Aspects of the Ecology of Noack's Roundleaf Bat (Hipposideros Aff. Ruber)
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ASPECTS OF THE ECOLOGY OF NOACK’S ROUNDLEAF BAT (HIPPOSIDEROS AFF. RUBER) IN GHANA EVANS EWALD NKRUMAH Thesis submitted to the Graduate School, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (WILDLIFE AND RANGE MANAGEMENT) FEBRUARY 2014 Declaration I, Evans Ewald Nkrumah, hereby declare that this thesis, “ASPECTS OF THE ECOLOGY OF NOACK’S ROUNDLEAF BAT (HIPPOSIDEROS AFF. RUBER) IN GHANA”, consists entirely of my own work produced from research undertaken under supervision and that no part of it has been published or presented for another degree elsewhere, except for the permissible excepts/references from other sources, which have been duly acknowledged. Date:………………… Signed:…………………. Evans Ewald Nkrumah (Name of Candidate) Date:………………… Signed:…………………. Prof. Samuel K. Oppong (Supervisor) Date:………………… Signed:…………………. Dr. Emmanuel Danquah (Head of Department) i “Our planet is still full of wonders. As we explore them we gain not only understanding, but power. It's not just the future of the whale that today lies in our hands. It's the survival of the natural world in all parts of the living planet. We can now destroy, or we can cherish. The choice is ours” Sir David Frederick Attenborough (1926 – Present), BBC commentator Dedication This work is dedicated to my parents Mr and Mrs Stephen Nkrumah who supported me in pursuit of a carrier in the Life Sciences and all who share in the vision of Sir David Attenborough. iii Acknowledgements This work would not have been a success without the support and input of many people. I thank all of them but I would like to take this opportunity to single out some of them who have been very exceptional. I am first grateful to my supervisor and also a Principal Investigator (PI) on the German Science Foundation (DFG) Bat Project in Infectology, Prof. Samuel Kingsley Oppong. He has been very instrumental in my PhD research work. I thank him for his scientific contribution and encouragement. Without his continuous support, I could not have completed this work. He made my PhD research enjoyable; assessing my field reports, attending project meetings and ensuring that I had what I needed for field work. Professor also made several visits to the communities where I was working to make sure my work was carried out without hindrances. I really appreciate working with Prof. Samuel Oppong. Thank you. I am also grateful to all PIs on DFG Bat Project in Infectology at the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR) who gave me the opportunity to study and produce this thesis on their project. Most especially, Prof. Marco Tschapka (Institute of Experimental Ecology, University of Ulm, Germany) and Dr. Olivia Agbenyega (KNUST) for their contribution to the success of this work. Prof. Marco Tschapka invited me to Germany to receive assistance in data analysis and also contributed scientifically to the success of this thesis. My special thanks to the memory of the late Prof. Elisabeth Kalko (Institute of Experimental Ecology, University of Ulm, Germany) whose presentation on bat ecology in 2008 at KCCR inspired my decision to study bats two years later. Prof. Elisabeth Kalko was a PI on this project before her demise and trained me and my team to commence my iv studies in bat ecology. I also thank DFG for providing the financial support to the Bat Project. I am also grateful to the entire DFG Bat Project team (Post Doctorate students, PhD students and MPhil Students). I would like to acknowledge Dr. Stefan M. Klose (Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany), Dr. Peter Vallo (Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic) and Dr. Augustina Annan (KCCR). I thank them for their contribution in scientific advice, field work, project administration and encouragement. I also thank Miss Heather Joanna Baldwin (PhD student; University of Ulm, Germany) for her role in data collection. I also thank Mr. Ebenezer Kofi Badu, Mrs Priscilla Gepi-Attee and Dr. Micheal Owusu (Students, KNUST) for their help in the data collection. Many thanks, to the field workers of the DFG Bat Project. Their efforts made this work a success. I would like to acknowledge the following persons; Messrs. Isaac Mawusi Adanyeguh, David Ofori Agyei, Mac Elikem Nutsuakor, Emmanuel Asare and Miss Kathrin Kubicek for their outstanding contribution to data collection. I would also like to thank the volunteers who committed their time and energy to make this work a success; Messrs. Julian Schmidt, Maximilian Vollstädt, Simon Ripperger and Misses Julia Morrison, Lucinda Kirkpatrick, Sarah Koschnicke and Anna Valeska Vogeler. I thank KCCR staff for providing me with the research platform and the opportunity to use their facilities. I thank KCCR drivers most especially Messrs. Kennedy Aboagye Darkwa and Mr. Paul Bekyir Marfo for ensuring our safety on Ghanaian roads during data collection. I also thank the staff of the Department of Wildlife and v Range Management especially Prof. William Oduro, Dr. Bright Kankam, Dr. Emmanuel Danquah and Mr. Louis Addae-Wireko whose suggestions during academic presentations have help shaped this work. Special thanks go to the Chiefs and people of Forikrom, Kwamang and Buoyem who gave me access to their community property. I thank especially Nana Adams and Nana Benjamin for their support. I also thank the field guides from these three communities who were with us each time we visited the caves and offered prayers to ensure that our work was successful, most especially, Messrs Justice Konadu and Kwame Takyi. Special thanks also go to Nana Emmanuel, Mrs Anti Jean and Madam Grace who ensured that we had a place to rest in the day time after night work. My appreciation also go to my family, friends and colleague students who helped me stay motivated most especially Dr. Caleb Ofori Boateng. My strongest support has been from my family who have always been encouraging and supportive throughout the studies. Two great scientists once said; “All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent Mind. This Mind is the matrix of all matter” (Max Planck, Father of quantum physics and Nobel laureate in Physics 1918 for discovery of quanta energy), and Albert Einstein (originator of General Theory of Relativity and Nobel laureate in Physics 1921 for the law of photoelectric effect) also said “Anyone who becomes seriously involved in the pursuit of Science becomes convinced that there is a Spirit manifest in the laws of the Universe, a Spirit, vastly superior to that of man”. This vi ‘Mind’ and ‘Spirit’ I called God; so last but not least I thank God for being the matrix behind the success of this work. vii Abstract The roost of bats in five caves in the central parts of Ghana were investigated. A total of 10,226 bats belonging to nine species were mist-netted within two years. There was a significant difference in species composition of the caves. The Noacks’s roundleaf bat, Hipposideros aff. ruber was found to be the most dominant species roosting inside the cave and some aspects of its ecology were further investigated. The flight activity of Hipposideros aff. ruber was limited to certain periods of the night at Kwamang cave one while it was uniform at Kwamang cave two. The estimated mean home range size of this species using radio-tracking was thirty-six hectares with a foraging range of 1.2 km. There was no significant difference in the home range sizes of the males and females. Hipposideros aff. ruber used 50% of its home range as the foraging area and 2% as the core area. Pregnant females had smaller home ranges and foraged not more than 0.2 km away from the roost cave. Hipposideros aff. ruber used all available habitats around its roost but strongly preferred to forage in fallow lands ahead of other habitats. This bat used tree farms such as cocoa as flight paths to commute between roost caves and foraging areas and exhibited a trimodal activity pattern foraging at dusk, midnight and dawn. Hipposideros aff. ruber is a strong flyer commuting over longer distances. A three kilometre radius around its roost should be included in the protection of its home range. In highly impacted agricultural landscapes, fallow lands are recommended as conservation units to support this bat. In such landscapes, provision of canopy trees as flight paths is recommended to allow them to commute between roost and habitats that support higher prey densities. viii Table of Contents Declaration ................................................................................................................... i Dedication .................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... iv Abstract .................................................................................................................... viii Table of Contents ...................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ........................................................................................................... xv List of Tables ........................................................................................................... xvi List of Plates ..........................................................................................................