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Spatiotemporal variation in phyllostomid bat assemblages over a successional gradient in a tropical dry forest in southeastern Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2014

Luiz Alberto Dolabela Falcão*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biologia Geral, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros-MG, Brazil, CP 126, CEP 39401-089
Mário Marcos do Espírito-Santo
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biologia Geral, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros-MG, Brazil, CP 126, CEP 39401-089
Lemuel Olívio Leite
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biologia Geral, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros-MG, Brazil, CP 126, CEP 39401-089
Raphael Neiva Souza Lima Garro
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biologia Geral, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros-MG, Brazil, CP 126, CEP 39401-089
Luis Daniel Avila-Cabadilla
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Apartado Postal 27-3 (Xangari), Morelia, Michoacan 58089, Mexico Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México
Kathryn Elizabeth Stoner
Affiliation:
Department of Biological and Health Sciences, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, 700 University Blvd., MSC 158, Kingsville, TX 78363–8202
*
1Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to investigate the spatiotemporal variation in richness, abundance, structure and composition of phyllostomid bats over a successional gradient in a tropical dry forest in south-eastern Brazil. Four successional stages (pasture, early, intermediate and late) were sampled in the northern part of the state of Minas Gerais. Bats were sampled using mist nets at three sites for each of the four successional stages (12 sites in total) during eight periods between 2007 and 2009. A total of 537 individuals were captured (29 recaptured), distributed among four families and 22 species. Bat abundance and richness varied in space, being higher in the late-successional stage, and over time, being significantly lower during the dry season. When compared between guilds, only the abundance of omnivores varied significantly during the sampled months. Our results demonstrate that areas of late-successional stages showed higher bat richness and abundance in comparison with areas undergoing secondary succession. Our results also suggest the use of early-successional areas as flying routes by bats can lead to failure to detect differences in bat composition within successional gradients. We suggest future studies should assimilate landscape-level analyses into their studies to better evaluate the effects of successional gradients on bat assemblages.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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