Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA
COLLEGE OF FORESTRY AND CONSERVATION
MISSOULA,MT 59812
Performing Department
College of Forestry and Conservation
Non Technical Summary
The Mariana fruit bat (Pteropus mariannus, fanihi) is a federally-listed threatened species across its range in the Mariana Islands. Although this species has been of concern for nearly three decades, fanihi populations in the Mariana Islands are largely unknown making it difficult to identify recovery goals and target management actions. In addition, many local communities that have traditionally valued fanihi as a resource are unsupportive of U.S. government efforts to recover this species, because they do not believe that fanihi populations are threatened nor understand federal management goals. For on-the-ground fanihi conservation efforts to be effective in reversing trends and recovering this species, managers need assistance identifying and justifying recovery priorities, tracking fanihi populations over time, and garnering public support and involvement. The Department of the Navy is promoting the long-term survival and recovery of the Mariana fruit bat by providing funds to initiate recovery actions aligned with the Draft Revised Recovery Plan for the Mariana Fruit Bat or Fanihi (Recovery Plan; USFWS 2009). We propose to strengthen Mariana fruit bat conservation with this valuable support by conducting much-needed biological and ecological research, developing a standardized monitoring protocol, and encouraging education and awareness about fanihi in local communities. The research and community education will take place on Rota Island, which is the last stronghold for fanihi in the southern Mariana Islands and where strong public opinion is at odds with recovery. Our proposal directly addresses meeting 3 recovery criteria by implementing 10 of the Recovery Actions outlined in the Recovery Plan. The results of our project will provide a basis for promoting fanihi recovery by using scientific research to identify fruit conservation priorities and to establish a defensible method of evaluating when recovery criteria are met, and by building local support for fanihi conservation through education and involvement in fanihi's recovery.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Identify recovery priorities: synthesize recent research, population genetics, PVA. Synthesize recent research: One of three main goals of this project is to update the Recovery Plan through analysis of recent studies and by supplementing additional research to strengthen and justify the Recovery Goals. Upon completion of our work, we will facilitate a discussion with Recovery Team members and other bat experts and stakeholders to make recommendations to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of changes that could be made to the Recovery Plan. Population genetics : A major question the Recovery Team had in developing Recovery Goals was how connected populations are across the islands, especially between the northern and southern islands. We will support the Recovery Plan by investigating migration among the Mariana fruit bat populations using fecal samples opportunistically collected from 3 of the northern islands during the 2010 surveys and samples we will collect on Rota during our field work following the lab methodologies developed by Brown et al. and TM. Population viability analysis: We propose to revise the PVA, incorporating new information available from the 2010 surveys and our genetics research. Carrying capacities can be estimated per island from the 2010 survey's population and habitat availability data. Following recent methods used by TM, population density at undisturbed islands (e.g. Asuncion) can be compared to disturbed islands to estimate the direct and indirect pressure of human disturbance (especially hunting and habitat destruction) on fanihi populations. Establish a standardized monitoring protocol: We will survey fanihi populations on Rota with the help from CNMI-DFW and local stakeholders to develop measurement ranges of the field of error due to natural variability in fanihi populations and due to observer experience. The involvement of local communities in fanihi conservation is critical to the success of recovery efforts. We are proposing to address the lack of awareness about and participation in fanihi conservation at multiple levels: schools, adult stakeholders (landowners, hunters, bat consumers), and government officials, law enforcers, and decision-makers. In all three groups, we will strive to identify individuals showing special interest in fanihi conservation and encourage them to participate in field work and learn more about fanihi conservation. By developing local "champions", we both establish credibility and create spokespersons to interpret community concerns and bridge the cultural gap between off-island fanihi biologists and local communities.
Project Methods
Population genetics: We will support the Recovery Plan by investigating migration among the Mariana fruit bat populations using fecal samples opportunistically collected from 3 of the northern islands during the 2010 surveys and samples we will collect on Rota during our field work following the lab methodologies developed by Brown et al. and TM. Population viability analysis: We will revise the PVA by incorporating new information available from the 2010 surveys and using our genetics research. Carrying capacities can be estimated per island from the 2010 survey's population and habitat availability data. Following recent methods used by TM, population density at undisturbed islands (e.g. Asuncion) can be compared to disturbed islands to estimate the direct and indirect pressure of human disturbance (especially hunting and habitat destruction) on fanihi populations. Establish a standardized monitoring protocol: We will survey fanihi populations on Rota to develop measurement ranges of the field of error due to natural variability in fanihi populations and due to observer experience. The resulting Standardized Fanihi Population Abundance Assessment and Monitoring Protocol will provide a scientifically-defensible and statistically-rigorous methodology for detecting trends in fanihi population sizes. It will also be adjustable to accommodate the range of monitoring scenarios common to the Mariana Islands, offering monitoring schedules for trained biologists with adequate time and survey equipment and schedules robust to inexperienced observers with insufficient equipment and/or time to conduct thorough surveys. Increasing fanihi awareness in Rota schools: We will make training available to local teachers for which they will receive Teacher Development credits and provide them with curriculum pieces, so they will have the skills and materials they need to integrate fanihi education into their courses. For students expressing special interest, we will offer extra opportunities to get involved and learn more about fanihi, such as internships and science fair project ideas. We will support motivated teachers by providing them and their classes with simple but effective ways to get involved, such as developing an outside herbarium where seeds from fanihi feces can be cultivated and outplanted to enhance fanihi habitat. Increasing fanihi awareness among adult stakeholders and government officials: We encourage community members to come into the field to participate in field surveys to boost credibility in current population size estimates. In comfortable, round-table style public meetings, we will use easy to understand and jargon-free rationale to demonstrate the threats of hunting to fanihi populations on Rota. As a group we can calculate and compare population density on unhunted islands (e.g. Asuncion) to those on Rota, where available habitat is substantially larger, and discuss the carrying capacity of Rota populations if unhunted. As a group, we can also determine sustainability of current hunting by estimating harvest and comparing to recruitment rates of typical fruit bat populations. Together we will set short-term objectives for Rota.