Abstract:Tropical forests are three-dimensional spaces with species and resources heterogeneously distributed. The vertical stratification of tropical forest biotas has been observed for several organisms and regions, but, surprisingly, the vertical structuring of large areas of important tropical forests, such as Brazil's Atlantic Forest, remains poorly studied. Here, we addressed the use of different Atlantic Forest strata by bats, comparing ensemble composition and relative abundance between the understorey and the canopy. A total of 618 bats belonging to 31 species and four families were recorded, including 11 species of frugivores and seven species of gleaning insectivores, the two trophic guilds predominantly represented in our sampling. Fifteen species were captured exclusively in the canopy, and six exclusively in the understorey, and many of those species were represented by a low number of captures (<5). The bat species composition, richness and relative abundance between canopy and understorey strata varied.Chiroderma villosumwas exclusively captured in the canopy,Artibeus lituratuswas netted predominantly in the canopy andCarollia perspicillataandDesmodus rotunduswere mostly captured in the understorey. Although processes such as resource partitioning between species and ecomorphological constraints may explain the differential use of forest strata, this remains little understood because of the scarcity of data for the Atlantic forest canopies.

No abstract

No abstract

Studies on mammal diversity provide the essential groundwork for the development of conservation methods and practices. The region of the Poços de Caldas Plateau is lacks such studies, which may be a problem for future conservation actions. Here, we analyze the richness of medium-sized and large mammals from Atlantic Forest remnants on the Poços de Caldas Plateau, Minas Gerais state. Diurnal censuses of direct observations and mammal signs were conducted, and we documented 20 species of mammals belonging to eight orders. Three species of primates, one carnivore, one cingulate, one lagomorpha, three rodents, one artiodactyla, and two marsupials were found. The largest forest remnant that presented the greatest richness is currently a conservation unit. Forest remnants are important for the consolidation of management strategies and have fundamental role for the conservation of mammal diversity in the south of Minas Gerais state.

No abstract