Mariana Fruit Bat - Esther Medina

Species: Mariana Fruit Bat

Date: 03/30/2010    Threaten

Pacific Region

Ecology and General Information of the fruit Bat
The Mariana fruit bat is a subspecies that is endemic to the Mariana Islands. They usually live close to the coast where the area has not been disturbed by humans. It can be found in mangroves, coastal strands and the native tropical forest. The fruit bats roost along cliffs where they get some protection from wind. They are a medium size fruit bat and weigh from 0.66 to 1.15 pounds. Females are slightly smaller than males. The bat usually has bright golden brown neck, their head is brown or dark brown and their abdomen is dark brown or black with gray hair. Their canine face like appearance has given them the nick name of “Flying Foxes”.(U.S Fish and Wildlife)

So why are they threatened?

The Mariana Fruit bats live in less than 5 locations. And because they do not have a big range of habitat it is difficult for them to move around and reproduce. This is specially a problem since they live in very fragmented areas and have small populations spread apart. The bats are also hunted illegally because they are considered a delicacy so their population keeps on decreasing. And if that wasn't enough to threaten their existence, humans have introduced species that have declined the quality of its habitat as well as brown tree snakes that predate the young..

 Because of this their population continuously keeps on decreasing. In the Northern Marina Islands no more than 7,475 individuals were estimated to inhabit the island in 200,1  but that number is outdated(Allison). From 1983 to 2000 there was a 40% decrease in the population in the islands of the Marinas. In Guam the current population is about 1000 individuals and it is expected to extirpate within 10 years.(Allison)

Recovery Plan

Estimated De-listing is 2030 if the criterion has met.

There are 6 main points to be addressed. First the population and distribution, to fix this problem it is proposed that stable populations be distributed to other of the surrounding islands so they have a bigger range and the populations grow in different places. Next point to address is post-delisting monitoring. To detect population trends, a monitoring program has been developed. Since habitat loss and degradation has been a great problem for the fruit bats there will be specific actions to restore the habitat. These actions include ungulate control as well as control of invasive plants. The fourth point to address is the hunting. The illegal hunt of the fruit bats needs to be stopped so the species is not endangered.  The fifth point is the Brown Tree Snakes. Because the bats are going to be moved to new islands to reproduce there, the goal is to prevent brown tree snakes from getting there so they can’t predate on the bats. And last, the sixth point to address is the development of military activities. As of now the development of military training in the habitat has been successfully been avoided.(U.S Fish and Wildlife)

Sources
1.  Allison, A., Bonaccorso, F., Helgen, K. & James, R. 2008. Pteropus mariannus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.1

2. U.S Fish and Wildlife Service  http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/100330.pdf

Pictures 

1.www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au

2..http://maps.iucnredlist.org/map.html?id=18737

3.www.pacaf.af.mil