TITLE:
Modeling Bat Species Richness and Spatial Distribution in Burkina Faso
AUTHORS:
Napoko Malika Kangoyé, Adama Oueda, Rimwaodo Pierre Silga, Idrissa Ouedraogo, Wendengoudi Guenda, Boureima Gustave Kabre
KEYWORDS:
Bats, Distribution Species Model, Richness, Maxent, Burkina Faso
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.11 No.11,
November
12,
2021
ABSTRACT: The spatial distribution of bats in Burkina Faso is little-known. Previous studies have only described the bat species’ richness in Burkina Faso. This study was conducted to highlight bat species’ richness distribution within Burkina Faso and environmental variables that influence this distribution with the aim to give support for protection and further sampling for biodiversity. The Species Distribution Models (SDMs) were used to perform this study. To do that, species occurrences were collected throughout literature and field sampling and correlated to environmental variables through the Maxent software (Maximum Entropy). Our modeling variables included climate, vegetation cover, topography and hydrography data. The Jackknife test was performed to determine the importance of environmental variables that influence the species distribution model. The results showed that bats are present in all areas of vegetation in Burkina Faso. Species richness varies across the country. The species richness for major families increases from North to South. The total annual precipitation and topography are the main variables that positively influence bats distribution in Burkina Faso but the bare ground cover and standard deviation of the maximum temperature negatively influence this distribution. This modeling approach of bat species richness is important for policies makers and represents an invaluable tool in ecological management, particularly in the current context of climate change.