Vital Sign Monitoring: Fruit Bats

This Samoan fruit bat (Pteropus samoensis) hangs in foliage in the National Park of American Samoa

Description & Rational
Large fruit bats, or flying foxes, are endemic to oceanic islands in the South Pacific, and are found in or near the PACN park units of American Samoa. On geographically isolated islands with low biodiversity, fruit bats are ecologically important in maintaining tropical forest ecosystems through pollination and seed dispersal. Bats are the only terrestrial mammals found on the islands of American Samoa, and hold a key position as likely ecological indicators of forest ecosystem health and environmental change. Fruit bats have been historically subjected to commercial hunting, habitat loss, climatic disturbances, and predation, leading to population declines. Long-term monitoring of the Samoan fruit bat (Pteropus samoensis) and white-naped fruit bat (Pteropus tonganus) in American Samoa is critical to documenting population changes, identifying environmental stressors that affect populations and determining habitat needs.

Brief Monitoring Questions & Objectives
Question: What is the relative abundance and distribution of two species of fruit bat found in and near the National Park of American Samoa (NPSA), and how are populations changing over the long-term (10-20 years)?
Objective: Determine the long-term trends (10-20 years) in population size and distribution of both species in and near NPSA.

Vital Sign Monitoring Status & Trends
The Fruit Bat Monitoring Protocol is in development and is scheduled to enter into peer review in July 2009.

Products and Related Links:

• Protocol Documents (in development)
• Publications:
  1. Brooke, A. 1998. Biology of the flying foxes in American Samoa: Pteropus samoensis and Pteropus tonganus. A report to the National Park of American Samoa. DMWR.
  2. Brooke, A.P. 2001. Population status and behaviors of the Samoan flying fox (Pteropus samoensis) on Tutuila Island, American Samoa. J. Zool. Lond. 254: 309-319.
  3. Brooke, A.P., C. Solek, and A. Tuafaulelei. 2000. Roosting behavior of colonial and solitary flying foxes in American Samoa (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae). Biotropica 32(2): 338-350. http://www.jstor.org/view/.
  4. Banack, S.A. 1998. Diet selection and resource use by flying foxes (Genus Pteropus). Ecology 79(6): 1949-1967. http://www.jstor.org/view/.
  5. Banack, S.A., and G.S. Grant. 2002. Spatial and temporal movement patterns of the flying fox, Pteropus tonganus, in American Samoa. J. Wildl. Manage. 66(4): 1154-1163. http://www.jstor.org/view/.
• Other Programs:
  1. Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources
  2. Bat Conservation International

• Fruit Bat Monitoring Resource Brief
• Fruit Bat Monitoring Photo Gallery - Coming Soon!

Contact Information
Principal Investigator
Leslie HaySmith, National Park Service
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
P.O. Box 52
Hawaii National Park, HI 96718
leslie_haysmith <at> nps.gov