The Vietnam Bat Research Roadshow!! Ho Chi Minh City, Tan Phu District, Cat Tien National Park

December brought the SEABCRU to southern Vietnam for the last of our “Network Gap” Workshops. Northern Vietnam has been a center for bat research for the past 10 years, but little is known of the ecology of bats in the south of the country where there are no bat research experts. This is a concern, because bats in Southern Vietnam have experienced the greatest loss of habitat in the entire country, and are hunted for food and traditional medicine. Southern Vietnam was therefore identified as a “network gap” lacking bat researchers by the SEABCRU steering committee in 2012. The objective of the SEABCRU workshop is to build capacity in southern Vietnam to fill this gap in expertise. The workshop was based in Dinh Quan province which has a nationally-unique set of lava-tube caves, that is home to several bat species, and one of the few remaining areas of lowland forest in Indochina – Cat Tien National Park. After an opening morning in Ho Chi Minh City, the workshop was split with 2.5 days of activities at the lava tubes and two days in the National Park.

The workshop was conducted in collaboration with the Institute of Tropical Biology, with a local organizing team comprising Nguyễn Trần Vỹ, Nguyễn Đăng Hoàng Vũ, and Nguyễn Ngọc Tuấn. The workshop included 23 participants—two students from Cambodia, and the remainder from Vietnam, including representatives from two universities, the Forestry Protection Department, staff from four National Parks, and the Saigon Zoo. Reporters from Nong nghiep Newspaper (Agriculture), Tuổi trẻ Newspaper (Youth), and Vnexpress news covered the SEABCRU workshop. Tan Phu local TV station VTV9 (HCMC branch of national channel) were also present. The Youth Newspaper is among the largest national papers and published an article on the second page on 4th December. This was picked up by domestic press agencies and republished in, among others the Forestry Protection Department’s online news.

Aims and Objectives:

i) To equip biodiversity practitioners in southern Vietnam with the skills to design and implement surveys of the diversity and abundance of bats in caves and forests. This will be the foundation for regional biodiversity assessments, long-term monitoring and conservation priority-setting.

ii) To integrate biodiversity practitioners in southern Vietnam into the SEABCRU network as part of our regional commitment to bat conservation research.
By the end of the workshop participants were able to design and implement surveys of cave and forest-roosting bats. Specifically they were able to:

• Safely and humanely handle bats and gather basic morphometric data and assess reproductive condition
• Capture bats in mist-nets and harp traps
• Identify bats to species using existing taxonomic keys
• Record data accurately and in a standardized format. Integrate field data into Darwin core format and SEABCRU dbase.
• Assess the abundance of bats in cave colonies
• Assess indications of disturbance at caves
• Survey characteristics of caves
• Design and implement interviews of local people about cave and bat use and disturbance
• Assess bat diversity in forested environments
• Develop outreach materials to support environmental education of local communities and authorities.

Cave Bat Survey Methods

Leads: Dr. Neil Furey and Dr. Jodi Sedlock. Facilitators: Kendra Phelps, Nurul Ain Elias, Sigit Wiantoro

Objectives:

• Increase participants’ understanding of karst areas, cave bats, and threats to caves and bats in Vietnam
• Provide guidelines for cave ecotourism development
• Learn basic cave mapping skills
• Design cave-specific bat survey protocols
• Assess the abundance of bats in cave colonies
• Assess indications of disturbance at caves
• Design and implement interviews of local people about cave and bat use and disturbance

What we did:

Eighteen participants were trained in cave bat survey methods.
• Three lectures on cave bats, including “Vietnamese cave bats: conservation status”, “Cave bat survey methods”, and “Responsible cave tourism practices: conserving cave bats while promoting education”
• Participants completed an interactive cave mapping activity in which they learned how to systematically document information on bats, human activity and cave dimensions.
• In small groups, participants walked through Hang Dai Km 122 cave in Dong Nai Province and documented the presence of bats, guano, stain, signs of human disturbance and other cave organisms. They learned how to use basic measurement tools to collect data on cave dimensions, temperature, humidity and wind speed. Participants also set up harp traps and nets in front of the two cave openings to capture bats upon emergence.
• At three different caves, participants captured emerging bats using harp traps and mist nets. At one cave, we demonstrated the use of IR-sensitive video combined with an IR spotlight to record and estimate cave bat population size.

Forest Bat Survey Methods

Leads: Dr. Matthew Struebig. Facilitators: Joe Chun-Chia Huang, Juliana Senawi, Ben Lee

Objectives:

• Increase participants’ understanding of forest bats, and threats to forests and bats in Vietnam
• Learn how to implement a forest bat survey using harp traps, and the type of forest bat research questions that can be implemented in Vietnam.
• Handle, measure and understand the main external characteristics of bats, and use a dichotomous key to identify to species.

What we did:

Eighteen participants were trained in forest bat survey methods. Four lectures on forest bats, including “Vietnamese forest bats: conservation status,” “Bat diversity studies in Southeast Asia: how to catch bats”, “Age determination and reproductive condition in bats”, “Bat echolocation sound demonstration”.
• In small groups, participants walked the crocodile lake trail at Cat Tien National Park and set harp traps across the trail in the forest understory on each of two nights.
• Participants learned how to take external measurements of bats for species identification, including forearm length, weight and tibia length. The team captured 56 individual bats of five species, so each participant had the opportunity to handle several bats.
• They also learnt how to collect bat survey data in a systematic way to enable estimates of species diversity, abundance and assemblage structure. This was undertaken using datasheets prepared in a format to facilitate data sharing amongst the SEABCRU network.
• We demonstrated the use of acoustic equipment to record the echolocation call of bats in the hand, which can also be used to aid identification

Participants all learned how to set harp traps and mist nets in forests and caves

and gather data about the bats….

During the days we had a series of lectures on the bat research techniques and conservation

Outreach and Education

Lead: Tigga Kingston. Facilitators: Angela Como, Juliana Senawi, Nurul Ain Elias, Kendra Phelps.

The lava tube caves are not protected and are mostly on private land. Several land-owners have blocked access to the caves, restricting the use by bats. Moreover, reports from local people indicated migration of bats to the area in the wet season, with bats using local homes as night-roosts. While some people utilize the guano this influx provides, many do not like the bats and deter them for roosting. The workshop therefore aimed to provide participants with methods to reach out to the local community and educate them on the bats of their caves. Several caves have been blocked by the landowners.

Objectives:

• To introduce participants to the principles of environmental education
• To learn how to use existing materials for bat environmental education
• To learn how to obtain information about public interactions with bats

What we did:

Eighteen participants were introduced to outreach materials available on the SEABCRU website. We began with the lecture “Environmental Education” which detailed the 5-yr program developed by the Malaysian Bat Conservation Research Unit (MBCRU), illustrating key principles in the development of a program. The MBCRU activity “Compare yourself to a bat” was adapted for Vietnamese species.
• Participants all completed the “Compare yourself to a bat” activity
• Participants interviewed the owner of Xuan Son Cafe where guano produced by a large colony of molossid bats roosting high in a rock crevice is harvested and used as fertilizer on fruit trees. From the informal interview, they found out the following:

• Bats emerge around 6 pm
• The emergence lasts around 45 minutes
• Bats were known by the owner to eat insects
• The café owner actively prevents local people from hunting the bats
• No tourists come to see the bats; the owners do not have permission for tourism
• Café was opened in 1953 and the bats were already there
• They collect guano during the rainy season and use it as fertilizer for their own trees
• They have sold it for 2-3000 VND/kilo

Data Management

Lead: Marina Fisher-Phelps

Objectives:

• Participants understand the importance of data management
• Participants understand what is occurrence data
• Participants understand what the SEABCRU database is and why it is important to contribute data
• Participants able to collect field data using a standardized format – the SEABCRU Bat Data Sheet (provided for participants and available on the website)
• Participants able to convert existing research data into SEABCRU Darwin Core format
• Participants able to use SEABCRU Darwin Core data collection format in their future research initiatives
• Participants able to instruct others in the use of SEABCRU Darwin Core format

What we did:

Eighteen participants were trained in the use of the SEABCRU Bat Data Sheet and conversion of field data to Darwin Core Format. The Data Management portion of the Vietnam workshop consisted of an instructional presentation by the instructor and a hands-on activity for the participants. The instructor defined occurrence data for the participants and explained its uses in research. The participants were instructed in the benefits of having a data management plan and using it in their future research. Participants also learned about the development of the Darwin Core format and how it is used by SEABCRU in data collection and sharing

• Participants were trained to enter data gathered in the field directly into the Bat Data Sheet.
• All participants converted hand-written field data they had collected into the field into Darwin Core Format using the SEABCRU’s controlled-field spread sheet.

Of course we caught bats! Here are a few….

 

Global Outputs

By the end of the workshop all participants had achieved the workshop aims and were able to set nets, harp traps, handle, measure, and identify bats. They could assess reproductive status and age, and record all data in field sheets and convert field data to Darwin Core Format. They were able to survey caves for key features, implement outreach activities and interview local people for information about bat colonies, and the use of guano, on their property.

The workshop closed with a discussion of possible projects, and the participants demonstrated their achievement of the project aims by suggesting the following research:

• Diversity of bats in Saigon Zoo, basis for environmental education for children visiting the zoo and Zoo’s outreach program.
• Diversity of bats in the Bu Gia Map National Park (borders with Cambodia)
• Biodiversity of bats in the Cat Tien National Park (29 species listed, but probably more!)
• Importance of bats as pollinators and seed dispersers in Mekong Delta fruit orchards.
• Diversity of parasites on bats
• Diversity of bats in the Dinh Quan lava tubes – potential for ecotourism and sustainable guano extraction.

Of course, one of the core aims of the workshop was to integrate researchers from southern Vietnam into the SEABCRU and this was most definitely achieved:

Studying bats and making friends and of course, because we are in southern Vietnam, singing!

With thanks to all the facilitators, the local hosts and of course the participants for a fantastic time.

The workshop was hosted by the University of Mandalay, Myanmar (Professor Mie Mie Sein, Head of Zoology and Sai Sein Oo Lin, Lecturer University of Bhamo), and was conducted in collaboration with the Harrison Institute (Dr Paul Bates).  The workshop was a great success, with 40 participants drawn from 18 universities and colleges across Myanmar. The SEABCRU sponsored 30 participants, with the University of Mandalay finding support for an additional 10 young MSc students.

SEABCRU Bat Conservation Research Workshop, Mandalay 2014

We also worked hard to raise the profile of bats in Myanmar, and received substantial media coverage, including articles by MRTV (Myanmar Radio & TV), Skynet, The Mirror (national newspaper – Burmese language), Yadanapon (local newspaper — Burmese language) and New Light of Myanmar (national newspaper – Burmese and English editions)

Aims and Objectives:

The global aim of the workshop was to integrate Myanmar researchers into the SEABCRU network. Participants were faculty of Myanmar universities focusing primarily on bats, and who had existing data to publish. In addition, with support from the University of Mandalay, we had ten young MSc students following, who we hope will continue on in bat research. The specific objectives were to:

i)        Develop capacity and curatorial skills to establish a national bat collection, hosted at Mandalay University (Taxonomy Group) – despite 15 years of active research on bats there is no national repository for material, hampering taxonomic research and biodiversity studies.

ii)      Provide training on echolocation recording and analysis techniques, and discuss studies that can use acoustic survey and monitoring, and the role of acoustics in taxonomy (Acoustics Group)

iii)    Initiate a national survey of Pteropus colonies (Flying Fox Group)

iv)    Build faculty capacity to publish their research in international journals (Publishing Group) – although there are c. 50 Myanmar bat researchers, there have been only 10 publications in accessible (international or regional) journals, none of which have Myanmar nationals as the first author.

v)      Train Myanmar researchers in the use of Darwin Core Format for biodiversity data management, such that they can contribute to the SEABCRU database and generate data compatible with other international repositories (e.g. GBIF).

The five days went incredibly quickly, but we achieved a lot! The full workshop report is soon to follow, but here is a brief summary by group.

Taxonomic & Curatorial Capacity

Lead:  Dr Pipat Soisook. Facilitators: Dr Faisal Anwarali Khan, Bounsavane Douangboubpha, Dr Paul Bates, Dr Ibnu Maryanto, Susan Tsang

Objectives:

• develop capacity for a well-curated national collection
• develop a taxonomic network between Myanmar and other SE Asian researchers
• identify potential projects for joint publications

What we did:

During the workshop, we trained 13 participants (10 professors/lecturers with PhD and 3 MSc students) from 9 universities in Myanmar in the best practice for taxonomic data collection, specifically:

• What data need to be collected in the field
• How to set up harp traps and mist-net.
• How to handle bats and take standard external measurements of the bats.
• How to prepare specimens for the collection; e.g. labelling, alcohol, jars.
• How to run and manage collection in long term; e.g. specimens and prepare electronic database.
• What is a loan policy?

 
We explained how collection and good data are important for taxonomic research and conservation. Group members also exchanged experience about each other’s museums with Myanmar participants e.g. about the location of the museum, when the museum was established, number of specimens in the museum, and problems or challenges during developing the museum. Each of participants shared the information of current situation about collection/specimens in their own university, in which none of them have or started to have their own collection.

The most important activity of the group during the workshop was to revisit the specimen collection of the Department of Zoology, University of Mandalay. As a group, Tax & Sys member swith the participants have initiated the establishment of the bat specimen collection with a name ‘University of Mandalay Zoological Collection (UMZC)’.  The head of the department, Professor Dr Mie Mie Sein and Professor Dr Naw Dolly Wilbur will be in charge of the collection. This collection is expected to be the main taxonomic collection in upper Myanmar. This is a promising start for Myanmar’s bat collection as it comprises at least 50 specimens from 18 bat species, including unreported species of Hipposideros lankadiva and H. pratti.

Another major activity of the group members were by pairing up with the participants to work on their unpublished taxonomic/survey data.  We expect that from this activity at least 4 papers with great potential to contribute to the Myanmar’s bat taxonomy will be published soon.

Acoustic Surveys

Lead: Dr Tigga Kingston. Facilitators: Joe Chun-Chia Huang, Dr Neil Furey, Dr Vu Dinh Thong. 

Objectives:

• to introduce the biology and application of echolocation in studies on bat ecology and taxonomy.
• to make participants familiar with different recording techniques, the use of different detectors in different environments and contexts, and the analysis of recordings for call measurements.
• to provide guidelines in equipment selection, experimental designs for acoustic surveys and monitoring.
• to explain the procedure of reference call library development and the importance for regional research and conservation in bats.

What we did:

The participants comprised eleven Myanmar bat researchers, including ten university lecturers and one masters student.

1. three face-to-face lectures on “Echolocation call designs: the role of ecology and taxonomy”, “Bat echolocation calls: description and measurement”, and “Field equipment and recording methods” were given by Dr. Kingston, Dr. Thong, and Huang.
2. two in-class trainings on using BatSound Pro software (http://www.batsound.com/) for call description and  measurements by Dr. Furey and Huang
3. two field training sessions on the use of Pettersson D240X bat detector (http://www.batsound.com/?p=9) for call recording, reference call collection in Yankin Hill, Patheingyi Township, Mandalay and University Mandalay campus.
4. Three additional lectures on “echolocation call variations”, “Designs of acoustic survey and monitory”, and “echolocation call library” were designed by Dr. Kingston, Dr. Furey, and Huang were distributed. Additional reference on bat echolocation studies and standard data sheets for call measurements were provided

Data Management

Leads: Danny Squire, Marina Fisher-Phelps

Objectives:

Data Management Objectives:

1. Participants understand the importance of data management
2. Participants convert existing research data into SEABCRU Darwin Core format
3. Participants able to use SEABCRU Darwin Core data collection format in their future research initiatives
4. Participants able to instruct others in the use of SEABCRU Darwin Core format

Geographically Information Systems (GIS) Objectives:

1. Participants understand the uses of digitally maps in publications and presentations
2. Participants understand what a geographic datum is and how it applies to digital mapping and spatial data collection
3. Participants format spatial data so that it can be easily loaded into the GIS software DIVA-GIS
4. Participants use spatial data to build maps of point data that can be used in publications and presentations

 What we did:

The 2014 Data Management and GIS Workshop at Mandalay consisted of instructional presentations by the instructors and hands-on activities for the participants. The participants were instructed in the benefits of having a data management plan and using GIS in their own research and at their universities. Participants learned about the development of the Darwin Core format and how it is used by SEABCRU in data collection and sharing. Participants learned the difference between geographic datums and how to efficiently store spatial coordinates so that they can imported into GIS software. Participants were given the open-source GIS software DIVA-GIS for use during and after the workshop. The participants also created maps using the data collected by the workshop as a whole. Throughout the workshop participants were given hands-on activities so they could practice and demonstrate mastery of the training.

Flying Fox Survey and Monitoring 

Lead: Dr Tammy Mildenstein, Facilitators: Prof. Paul Racey, Susan Tsang

Objectives:

 The flying fox group focused on the SEABCRU flying fox priority of collating information on current populations and distributions of flying fox species. In conducting the workshop activities, we were able to

a) identify information gaps,
b) identify conservation priorities,
c) collate existing population data of confirmed flying fox roosts,
d) train participants in standardized monitoring protocols and personal protective measures regarding pathogen transmission.

What we did:

Participants comprised 8 post-doctoral professors and 4 M.Sc. students representing 5 universities across Myanmar. We reiterated the importance of monitoring flying fox colonies for conservation, along with why protection of flying foxes should be a priority because of the ecosystem services they provide. We taught the participants the standardized methods for monitoring and assessment common for flying fox colonies. We followed up with hands-on training by visiting a Pteropus giganteus colony  two hours drive from Mandalay (Shwe Saydi Pagoda) and gave the participants the opportunity to practice both direct and emergence counts. While at the site, an overview of personal protective equipment was given and each participant was familiarized with why this is important to prevent pathogen transmission. After reassembling in the classroom the following day, we analyzed the data as a group for a finalized population estimate. Using the data collected from the participants, we demonstrated common sources of variance and discussed how that may affect trend detection. We were able to determine that the Shwe Saydi population has declined in the past decade by comparing the count data we took to data available from the dissertation of one of the participants (Moe Moe Aung, 2006), either due to increased human activity or displacement of bats by birds at the pagoda. The participants were thus able to have a real example of how historical information about the site can add value to the study and provide keener insight on flying fox population trends. We had the participants recap what they had learned at the end of the workshop.

In a session that involved participants from all working groups, we asked for information to help create a list of reported flying fox roost sites around Myanmar, which were primarily clustered around either the Mandalay-Sagaing Region or in areas near Yangon (Fig. 8). Very little information is available about the status of flying fox roosts in more remote areas such as Kachin.  Many of the roost sites indicated had not been confirmed, and provide opportunities for projects for M.Sc. students.

Publishing In Regional and International Journals 

Lead Dr. Neil Furey. Facilitators Dr Dave Lane, Dr Zubaid Akbar, all attendant steering committee. 

Objectives:

The majority of participants have already written research theses at Myanmar universities, and obtained their M.Sc. or Ph.D. degrees, but none have published their work in major international Journals. Acceptance of publications will raise the profile of Myanmar bat research and conservation activities both locally and internationally. An additional benefit/outcome anticipated from this internationalization exercise is the development of collaborative relationships and possible linking in to grant-giving bodies for future research proposals. The objectives of this section were thus:

• To explain the scientific publishing process
• To demonstrate how a scientific paper is written by actually preparing articles using real data collected by each participant

What we did:

Participants were first asked to describe the bat research data sets they had generated through prior work (available as dissertations and theses, but not published). They were then matched to members of the steering committee with similar interests and experience. These steering committee members then acted as mentors, working one-on-one or in pairs or small groups, through practical exercises. In these exercises, basic outlines of each part of a publication were introduced, and then the pairs/groups prepared bullet point summaries of each section based on their own data.

At the end of the day and a half, the participants each presented a summary of the draft paper outline. Participants will work with their mentors to prepare full drafts within three months, with the deadline for submission to an international journal set at 6 months.
 

And here is an album of participants and facilitators. Thank you to everyone for working so hard together to make the workshop a success!! It is so exciting to have bat researchers from Myanmar joining the SEABCRU.