CONTRIBUTION OF THE RUSSIAN-VIETNAMESE TROPICAL CENTRE TO THE STUDY OF BATS (CHIROPTERA) OF VIETNAM

A. V. Borissenko and S. V. Kruskop
Zoological Museum of Moscow University
INTRODUCTION
The order of bats (Chiroptera) is the second largest order of mammals containig ca. 1000 species and having nearly worldwide distribution. The bulk of the diversity of bats is confined to the tropics, where they play a tremendous role in ecological communities, generally as consumers of insect and plant biomass, as pollinators and an important food resource for a variety of predators. This role, however, is apparently underestimated, due to the lack of knowledge on most regional tropical bat faunas.
Until recently Vietnam remained one of the least studied areas of the Indomalayan Region in terms of chiropteran diversity. Recent extensive surveys of a number of protected areas undertaken by a number of researchers from different countries have yielded a number of interesting zoogeographical findings and even taxonomical innovations. Nevertheless, much of our knowledge of Vietnamese bats is limited to faunal lists compiled for relatively small territories.
The aim of the present report is to outline the contribution of the Tropical Centre to the studies of bats of Vietnam.
METHODS
Before 1997 during the expeditions of the Tropical Centre no specific bat surveys were undertaken. However, material on bats was collected as a by-product of mammalogical and ornithological surveys and subsequently deposited in the Zoological Museum of Moscow University (Moscow, Russia). Most bats were collected by German V. Kuznetsov and Mikhail V. Kalyakin, either captured in bird mist nets, or taken inside day roosts. The absence of chiropterological surveys as a separate goal resulted in relatively poor representation of the diversity of bats in each of the sites. Most of the specimens collected represented common and abundant species, however, a number of new zoogeographical records were made, e. g., the Himalayan fruit bat Sphaerias blanfordi was found in Tam Dao Prov. by G. Kuznetsov.
During the last two expeditions (Vu Quang 1997 and Phong Nha 1999) particular attention was paid to surveying bats. As a result the bats were represented much better, which enabled to compile more or less comprehensive faunal lists of the studied areas. Additional to the standard method of capturing bats in mist nets, ultrasound detectors were employed, and the original method of capturing bats with mobile traps (Borissenko, 1999) was extensively used, which enabled to collect data on behavioral patterns of certain bat species.
SPECIES LISTS AND FAUNISTIC RECORDS
During the expeditions of the Tropical Centre bats were collected in 16 localities, mostly confined to the north, north-central and southern parts of the country. For reasons mentioned above the diversity of sampled bat taxa is uneven, the most diverse samples being from Vu Quang and Ke Bang.
The list of bat species collected in Vietnam during the expeditions of the Tropical Centre contains 41 species, of the ca. 90 species hitherto reported from this country. Among them are four species which have not been previously listed in available publications and unpublished reports. This includes a small mouse-eared bat representing a new species - Myotis annamiticus (Kruskop, Tsytsulina, 2001).
The complete taxonomic list of bat species collected in Vietnam during the expeditions of the Tropical Centre is not yet published. However, annotated lists are available for the last two expeditions (Kruskop, 2000; Kuznetsov et al., 2001).
OTHER STUDIES
Particular focus on bats during the last two expeditions of the Tropical Centre enabled to start the accumulation of data on ecology and natural history of bats during the surveys. These include an eco-morphological assessment of the structure of the bat community of Vu Quang (Borissenko et al., 2001), observations on cave dwelling bats of Phong Nha (Kruskop, 2000), and studies on parasitic flies of bats (Farafonova, Borissenko, 2001; Farafonova, Kruskop, in press).
Ecological assessments of the state of local bat communities are of especial importance, as they are indicative of the state of the eco-systems in general. Thus it is proposed that aside from the necessary faunistic reconnaissance studies resulting in species lists, extensive ecological monitoring of bats should be introduced in surveyed areas. The should form a good basis for elaborating site-specific conservation activities.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS ON BATS OF VIETNAM RELEVANT TO THE EXPEDITIONS OF THE TROPICAL CENTRE

• Borissenko A. V., S. V. Kruskop, E. V. Dorokhina. 2001. The bats (Chiroptera) of the Vu Quang Nature Reserve: community structure and ecomorphological patterns. Pp. 190-215 in: Materials of Zoological and Botanical Studies in Vu Quang Nature Reserve (Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam). L. P. Korzun, M. V. Kalyakin, eds. Joint Russian-Vietnamese Science and Technological Tropical Centre. 467 p. [In Russian with English summary].
  
• Farafonova G. V., A. V. Borissenko. 2001. Parasitic flies (Diptera: Nycteribiidae, Streblidae) of Vietnamese bats. Pp. 383-391 in: Materials of Zoological and Botanical Studies in Vu Quang Nature Reserve (Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam). L. P. Korzun, M. V. Kalyakin, eds. Joint Russian-Vietnamese Science and Technological Tropical Centre. 467 p. [In Russian with English summary].
• Farafonova G. V., S. V. Kruskop. 2001. Notes on the Nycteribiidae (Diptera) of Viet Nam. - International Journal of Dipterological Research, 12(1): 29-31.
• Kruskop S. V. 2000. New bat records from central Vietnam. Plecotus et al., 3: 121-128. [In Russian with English summary].
• Kruskop S. V. 2000. The bats in caves of Ke Bamng limestone area (central Vietnam). Plecotus et al., 3: 114-120. [In Russian with English summary].
• Kruskop S. V., K. A. Tsytsulina. 2001. A new big-footed bat Myotis annamiticus sp. nov. (Vespertilionidae, Chiroptera) from Vietnam. Mammalia, 65(1): 63-72.
• Kuznetsov G. V., A. V. Borissenko, V. V. Rozhnov. 2001. A synopsis of the mammal fauna of the Vu Quang Nature Reserve. Pp. 161-189 in: Materials of Zoological and Botanical Studies in Vu Quang Nature Reserve (Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam). L. P. Korzun, M. V. Kalyakin, eds. Joint Russian-Vietnamese Science and Technological Tropical Centre. 467 p. [In Russian with English summary].
• Borissenko A. V., Kruskop S. V. 2003. Bats of Vietnam and adjacent territories. An identification manual. Biodiversity of Vietnam series, Мoscow., GEOS, 203 pp.