Underrepresentation of bats in Africa's protected areas

Abstract

Biodiversity is severely threatened globally, with habitat loss and other human pressures accelerating species extinctions. Protected areas (PAs) are a critical conservation tool; however, their effectiveness in safeguarding many taxa, such as bats, remains unclear. Using georeferenced occurrence records and species distribution models (SDMs) for 263 sub-Saharan African bat species, we evaluated the coverage of bats in 7875 terrestrial PAs. Eighty-nine percent of bat species were recorded in at least 1 PA, yet 28 species, including 5 threatened and 15 data deficient species, were absent from all PAs. Species with large extents of occurrence were represented in more PAs, and fruit bats occupied significantly more PAs than clutter, edge, or open-air insectivorous foragers. The SDMs revealed high species richness in some undersurveyed areas, particularly in West and Central Africa and the Albertine Rift, emphasizing the need for targeted surveys. Our findings underscore critical data deficiencies related to bat conservation and stress the urgency of integrating bats into broader conservation planning. More surveys, enhanced data-sharing, and tailored conservation strategies are needed to improve bat representation in PAs and safeguard their ecological roles in Africa's biodiverse landscapes.