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Abstract:
We report on the results of a bat inventory of three classified forests in southeastern Guinea sampled during a RAP-survey. In total, we recorded 23 bat species (Déré: 3, Diécké: 8, Mt. Béro: 18), including three species that are globally ranked as "Vulnerable" by the Red List of threatened species (IUCN 2004): Rhinolophus hillorum, R. guineensis, and Mops trevori. Including unpublished results from previous surveys and museum data, 15 bat species are recorded for the first time for Guinea, raising the species total for that country from 50 to 65, a remarkable increase of 23 %. A total of 51 species is documented from Guinée Forestière, including species of global conservation concern that are threatened by imminent extinction (Rhinolophus ziama: Endangered, Hipposideros marisae: Endangered, H. lamottei: Critically Endangered). Out of a total of seven forest reserves, the majority of bat species (33 species or 65 %) has been recorded from only one or two reserves. This checkerboard pattern of bat occurrences, i.e. with a high species turn-over between the forest reserves, points to distinct bat assemblages in relation to differing habitat types covered by these reserves. It is concluded that the forest reserves are complementary to each other and none of them would compensate for the loss or degradation of another one. It is highly recommended that the protection status of all major Forêts Classées in Guinée Forestière should be upgraded and their effective protection enforced, ideally forming a network of national parks for this globally significant biodiversity hotspot.
