Here we describe the analyses we conducted for the Australasian Bat Society's annual reporting to the National Capital Authority.
Abstract
Australian flying-foxes (also known as fruit bats) are the largest flying mammals, and their energy for flight is reliant upon the sugar-rich nectar of native hardwoods, many native seed-heavy fruits and berries, and more recently, introduced species of fruits found in urban backyards and orchards. It is the unique combination of their diet and mobility that makes them keystone species - they serve an ecologically significant role as seed dispersers and pollinators. However their effectiveness is reliant on large populations; so they may cease to function as dispersers long before they become rare.
The grey-headed flying-fox (GHFF, Pteropus poliocephalus) is listed as vulnerable under the Australian EPBC Act 1999, and the little red flying-fox (Pteropus scapulatus) is considered stable. For the GHFFs, the national legislation affords threatened species protections and safeguards to prevent a decline in their population.
Commonwealth Park in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has been occupied by flying-foxes seasonally every year since 2003, and the Australasian Bat Society Inc (ABS) has been surveying the camp since then. In 2012, the ABS entered into an agreement with the National Capital Authority (NCA) to monitor this camp. Since 2013 the ABS has also been providing quarterly census survey data to the ACT and Commonwealth Governments as part of the National Flying-fox Monitoring Program. The survey methodology is consistent with the CSIRO Commonwealth Flying-fox census method.