STUDY ON FORAGING HABITATS AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERISATION OF BAT GUANO IN SOME SELECTED SPECIES OF CAVE BATS IN KORCHI AND DHANORA REGION OF DISTRICT GADCHIROLI (M.S).

Abstract

Bats play a vital role in the ecosystem They consume large volumes of insects many of which agricultural pests and their droppings drop (guano) contain large amount of partly digested parts that form the resource base for other diverse form of consumers in the food chain including diverse microbes. These together make guano the best organic fertilizers. However, food habits of different species of bats vary depending on the species, locality, season and the ability of the bat to detect certain type of insects using morphological characteristics. Hence an attempt is made in the present-day study to analyse the food habit of a bats, so as to determine the insects on which they feed and also to do a nutritional analysis that include Food Residues, Shape, Size, Weight, Colour, Texture and odour of Bat Guano. The study was Carried during October 2023 to March 2024 mainly focus on Korchi and Dhanora taluka in the Gadchiroli Region. To determine the Dietary diversity In the bat guano were identified in ordinal manner.