Editing Megabat (section)

==Conservation==
===Status===
[[File:Pteropus subniger.png|thumb|upright|alt=A black and white illustration of a flying fox from the back with its face in profile. It has a contrasting mantle of lighter fur on the back of its neck.|The [[small Mauritian flying fox]] (''Pteropus subniger''), which was driven to extinction by overhunting<ref name="Pierson 1992"/>]]
As of 2014, the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN) evaluated a quarter of all megabat species as [[threatened]], which includes species listed as [[critically endangered]], [[endangered species|endangered]], and [[vulnerable species|vulnerable]]. Megabats are substantially threatened by humans, as they are hunted for food and medicinal uses.
Additionally, they are culled for actual or perceived damage to agriculture, especially to fruit production.<ref name="Aziz 2016">{{cite book| last1=Aziz| first1= S. A.| last2= Olival| first2= K. J.| last3= Bumrungsri| first3= S.| last4= Richards| first4= G. C.| last5= Racey| first5= P. A.| year=2016| chapter= The Conflict Between Pteropodid Bats and Fruit Growers: Species, Legislation and Mitigation| editor1-last= Voigt| editor1-first= C.| editor2-last= Kingston| editor2-first= T.|title= Bats in the Anthropocene: Conservation of Bats in a Changing World| publisher= Springer| isbn=978-3-319-25220-9|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-25220-9_13 | s2cid= 111056244}}</ref> As of 2019, the IUCN had evaluations for 187 megabat species. The status breakdown is as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/search/stats| title=<nowiki>Taxonomy=Pteropodidae</nowiki>| website=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species|year=2019| access-date=19 May 2019}}</ref>
* Extinct: 4 species (2.1%)
* Critically endangered: 8 species (4.3%)
* Endangered: 16 species (8.6%)
* Vulnerable: 37 species (19.8%)
* [[Near-threatened species|Near-threatened]]: 13 species (7.0%)
* [[Least-concern species|Least-concern]]: 89 species (47.6%)
* [[Data deficient]]: 20 species (10.7%)

===Factors causing decline===
====Anthropogenic sources====
[[File:Electrocuted flying fox.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A dead flying fox hangs on overhead power lines, with blue sky behind it.|An electrocuted megabat on overhead power lines in Australia]]

Megabats are threatened by habitat destruction by humans. [[Deforestation]] of their habitats has resulted in the loss of critical roosting habitat. Deforestation also results in the loss of food resource, as native fruit-bearing trees are felled. Habitat loss and resulting urbanization leads to construction of new roadways, making megabat colonies easier to access for overharvesting. Additionally, habitat loss via deforestation compounds natural threats, as fragmented forests are more susceptible to damage from [[typhoon]]-force winds.<ref name="Mickleburgh"/>{{rp|7}} Cave-roosting megabats are threatened by human disturbance at their roost sites. [[Guano]] mining is a livelihood in some countries within their range, bringing people to caves. Caves are also disturbed by mineral mining and cave tourism.<ref name="Mickleburgh"/>{{rp|8}}

Megabats are also killed by humans, intentionally and unintentionally. Half of all megabat species are hunted for food, in comparison to only eight percent of insectivorous species,<ref>{{cite book|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-25220-9_12|chapter=Exploitation of Bats for Bushmeat and Medicine|title=Bats in the Anthropocene: Conservation of Bats in a Changing World|pages=327|year=2016|last1=Mildenstein|first1=T.|last2=Tanshi|first2=I.|last3=Racey|first3=P. A.|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-25218-6|s2cid=130038936}}</ref> while human persecution stemming from perceived damage to crops is also a large source of mortality. Some megabats have been documented to have a preference for native fruit trees over fruit crops, but deforestation can reduce their food supply, causing them to rely on fruit crops.<ref name="Mickleburgh"/>{{rp|8}} They are shot, beaten to death, or poisoned to reduce their populations. Mortality also occurs via accidental entanglement in [[bird netting|netting]] used to prevent the bats from eating fruit.<ref name="Vincenot 2015">{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.mambio.2015.03.003|title=Near threatened? First report of unsuspected human-driven decline factors in the Ryukyu flying fox (Pteropus dasymallus) in Japan|journal=Mammalian Biology – Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde|volume=80|issue=4|page=273|year=2015|last1=Vincenot|first1=C. E.|last2=Koyama|first2=L.|last3=Russo|first3=D.|bibcode=2015MamBi..80..273V }}</ref> Culling campaigns can dramatically reduce megabat populations. In Mauritius, over 40,000 Mauritian flying foxes were culled between 2014 and 2016, reducing the species' population by an estimated 45%.<ref name="Vincenot 2017c">{{cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.aam7582 |pmid=28360279 |title=Can we protect island flying foxes? |journal=Science |volume=355 |issue=6332 |pages=1368–1370 |year=2017 |last1=Vincenot |first1=C. E. |last2=Florens |first2=F. B. V. |last3=Kingston |first3=T. |bibcode=2017Sci...355.1368V |s2cid=206657272 }}</ref> Megabats are also killed by electrocution. In one Australian orchard, it is estimated that over 21,000 bats were electrocuted to death in an eight-week period.<ref name="McIlwee 2002">{{cite journal|doi=10.7882/AZ.2002.008|title=On the intrinsic capacity for increase of Australian flying-foxes (Pteropus spp., Megachiroptera)|journal=[[Australian Zoologist]]|volume=32|page=93|year=2002|last1=McIlwee|first1=A. P.|last2=Martin|first2=L.}}</ref> Farmers construct electrified grids over their fruit trees to kill megabats before they can consume their crop. The grids are questionably effective at preventing crop loss, with one farmer who operated such a grid estimating they still lost {{convert|100-120|tonne|lb|lk=in}} of fruit to flying foxes in a year.<ref name="Martin 2011">{{cite book|doi=10.7882/FS.2011.039|chapter=Is the fruit you eat flying-fox friendly? The effects of orchard electrocution grids on Australian flying-foxes (Pteropus spp., Megachiroptera)|title=The Biology and Conservation of Australasian Bats|pages=380–390|year=2011|last1=Martin|first1=L.|isbn=978-0-9803272-4-3|publisher=Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales}}</ref> Some electrocution deaths are also accidental, such as when bats fly into [[overhead power line]]s.<ref name="Chlopicki 2016">{{cite web| url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/macarthur/electric-wires-threaten-flying-foxes-and-their-new-babies/news-story/2fc9955551b46a552b04a1eac1043df0| title=Electric wires threaten flying foxes and their new babies| date=28 October 2016| last=Chlopicki| first=K. |website=[[The Daily Telegraph]]| access-date=26 June 2018}}</ref>

Climate change causes flying fox mortality and is a source of concern for species persistence. Extreme heat waves in Australia have been responsible for the [[Australian flying fox die-offs|deaths of more than 30,000 flying foxes]] from 1994 to 2008. Females and young bats are most susceptible to extreme heat, which affects a population's ability to recover.<ref name="Welbergen 2008">{{cite journal|doi=10.1098/rspb.2007.1385|pmid=18048286|pmc=2596826|title=Climate change and the effects of temperature extremes on Australian flying-foxes|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume=275|issue=1633|pages=419–425|year=2008|last1=Welbergen|first1=J. A. |last2=Klose|first2=S. M.|last3=Markus|first3=N.|last4=Eby|first4=P.}}</ref> Megabats are threatened by sea level rise associated with climate change, as several species are endemic to low-lying [[atoll]]s.<ref name=":0" />

====Natural sources====
Because many species are endemic to a single island, they are vulnerable to random events such as typhoons. A 1979 typhoon halved the remaining population of the [[Rodrigues flying fox]] (''Pteropus rodricensis''). Typhoons result in indirect mortality as well: because typhoons defoliate the trees, they make megabats more visible and thus more easily hunted by humans. Food resources for the bats become scarce after major storms, and megabats resort to riskier foraging strategies such as consuming fallen fruit off the ground. There, they are more vulnerable to depredation by domestic cats, dogs, and pigs.<ref name="Pierson 1992">{{cite journal|last1=Pierson| first1= E. D.| last2= Rainey| first2= W. E.| year=1992| title= The biology of flying foxes of the genus Pteropus: a review| journal=Biological Report| volume=90| issue=23| url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235094381}}</ref> As many megabat species are located in the tectonically active [[Ring of Fire]], they are also threatened by volcanic eruptions. Flying foxes, including the endangered Mariana fruit bat,<ref name="Allison, A. 2008 e.T18737A8516291"/><ref>{{cite report| url=http://www.cnmijointmilitarytrainingeis.com/system/assets/42/original/10_fruit_bats___cnmi.pdf?1367959616| title=Population Assessment of the Mariana Fruit Bat (Pteropus mariannus mariannus) on Anatahan, Sarigan, Guguan, Alamagan, Pagan, Agrihan, Asuncion, and Maug| date=2010| first=Ernest W.| last=Valdez| access-date=24 August 2019| page=2| publisher=USGS| archive-date=23 March 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323045810/http://cnmijointmilitarytrainingeis.com/system/assets/42/original/10_fruit_bats___cnmi.pdf?1367959616| url-status=dead}}</ref> have been nearly exterminated from the island of [[Anatahan]] following a series of eruptions beginning in 2003.<ref name="Fleming">{{cite book| title=Island Bats: Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation| editor1-first=T. H.| editor1-last= Fleming| editor2-first= P. A.| editor2-last= Racey| year=2010| publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]| isbn=9780226253312|page=415|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FLIaH43TcrEC&pg=PA405}}</ref>
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