DarkCideS

DarkCideS aggregates and standardizes global occurrence, trait, ecological status, and parasite data for cave‑dwelling bats to support biodiversity assessment and conservation monitoring.

Key Features:

• Taxonomic and life‑history coverage: Includes data on 679 bat species known to occur in caves or to use caves during parts of their life cycles, with detailed records for 402 cave‑dwelling bat species.
• Georeferenced occurrences: Contains 6,746 georeferenced occurrences documented across 2,002 cave sites in 46 countries and spanning 12 terrestrial biomes.
• Data types: Integrates geographical locations of caves, ecological statuses, species traits, and information on parasites and hyperparasites associated with cave‑dwelling bat populations.
• Standardization: Provides standardized, synthesized datasets to enable comparative analyses and baseline establishment for monitoring cave bat populations.

Scientific Applications:

• Biodiversity assessment: Enables analysis of global and regional biodiversity patterns of cave‑associated bat species across terrestrial biomes.
• Population decline and range loss analyses: Supports identification of drivers of population declines and range contractions in cave‑dwelling bats using occurrence and trait data.
• Ecological interaction and impact studies: Facilitates studies of ecological interactions within caves and assessment of environmental change impacts on bat populations and their parasites/hyperparasites.
• Monitoring and conservation baselines: Establishes standardized baselines necessary for comparative monitoring and conservation prioritization of cave bat species and sites.

Methodology:

Synthesizing publicly available information and datasets related to cave‑dwelling bats.