The previously unknown life cycles of two species of insect-eating bats have been determined for Bonaire by this project. We found these species at a cave located in the Bakuna area, where scientific research was never conducted before. We defined the yearly patterns of use of this cave by 3 different bat species that inhabit it. We did this by conducting…
Despite their ecological importance (see Caves and Karst fauna), bat populations on Bonaire are threatened by uncontrolled visits to the caves that they use as daily and maternity roosts. Female bats on Caribbean islands give birth to only one offspring per year after a long pregnancy. For some species, the entire island population could be…
DESCRIPTION In general, caves are exceptionally vulnerable to contamination due to the little exchange with the external environment. Contaminants accumulate faster and take longer to dilute or biodegrade. Therefore, pollution should be avoided as much as possible and great efforts should be made to preserve the environment inside caves as pristine as possible. Light and…
DESCRIPTION A.I.C.O.M. and S.I.C.O.M. (Spanish acronyms for Area and Site of Importance for Bat Conservation) are designations that indicate international recognition granted by a group of world class bat scientists. The designation can be used as a tool to obtain local legal protection for a priority roost. On the island of Bonaire we found two caves without any…