Giant Golden-crowned Flying-fox
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Pteropodidae
Genus:	Acerodon
Species:	A. jubatus
Binomial name
Acerodon jubatus (Eschscholtz, 1831)

The Giant golden-crowned flying-fox (Acerodon jubatus), also known as the Golden-capped fruit bat, is a rare fruit bat and considered the largest known bat in the world. The species is endangered and is currently facing the possibility of extinction due to poachers and food hunters. They are endemic to the Philippines, where they live in the caves and rainforests of Maitum, Sarangani.

Contents 1 Description 2 Habitat 3 Behavior 3.1 Diet 3.2 Reproduction 3.3 Colonies 4 Conservation 5 References

[edit] Description

The flying foxes are so named because of their facial likeness to a fox. The Giant Golden-crowned Flying-fox is a prime example for this name. They have a long pointed snout compared to the Microchiroptera, and small ears that form an unbroken ring, giving them the appearance of a fox with wings. The Giant Golden Crowned Flying fox gets its species name from the golden fur around the head, in sharp contrast to the black body. Like all other fruit bats, they have no tail. They are considered the largest of all bats, with a wingspan average of 1.5 meters (5 feet) and weighing up to 1.2 kg (2.6 lb), though the Large Flying Fox has a greater wingspan.

[edit] Habitat

The Giant Golden-crowned Flying-fox is confined to the rainforests of the Phillipines. They have been found in many different areas of rainforest from sea-level to montane forests. Acerodon jubatus loves uninhabited areas in fact in a recent study no bats were found in inhabited areas. ^[2] This fact alone goes to show that that we have a basis to start conservation planning. In the same study they found that these bats use river corridors more than originally thought. ^[2] This is because they are fruit eating bats and their main food is figs and figs are located near rivers as are many fruit trees are in the Philippines because it is much easier to grow there. Mildenstein also states that they do like to be close to agricultural fields but in undisturbed forest areas. In another study Stier shows that this species is a forest obligate species, which means they stay in the forest the majority of the time. Since this is a forest obligate species we need to conserve areas for the bats future. We as humans are taking valuable forest and lowland areas are one of the major factors as to why this species is becoming extinct ^[3]

[edit] Behavior

The Giant Golden Crowned Flying fox is primarily nocturnal, and can travel at least 40 km (25 miles) in one night searching for food. One amazing behavior of this bat is that it is a pollinator and seed disperser for many fruit trees in the Philippines. This is important because if we didn’t have species like this to pollinate plants of the same species we may see a possible reduction in fruit production. With a reduction in fruit production we would see a possible decline of this species because they would have no food to eat therefore they would either move to where there is food or they would die. In this instance since they solely live in the islands of the Philippines they would die off because there would be nowhere for them to go. Another interesting fact about this bat and a possible reason it lives near water is that it uses water for grooming ^[2]. When they are flying the corridors the can swoop down and get water on their wings that can be later used for grooming and cleaning. In turn this cleaning will help the bats stay cleaner and hopefully clear from predators.

[edit] Diet

They eat primarily figs, though will take other fruit if figs are unavailable. They have been reported to eat cultivated fruit, but this is relatively rare. Other fruits that may be eaten include: puhutan, lamio, tangisang bayawak bankal and strangler figs.^[4] They are very important to the rainforests of the Phillipines. Known as "The Silent Planter", they often drop seeds from flying or release them in their droppings. This helps forest regrow, and without the Giant Golden Crowned Flying fox, the Rainforest would likely die out without a distributor for seeds.

[edit] Reproduction

Little is known about their reproduction. They appear to have two breeding seasons, but females only become pregnant during one of them. They typically give birth to only one. Females reach sexual maturity at two years.

[edit] Colonies

When fruit bats were very common in the Phillipines, the Giant Golden Crowned Flying fox and the Large Flying fox would make colonies together along with Malayan Flying Foxes (Pteropus vampyrus)^[5], reportedly numbering over 150,000 individuals. It is this roosting behavior that made them so easy to hunt, but also keeps them keep warm and potentially free from predators. ^[6]

[edit] Conservation

The Giant Golden Crowned Flying fox is under threat from deforestation and have completely disappeared from many smaller islands and some larger islands, such as Cebu, due to deforestation. They are also commercially hunted for meat in some areas.The local government of Maitum, Sarangani in the Philippines has organized a campaign to save this rare species from extinction. In the Philippines and throughout the world little is known about this species which makes its hard to manage, but since this species is in decline many people and agencies want to see the species make a comeback and thrive in the wilds of the Philippines. The Subic bay region of the Philippines plays host to a lot of the research on this species because they want to be involved in the betterment of this species, which is currently declining because few study’s have been done therefore limiting the amount of information that is currently had on this species. Subic bay is a 14,000 acre protection area that is managed by individuals who want to preserve the species. In the Subic Bay protection area managers are trying to help the population but the only way they knew to do this was to protect roost trees, which is a good idea for many species but this is a widespread species, therefore managers of close natural areas will be needed in this fight for this species. Also landowners and towns people will be need to be brought together and told of the importance of this species. Not only does this species help with cross pollination it is a symbol for this area and their ancestors ^[2] This bat also brings many people from around the world to see it so it does bring income to this country. A few agencies are promoting the conservation of this species such as Bat Conservation International, Wildlife Conservation Society, World Wildlife fund, Lubee Foundation and others ^[2] These agencies are promoting conservation in various ways such as research funding and education worldwide as well as locally. It is especially important to do locally because this area is known to take these bats out of the wild and sell them as pets ^[2] Also hunting plays a major role in the decline of this species because it is used as meat during times of drinking ^[7] Conservation needs to start today! We will keep seeing a declining trend until we do something to correct this population decline. We need to start with knowing what specific habitat is utilized by this species and can we protect what is left of it. Like I mentioned earlier the funding is there for this research it needs to be used and more funding needs to be found. Proteins are listed as a limiting nutrient for this species so potentially we could introduce some extra nutrients in the form of proteins into the environment to help the bats stay healthier and live long lives producing more offspring ^[3]This species is referred to as a keystone species and without the Philippines could see financial losses, not only the country but the citizens who could be employed to help conserve this species. The ICUN states that there is currently a captive breeding program underway, which is a step in the right direction ^[2] Hopefully through education conservation and a captive breeding program the population will be increase to a level where it can sustain itself.

[edit] References

^[8]

1. ^ Mildenstein, T., Cariño,A., Paul, S., Heaney, L., Alviola, P., Duya, A., Stier, S., Pedregosa, S., Lorica, R., Ingle, N., Balete, D., Garcia, J.J., Gonzalez, J.C., Ong, P., Rosell-Ambal, G. & Tabaranza, B. (2008). Acerodon jubatus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 13 January 2009.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Mildenstein, Tammy.; Stier, S; Nuevodiego, C; Mills, L (2005a). "Habitat selection of endangered and endemic large flying-foxes in Subic Bay, Philippines". Biological Conservation 126: 93–102. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2005.05.001. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Stier, Sam. (2005). "Dietary Habitat of the World's Largest Bats:The Philippine Flying Foxes, Acerodon Jubatus and Pteropus Vampyrus Lanensis.". Journal of Mammalogy: 719–28. 
4. ^ Mickleburgh, S.P., Hutson, A.M., Racey, P.A. (1992). "Old World Fruit Bats: An Action Plan for their Conservation". IUCN. 
5. ^ Rabor, D.S. (1986). Guide to Philippine Flora and Fauna. 
6. ^ Macdonald, D.W. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. 
7. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Ceferino2001; see Help:Cite error.
8. ^ Stier, Sam; Mildenstein, Tammy L. (2005c). "Dietary Habitat of the World's Largest Bats:The Philippine Flying Foxes, Acerodon Jubatus and Pteropus Vampyrus Lanensis.". Journal of Mammalogy 86: 719–28. doi:10.1644/1545-1542(2005)086[0719:DHOTWL]2.0.CO;2.