Biodiversity is facing an extinction crisis due to human activities, including loss of seed dispersal function due to frugivores’ extinction or rarefaction. Among these frugivores, flying foxes emerge as major seed disseminators of native plants thereby contributing in maintaining forest structure and biodiversity. However, they are often persecuted because of the inclusion of commercial fruits into their diet, and such a human-wildlife conflict (HWC) may reach extreme levels as exemplified on Mauritius where the species has been subjected to repeated mass culling campaigns. It therefore matters to investigate how bat damages to commercial fruits may be mitigated, including through improving native foraging habitat quality. We investigated both the influence of different severity of alien plant invasion and the influence of invasive alien plants (IAP) control on flying fox foraging habitat quality. This was measured through quantification of foraging bat density (using quadcopter-mounted thermal camera) and through the assessment of feeding intensity using ejecta sampling. We assessed native tree density from different habitat grades and also compared flying foxes’ daily roosting colony size with foraging bats’ density. In forests invaded by alien plants, flying foxes’ density was three times higher in better preserved zones (>50% native canopy cover) compared to more degraded ones (<50% native canopy cover). Within native forest of similar relatively high quality (>70% native canopy cover), flying foxes’ density was about three times higher in weeded areas compared to non-weeded ones. Density of bat ejecta sampled on the forest floor follow similar patterns. Foraging bats’ density was strongly positively correlated with nearby bats’ roosting colony size. Better preserved non-weeded forests provide better foraging habitat quality for flying foxes which are able to detect and use fruit, and possibly floral and other resources there. Ecological restoration through IAP removal improves the foraging habitat quality of bats which also tend to roost closer to their foraging grounds presumably to foster optimal foraging. Our work can help earmark valuable native forests for fruit bats during conservation planning, such as in prioritizing areas for IAP removal. This would improve the bats’ foraging habitat through natural increase of food resources and likely reduce their reliance on commercial fruits. Efforts to naturally increase bats' roosting colony size through the protection of roosts located closer to native forests could also encourage flying foxes to stay in and feed more often within their native habitat, potentially alleviating the HWC.

中文翻译：

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外来植物入侵降低了濒临灭绝的飞狐的觅食栖息地质量，并通过外来植物控制改善了其觅食栖息地质量

由于人类活动，生物多样性正面临灭绝危机，包括由于食果动物的灭绝或稀疏而丧失种子传播功能。在这些食果动物中，狐蝠成为本土植物的主要种子传播者，从而为维持森林结构和生物多样性做出了贡献。然而，由于在饮食中加入商业水果，它们经常受到迫害，这种人类与野生动物的冲突（HWC）可能达到极端水平，毛里求斯就是一个例子，该物种多次遭受大规模扑杀活动。因此，研究如何减轻蝙蝠对商业水果的损害很重要，包括通过改善本地觅食栖息地的质量。我们研究了不同严重程度的外来植物入侵的影响以及外来入侵植物（IAP）控制对飞狐觅食栖息地质量的影响。这是通过量化觅食蝙蝠密度（使用四轴飞行器安装的热像仪）并通过使用喷射物采样评估进食强度来测量的。我们评估了不同栖息地等级的本地树木密度，并将狐蝠每日栖息的群体大小与觅食蝙蝠的密度进行了比较。在受到外来植物入侵的森林中，与退化程度较高的地区（<50% 原生树冠覆盖率）相比，保存较好的地区（> 50% 原生树冠覆盖率）中的狐蝠密度高出三倍。在质量相对较高（>70% 的原生林冠覆盖率）的原生森林中，杂草地区的狐蝠密度大约是非杂草地区的三倍。在森林地面上采样的蝙蝠排出物的密度也遵循类似的模式。觅食蝙蝠的密度与附近蝙蝠栖息的群体大小呈强烈正相关。保存得更好的无杂草森林为狐蝠提供了更好的觅食栖息地质量，狐蝠能够发现并利用那里的水果、可能还有花卉和其他资源。通过去除 IAP 进行生态恢复可以改善蝙蝠的觅食栖息地质量，蝙蝠也倾向于栖息在靠近觅食地的地方，这可能是为了促进最佳的觅食。我们的工作可以帮助在保护规划期间为果蝠指定宝贵的原生森林，例如优先清除 IAP 的区域。这将通过自然增加食物资源来改善蝙蝠的觅食栖息地，并可能减少它们对商业水果的依赖。通过保护靠近原生森林的栖息地来自然增加蝙蝠栖息地的规模，也可以鼓励狐蝠在其原生栖息地停留并更频繁地进食，从而可能减轻蝙蝠栖息地的影响。