Biodiversity Data Journal :
Data Paper (Biosciences)
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Corresponding author: Sofía I. Hayden Bofill (sofia.haydenbofill@gmail.com), Vu Dinh Thong (vietnambat@gmail.com)
Academic editor: Thomas von Rintelen
Received: 27 Jan 2024 | Accepted: 24 Apr 2024 | Published: 29 Apr 2024
© 2024 Sofía Hayden Bofill, Frieder Mayer, Vu Dinh Thong
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Hayden Bofill SI, Mayer F, Thong VD (2024) Bat diversity in the Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam - Results from VIETBIO field training and annotated species list. Biodiversity Data Journal 12: e119704. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.12.e119704
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Biodiversity surveys are essential for both academic research and conservation. Integrative approaches that combine morphological, genetic and acoustic aspects for species identification can provide reliable information in taxonomy and evolution. This is especially relevant for those groups with a high degree of cryptic diversity such as bats.
Here, we present the results from a field survey carried out in the Cuc Phuong National Park (CPNP) during 2019 as part of the VIETBIO project and from the examination of specimen collections preserved at the museums of CPNP and the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR). In addition, we include an annotated species list, based on this survey and a literature review. We here confirm that CPNP is home to at least 47 bat species belonging to 23 genera and seven families. We recorded ten of these bat species during our field survey. Obtained data in genetics (sequencing a fragment of the mitochondrial gene COI) supported the morphological identification of the recorded species for which we were able to produce these data. In addition, we include echolocation recordings obtained during our field training with the hope that they may contribute valuable insights to future work concerning the surveyed species. Results from the field survey represent a relevant contribution to biodiversity assessment efforts and, thus, support conservation and management efforts to maintain bat diversity in Vietnam.
biodiversity, Chiroptera, genetics, morphology, echolocation
As a tropical country within Southeast Asia with a long extension from north to south, Vietnam harbours an exceptional high diversity of bats including several endemic species (
Cuc Phuong National Park (CPNP) is located in north-eastern Vietnam, approximately 120 km southwest from Hanoi. With a total area of 22,200 ha, the Park covers three provinces: Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa (
In this data paper, we provide the results from our 2019 field survey and an annotated list of species present in CPNP, based on three information sources: literature review, identification of bats captured over the survey to CPNP in the context of the VIETBIO project (
During our survey at the CPNP in May 2019 (see Temporal Coverage below for exact dates), we sampled 32 bat individuals belonging to ten species of five genera, and three families at seven different collecting sites/events with the purpose of confirming the presence of bat species previously recorded in the Park, as well as providing new or supplemental data of as many different bat species as possible. The study sites comprise representative ecosystems of the Park including streams, cave, primary forests on karst and secondary forests located in an elevation range from 35 to 275 m above sea level. From the 32 sampled individuals, 30 were identified by their morphology up to species level and two up to only genus level (see Suppl. material
Bat capture
Bats were captured and handled following the guidelines recommended by the American Society of Mammalogists (
Each captured bat individual was kept in a cotton bag and weighed using a spring scale. Forearm length was measured using a Mitutoyo 0-200 mm Digital caliper with 0.01 mm digital steps. Reproductive status and age were assessed following
Echolocation recording
Sound recordings were carried out in the field at three different situations: (1) bats were flying in their natural habitats at night, (2) flying inside a flight tent (4 m [length] x 4 m [width] x 3 m [height]) and (3) during release at capture site. Echolocation calls were recorded using a PCTape system with a sampling rate of 480 kHz. Batman software was used to obtain high-quality sound sequences since it displays colour sonograms of the detected echolocation signals in real-time. Detected echolocation signals were displayed as sonograms in real time with Selena software using a 512-size Fast Fourier Transformation. The PCTape system, Batman and Selena software are custom-made by the University of Tübingen, Germany. An SM4BAT FS recorder produced by the Wildlife Acoustics (USA) with sampling rate up to 500 kHz was also used to record echolocation calls of bats in natural habitats (Fig.
Molecular data processing
In order to genetically corroborate the species taxonomy and support the morphological identifications in the field, we generated gene sequences from the collected samples at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science (MfN). DNA was isolated from wing punches preserved in ethanol with a salt/chloroform procedure (
Editing and alignment of sequences was done with Geneious Prime (v.2019.2.3) (http://www.geneious.com). We visually inspected and edited the gene sequences, for which ends were trimmed and low quality sections corrected. After edition, sequences were blasted and compared with the GenBank (
Vietnam: Cuc Phuong National Park.
20.2441 and 20.3939 Latitude; 105.7299 and 105.5200 Longitude.
Thirty-two bat individuals belonging to ten species, five genera and three families were sampled in seven field sites (Suppl. material
Amongst the surveyed species, Hipposideros poutensis was the most commonly captured species (ten individuals surveyed), followed by Hipposideros gentilis (seven individuals captured). Hipposideros alongensis sungi and Aselliscus stoliczkanus were captured only two and four times, respectively. The remaining species were rarely captured and recorded over the surveys: Rhinolophus affinis, Rhinolophus pusillus, Rhinolophus thomasi, Rhinolophus siamensis, Murina cf. cyclotis and Ia io, with sightings ranging from one to two individuals (see Suppl. material
Taxonomic comments
Hipposideridae
Four species belonging to this family were captured: Aselliscus stoliczkanus, Hipposideros alongensis sungi, Hipposideros gentilis and Hipposideros poutensis (Fig.
Rhinolophidae
We collected four species from this family: Rhinolophus affinis, Rhinolophus pusillus, Rhinolophus thomasi and Rhinolophus siamensis (Fig.
Vespertilionidae
Two individuals of this family were captured over our survey in 2019: one is identified as Murina cf. cyclotis and the second is identified as Ia io (Fig.
Discussion
During our field survey at CPNP in 2019, ten species were captured and recorded at seven netting/trapping sites. Most of the sampled species have widespread distributions, some extending throughout Asia, whereas only the subspecies H. alongensis sungi is endemic to north-eastern Vietnam. Assessing the occurrence of species in protected areas such as CPNP can provide valuable insights into the relevance of national parks and their role in maintaining biodiversity. The ten identified species have been previously reported to occur in the Park and were identified primarily on their morphology (
Unrooted Neighbour-joining tree constructed using the generated sequences of the sampled horse shoe bats (in colour) and the references with highest match found in the databases. Partial sequence of the Rhinolophus affinis individual was not sufficient for GenBank submission (343 bp long), but allowed its placement amongst other publicly available R. affinis sequences.
Furthermore, we acknowledge the inherent limitations associated with the methods used for netting/trapping in drawing conclusions regarding species occurrence and abundance. For example, nets and traps enable sampling only small areas in comparison to the broader ranges occupied by free-flying bats and these devices can be detected and circumvented by many bat species (
Apart from the survey results, we also reviewed available literature containing records or contents relevant to bats of CPNP following the current systematics for confirmation of the Park’s bat diversity (refer to Suppl. material
Although the number of species recorded during our field survey is only a small part of the known species occurring in the Park (
Rank | Scientific Name | Common Name |
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family | Hipposideridae | Old World Leaf-nosed bats |
species | Aselliscus stoliczkanus | Stoliczka's Trident bat |
species | Hipposideros gentilis | Andersen's Roundleaf bat |
species | Hipposideros poutensis | Allen's Roundleaf bat |
species | Hipposideros alongensis sungi | Sung's Leaf-nosed bat |
family | Rhinolophidae | Horseshoe bats |
species | Rhinolophus pusillus | Least Horseshoe bat |
species | Rhinolophus siamensis | Thai Horseshoe bat |
species | Rhinolophus affinis | Intermediate Horseshoe bat |
species | Rhinolophus thomasi | Thomas's Horseshoe bat |
family | Vespertilionidae | Vesper bats |
species | Murina cf. cyclotis | Round-eared Tube-nosed bat |
species | Ia Io | Great evening bat |
Column label | Column description |
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Individual field code | Individual record-code-ID from the collector. |
Record_type | The type of record. |
Collection object type | The type of collection object. |
Sex | Sex of specimen. |
Life stage | Life stage of specimen. |
Specimen_preservation | Preservation of the specimens. |
Specimen_preparation | Preparation of the specimens. |
Specimen_parts | Type of tissue collected. |
Specimen_comments | Comments of specimen. |
Deposit_specimen_institution | The actual or presumed institutional depository in case of a specimen-based record. |
Deposit_institution_collection | Specimen ID. |
Recorder/Collector | The person who collected/observed this specimen. Order of names: surname, first name. In case of several collectors: separated by underscore (NOT semicolon). |
Event_date_start (collection date start) | Date when event started (DD-MM-YYYY). |
Event_date_end (collection date end) | Date when event ended (DD-MM-YYYY). |
Event_year_start | Year when event started (YYYY). |
Event_month_start | Month when event started. |
Event_year_end | Year when event ended (YYYY). |
Event_month_end | Month when event ended. |
Recording_method | Method used for collecting data. |
Event_record_comments (Collection notes) | Collection notes. |
Kingdom | Name of taxon. |
Phylum | Name of taxon. |
Class | Name of taxon. |
Order | Name of taxon. |
Family | Name of taxon. |
Genus | Name of taxon. |
Qualifier | A term to qualify the identification. |
Species (Specific Epithet) | Name of taxon; In case of an unresolved species pair or group, enter the species names in alphabetic order, separated with a slash. |
Determination_according_to/ Identifier | The person who identified this specimen. Order of names: surname, first name. In case of several collectors: separated by underscore (NOT semicolon). |
Determination_date/ Identification Date | Date of identification (DD-MM-YYYY). |
Country | The English name of the country of the locality (Standardised spelling for names). |
1stLevel_Province_State | The English name of the province of the locality (Standardised spelling for names). |
4thLevel_Community_Village | The English name of the community/village of the locality (Standardised spelling for names). |
Locality_verbatim | Sampling location. |
Locality_description | The full describtion of the locality, indicating important nearby topographic landmarks. |
Latitude_decimal | Display in degrees(°) and decimal degrees (hddd.ddddd°). |
Longitude_decimal | Display in degrees(°) and decimal degrees (hddd.ddddd°). |
Georeference_uncertainty_metres | Uncertainty in metres. |
Elevation_minimum_metres | Elevations in metres (m) [m a.s.l.]; If there is no elevation span (minimim and maximum), then enter the elevation here. |
Media_type | Type of Media file. |
Amount | Amount of files. |
Media_file_name | Name of file. |
Media_file_2 | Type of media 2. |
Amount | Amount of type of media 2. |
Media_file_name_2 | Name of file 2. |
Media_created_by | Order of names: surname, first name. In case of several creators: separated by underscore (NOT semicolon). |
Seq_marker | Type of sequence marker. |
Seq_name | Name of sequence file. |
Seq_processed_by | Name of the person who processed the genetic sample. |
Seq_generated_by | Institution at which sequence was generated. |
Seq_length | Length of sequence after trimming. |
Identity_database | Identity percentage in NCBI. |
Species_database | Name of species from NCBI database with the highest identity score. |
Forearm_length | Bat forearm length in mm. |
Tibia | Length of tibia in mm. |
Foot_height | Foot height in mm. |
We are grateful to the Directorial Board, the Scientific Department and the guides (Nguyen Huy Quang, Luong Khac Hien, Mai Van Xinh) of Cuc Phuong National Park. We would also like to thank the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) of Vietnam. We are thankful to Gábor Csorba, Tuan Hai Bui and three anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments during submission. This research was financed through the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under grant number 01DP17052 in the context of the project “Innovative approaches to biodiversity discovery and characterization” (VIETBIO).