Correspondence between bats population and terrestrial cave-dwelling arthropods community in Tasikmalaya karst area

Isma Dwi Kurniawan, Cahyo Rahmadi, Rezzy Eko Caraka, Iman Aulia Rahman, Ida Kinasih, Toni Toharudin, Rung Ching Chen, Youngjo Lee

Abstract


Trogloxenes particularly bats play an important role in subterranean habitat. They provide organic material and induce cave microclimate that influence cave-dwelling biota, including arthropods. This study aimed to learn how bats population influences cave-dwelling arthropods community. Data collections were performed in three caves which had different bats species in Tasikmalaya karst area namely Liang Boeh, Liang Seungit and Sarongge. We recorded bats population, guano production, physicochemical condition of caves passage, and arthropods community in each cave. All samplings were only conducted in the specific sites of the dark zone where bat populations were aggregated. Data indicated that Liang Boeh was inhibited by Hipposideros sp (±472 individuals), Liang Seungit by Pteripodidae and Miniopterus sp. (±188 individuals), and Sarongge by Rhinolophus sp. (±1194 individuals). Guano production was positively correlated with bats population. Chemical compositions of soil were varying among bats species. Bats population strongly induced caves physicochemical condition. A total 15986 individuals of cave-dwelling arthropods belonging to 5 Classes and 18 Orders were recorded. Our result revealed that bats population determined arthropods community. Caves with greater bats population size and dominated by insectivorous species would potentially have greater diversity and abundance of cave-dwelling arthropods.

Full Text: PDF

Published: 2020-09-02

How to Cite this Article:

Isma Dwi Kurniawan, Cahyo Rahmadi, Rezzy Eko Caraka, Iman Aulia Rahman, Ida Kinasih, Toni Toharudin, Rung Ching Chen, Youngjo Lee, Correspondence between bats population and terrestrial cave-dwelling arthropods community in Tasikmalaya karst area, Commun. Math. Biol. Neurosci., 2020 (2020), Article ID 59

Copyright © 2020 Isma Dwi Kurniawan, Cahyo Rahmadi, Rezzy Eko Caraka, Iman Aulia Rahman, Ida Kinasih, Toni Toharudin, Rung Ching Chen, Youngjo Lee. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Commun. Math. Biol. Neurosci.

ISSN 2052-2541

Editorial Office: [email protected]

 

Copyright ©2024 CMBN