Roost Preference in Three Species of Pteropodid Bats in Tirunelveli and Tenkasi, Tamilnadu, South India

Roost preference, roosting ecology and roost resource partitioning of megachiropteran bats in the plains of Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts of Tamilnadu, South India, were investigated from January 2021 to December 2022. Three species of megachiropterans bats namely Pteropus medius, Cynopterus sphinx and Rosettus leschanaulti were recorded in the study area. P. medius roosts in open foliage on trees like Terminalia arjuna (46.90%), Samanea saman (13.53%), Ficus religiosa (12.09%), Ficus benghalensis (5.27%), Bassia latifolia (5.04%), Tamarindus indica (4.89%), Sygium cumini (4.71%), Manjifera Indica (2.32%), Thespesia populnea (1.93%), Pongamia pinnata (1.38%), Pithecellobium dulce (0.90%), Albizia lebbeck (0.74%), and Azadirachta indica (0.23%). C. sphinx roosts in Borassus flabellifer (68.55%), Polyalthia longifolia (25.90%) and Pritchardia pacifica (5.54%). Generally, the native trees are preferred by these bats as the favorite roost. R. leschanaulti prefers temples (56.52%), water wells (18.53%), stone buildings (17.16%) and abandoned houses (7.78%). Diversity measures with regard to Margalef index, Berger Parker index and Evenness index, comparatively; higher values were reported in C. sphinx (9.433), R. leschanaulti (0.270) and C. sphinx (0.925) respectively. The distribution pattern and roost preference of megachiropteran bats reveal that these bat species serve as bio-indicator of the agricultural landscape in the wetland ecosystem. It is evident that these three symbiotic bat species exhibit roost preference, and roost resources partitioning in the study area.