In the shadow of the rising sun: a systematic review of Japanese bat research and conservation

Although scientific evidence is critical to prioritising conservation actions, the distribution of research effort does not always align with conservation needs. The conservation of Japanese bats is of global concern, given that 35% of extant species are endemic and 91% of endemics are threatened. However, information on Japanese bats can be inaccessible to the international community, and research trends have yet to be reviewed. To investigate how thoroughly research has addressed conservation needs concerning Japanese bats, we related IUCN category, legal protections, and threats to the results of a systematic review of conservation-relevant research literature from the last fifty years. We assessed patterns in research distribution in time, regions, research topics, taxa, endemicity, and category to identify gaps and future priorities. We also compared research patterns between international research repositories and the main Japanese repository. Categories did not change over time (except due to changes in knowledge; actual conservation status remained the same), and bat-specific legal protections and conservation actions are limited (e.g. only one species benefits from a national recovery plan). Research has increased post-2000, but threatened and endemic species remain less studied than non-threatened and non-endemic species. Both the shortage of ecological studies (<= 1 article) and lack of any conservation study for over 50% of extant species (including most threatened species) are concerning. Ten endemics were identified as top priority species: Murina tenebrosa, Myotis yanbarensis, Murina ryukyuana, Nyctalus furvus, Miniopterus fuscus, Pteropus pselaphon, Myotis pruinosus, Eptesicus japonensis, Rhinolophus perditus, and Hipposideros turpis. Japanese bat conservation could be strengthened by increasing research on endemic species and by providing information on threats, ecological requirements, population trends, and suitable conservation strategies. Concrete conservation planning, improved publishing standards, capacity-building, and a collaborative effort to improve the situation of bats domestically would set a strong example for bat conservation in Asia.