to propose new KBAs where bats are present. The workshop successfully engaged the next generation of bat conservationists and researchers. [Extracted from the article]

Bats are the only native terrestrial mammals of New Caledonia in the South Pacific, with nine species, six of which are endemic and five categorized as Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Of the 213 threatened bat species, 18% (38 species) are in Oceania, as were four of the five most recent bat extinctions. Two large I Pteropus i species are known to be overhunted for food and two further fruit and/or blossom species are not hunted, but little is known of the ecology of the five species of microchiroptera. [Extracted from the article]

Biologists have an imperfect understanding of the reproductive biology of bats, which is primarily limited to mating systems and development of neonates. Few studies have addressed parturition in bats. Most of these are not contemporary and are based on data obtained from captive animals housed in laboratories. No studies have been conducted to assess the natural parturition process of Geoffroy's Rousette Fruit Bat Rousettus amplexicaudatus, a Yinpterochiropteran native to Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. This study provides the first comprehensive description of parturition in this species. It is based on the natural behaviors exhibited in a wild colony of R. amplexicaudatus in the southern Philippines, which were recorded using high definition video cameras. The ??ualitative birthing model developed in this study, based on data collected from 16 pregnant females, provides new insights into the reproductive biology of this species. Female R. amplexicaudatus give birth while hanging upside-down. Pups are born in the head-first presentation. Females do not immediately sever the pups' umbilical cord after birth. Instead, the cord acts as a tether, preventing the pup from falling to its death in the event that it loses its grip on the female. This appears to be an adaptive strategy meant to help overcome some of the challenges associated with giving birth while suspended and hanging upside-down. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]