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Fruit Bats Comprised of Only a Few Individuals, Also Previously Located by the Micronesian Megapode Team, Was Confirmed from the Helicopter Search of SA Col

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Fruit Bats Comprised of Only a Few Individuals, Also Previously Located by the Micronesian Megapode Team, Was Confirmed from the Helicopter Search of SA Col Population Assessment of the Mariana Fruit Bat (Pteropus mariannus mariannus) on Anatahan, Sarigan, Guguan, Alamagan, Pagan, Agrihan, Asuncion, and Maug; 15 June – 10 July 2010 Administrative Report Pteropus mariannus mariannus at a roost on Pagan, Photograph by E. W. Valdez Ernest W. Valdez U. S. Geological Survey Fort Collins Science Center, Arid Lands Field Station Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 Administrative Reports are considered to be unpublished and may not be cited or quoted except in follow-up administrative reports to the same Federal agency or unless the agency releases the report to the public. Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................ 3 METHODS AND MATERIALS ....................................................................................................................... 4 RESULTS ...................................................................................................................................................... 7 SARIGAN (15–16 June 2010) .................................................................................................................... 7 GUGUAN (17–18 June 2010) ..................................................................................................................... 7 ALAMAGAN (19–21 June 2010; 10 July 2010) .......................................................................................... 8 ASUNCION (24-30 June 2010) ................................................................................................................ 10 MAUG (24-26 June 2010) ........................................................................................................................ 12 AGRIHAN (27 June–3 July 2010) ............................................................................................................. 13 PAGAN (1–10 July 2010) ......................................................................................................................... 15 ANATAHAN (10 July 2010) ...................................................................................................................... 19 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................................... 19 SARIGAN ................................................................................................................................................. 20 GUGUAN .................................................................................................................................................. 20 ALAMAGAN ............................................................................................................................................. 21 ASUNCION .............................................................................................................................................. 21 MAUG ....................................................................................................................................................... 21 AGRIHAN ................................................................................................................................................. 22 PAGAN ..................................................................................................................................................... 23 ANATAHAN .............................................................................................................................................. 24 NATURAL HISTORY ................................................................................................................................... 24 SENSITIVITY TO DISTURBANCE ........................................................................................................... 24 EVENING ACTIVITY TIME ....................................................................................................................... 25 REPRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 26 FEEDING BEHAVIOR .............................................................................................................................. 26 MIGRATION ............................................................................................................................................. 26 FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................ 27 TIMING AND LOGISTICS ........................................................................................................................ 27 PROTOCOL AND FUTURE RESEARCH................................................................................................. 27 HELICOPTER USE .................................................................................................................................. 28 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................................... 28 LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................................................... 29 APPENDIX 1. Definition of some terms used in the report as defined by Ellison and other (2003). ............ 45 Pteropus mariannus mariannus ii Figures 1. Map of Sarigan and locations of importance. ....................................................................................... 37 2. Map of Guguan and locations of importance. ....................................................................................... 38 3. Map of Alamagan and locations of importance. ................................................................................... 39 4. Map of Asuncion and locations of importance. ..................................................................................... 40 5. Map of Maug and locations of importance. .......................................................................................... 41 6. Map of Agrihan and locations of importance. ....................................................................................... 42 7. Map of Pagan and locations of importance. ......................................................................................... 43 8. Map of Anatahan and locations of importance. .................................................................................... 44 Tables 1. Number of individuals counted using direct counts at roosts on Sarigan ............................................. 31 2. Number of individuals counted using counts from photos taken during direct counts at a roost on Sarigan ........................................................................................................................................... 31 3. Number of individuals counted using exit counts on Guguan ............................................................... 32 4. Number of individuals counted using direct counts at roosts on Guguan ............................................. 32 5. Number of individuals counted using counts from photos taken from a helicopter, of a roost on Alamagan ............................................................................................................................................ 33 6. Number of individuals counted using direct counts at roosts on Asuncion ........................................... 33 7. Number of individuals counted using direct counts at roosts on Maug................................................. 34 8. Number of individuals counted using counts from photos taken from a helicopter, of a roost on Agrihan ............................................................................................................................................ 34 9. Number of individuals counted using direct counts at roosts on Pagan ............................................... 35 10. Number of individuals counted using counts from photos taken during direct counts at roosts on Pagan ............................................................................................................................................ 35 11. Number of individuals counted using counts from photos taken from a helicopter, of roosts on Pagan ............................................................................................................................... 36 12. Summary of the maximum number of bats counted at Anatahan, Sarigan, Guguan, Alamagan, Pagan, Agrihan, Asuncion, and Maug from this study and minimum population estimates reported by Johnson (2001), Cruz and others (2000a-f), and the 1983 findings by Wiles and others (1989)........................................................................................................................................ 36 iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Mariana fruit bat (Pteropus mariannus mariannus) occurs on the 15-island archipelago of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam (Wiles and Glass, 1990). Because of direct impacts from over-harvesting for human consumption and introduction of the brown tree snake on Guam, as well as indirect impacts and habitat loss from agriculture, typhoons, and feral ungulates,
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