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Important but not a priority? Conservation concerns & priorities for Philippine bats in the Anthropocene

Anthropogenic caused environmental changes coupled with rapid population growth are altering the Earth’s biota at unprecedented rates, posing an alarming threat to the long-term persistence of many species of both animals and plants and so, a science-based prioritisation encompassing multiple dimensions is necessary. In the over 7000 Islands of the Philippine archipelago, a large proportion of bat diversity constitute the mammalian fauna of the country, which performs various ecological functions. However, many species are in need of high conservation attention yet the level and understanding of their vulnerability remain anecdotal. In this study, we aim to determine the vulnerability of Philippine bat species from different threats, which is important to establish effective conservation decision making and prioritisation in the future. We found that habitat loss and direct human-driven (e.g., hunting) is the main threat to more than half of the Philippine bat species. As expected, threatened and endemic species are facing higher levels of vulnerability with the strong positive relationship between Species Vulnerability Index (SVI) and Absolute Number of Threats. However, a weak relationship between Species-Research Effort Allocation (SREA) and SVI indicating a strong disparity in efforts and priorities among species. Given the high species richness, endemism, vulnerabilities, and disparity in efforts, the Philippine is indeed a conservation hotspot for bat biodiversity. We suggest that priorities should holistically consider multiple facets in knowledge paucity, levels of threats and species vulnerability for effective conservation process. Eyeing carefully on the emerging and unknown threats, increasing conservation education, and forging equitable partnerships and capacity building to bolster bat conservation in the Philippines.