Malaysia is one of the few countries in the world that has a very high diversity of biodiversity. Forests in Malaysia are able to accommodate the high diversity of species and have species that can not be found elsewhere. Unfortunately, more than 40% of the natural tropical rainforest in Malaysia has disappeared. The two main challenges faced by conserving tropical rainforests are maintaining the diversity of existing biodiversity and promoting deforestation regeneration.

Small mammals such as bats (which are half the number of mammals found in Malaysia’s forests) and rodents (the second largest component) play an important role in natural ecosystems but studies on function and importance are less studied. Small mammals can act as pollinators, seed spreaders / predators, control pests and become food sources for carnivores. The group is also an important component in the forest ecosystem through contributions to energy flow and nutrient cycles. This will affect vegetation and soil that can improve the forest regeneration process. The rate of nutrient and mineral cycles may change due to soil excavation and sedimentation and urine deposition by small mammals that may affect soil chemistry.

Bats have a wider range of nutritional habits than other mammal orders. Bat’s ability to process foods in large quantities influences the importance of bats in a natural environment. Insect eater is important in terms of ecology and agriculture where insect-eating bats are the main night insect eater. Insecticide bats eat large amounts of insects and are believed to play an important role in biological control (pests and medicines) and maintain the dynamics of insect populations in a natural environment. Insect-eating bats can eat at least 50% of their weight (and can reach up to 80% of their weight for some bats). This is equivalent to eating 600 mosquitoes within an hour and a large group of bats can eat around 2000 tons of insects each year.

As a seed spreader for pioneering species such as Solanum and Piper, fruit-eating bats play an important role in cleared forest growth. Bats play the same or more important role of birds in spreading seeds primarily disturbed (and have space) habitats where pioneering plants and shrubs are important in starting the forest regeneration process. Fruit-eating bats are also important in spreading seeds in areas that have been cleared and rarely passed by other animals. The fruit-eating bats that successfully spread the fig tree seed provide an important service to the ecosystem by ensuring long-term durability in terms of food and shelter resources for other animals. A species of fig tree species, Ficus sumatrana in tropical rainforest Malaysia is eaten by at least 26 species of birds and 7 species of mammals active during the day and possibly almost all fruit-eating animals.

In Malaysia, studies on eating habits of insect-eating bats are less. To overcome this lack of knowledge, a comprehensive study of nutritional habits and selection of victims by home bat, Scotophilus kuhlii, was started in the Lake Chini area. Scotophilus kuhlii has been selected because these species have high distribution rates and are often found nesting in human habitat areas and can also be found nesting in large groups in caves, roof houses, abandoned buildings, rubber tree holes and holes in fallen trees in the forest. Due to the presence of nesting places close to humans, this species bat can cause problems mainly due to waste and noise. This disruption results in the destruction of nests and the bats killed. Although this bat has a broad distribution, it is not known much about the ecology and biology of this species.