Received: MaAccepted: SeptemPublished: October 8, 2014Ĭopyright: © 2014 Tait et al. Cameron, University of Tasmania, Australia This suggests that urbanisation is a behavioural response rather than driven by habitat loss.Ĭitation: Tait J, Perotto-Baldivieso HL, McKeown A, Westcott DA (2014) Are Flying-Foxes Coming to Town? Urbanisation of the Spectacled Flying-Fox ( Pteropus conspicillatus) in Australia. Overall, camps tended to be found in areas that were more fragmented, closer to human habitation and with more urban land cover than the surrounding landscape. Increased urbanisation of spectacled flying-foxes was not related to changes in landscape structure or to the encroachment of urban areas on camps. Our results indicate that spectacled flying-foxes were more likely to roost near humans than might be expected by chance, that over the period of the study the proportion of the flying-foxes in urban-associated camps increased, as did the number of urban camps. We asked whether spectacled flying-foxes are becoming more urbanised and test the hypothesis that such changes are associated with anthropogenic changes to landscape structure. In this study we used monitoring data collected over a 15 year period (1998–2012) to examine the spatial and temporal patterns of association of spectacled flying-fox ( Pteropus conspicillatus) roost sites (camps) with urban areas. Flying-fox management is now a highly contentious issue. Flying-foxes appear to be becoming increasingly urbanised and are coming into increased contact and conflict with humans. In Australia, flying-foxes (Pteropodidae) are a common feature of urban environments, sometimes roosting in groups of tens of thousands of individuals. Understanding the process and drivers of wildlife urbanisation is fundamental to developing effective management responses to this phenomenon. While urban areas can provide habitat for wildlife, some urbanised species eventually come into conflict with humans. Urbanisation of wildlife populations is a process with significant conservation and management implications.
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