Bats play crucial ecosystem services as seed dispersers, pollinators, controllers of insects, and nutrient recyclers. However, there has not been a thorough global review evaluating these roles in bats across all biogeographical regions of the world. We reviewed the literature published during the last two decades and identified 283 relevant studies: 78 dealt with the control of potential insect pests by bats, 80 related to the suppression of other arthropods, 60 on the dispersal of native or endemic seeds, 11 dealt with the dispersal of seeds of introduced plants, 29 on the pollination of native or endemic plants, 1 study on pollination of introduced plants, and 24 on the use of guano as fertilizer. Our literature search showed that queries combining the terms “seed dispersal,” “insectivorous bats,” “nectarivorous bats,” “use of guano,” and “ecosystem services” returned 577 studies, but half were experimental in nature. We found that the evaluation of ecosystem services by bats has been mostly conducted in the Neotropical and Palearctic regions. To detect differences across relevant studies, and to explain trends in the study of ecosystem services provided by bats, we performed generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) fitted with a Poisson distribution to analyze potential differences among sampling methods. We identified 409 bat species that provide ecosystem services, 752 insect species consumed by bats and 549 plant species either dispersed or pollinated by bats. Our review summarizes the importance of conserving bat populations and the ecological services they provide, which is especially important during the current pandemic.
RESUMENEl estudio mastozoológico del departamento del Tolima ha aumentado en los últimos años; sin embargo, esta información no ha sido compilada, ni actualizada, de manera que se identifi quen los errores de distribución y taxonómicos, en aras de identifi car prioridades de investigación y de conservación. Con el fi n de unifi car la información de los mamíferos presentes en el departamento, se recopilaron y se validaron los registros museológicos de la Colección Zoológica de la Universidad del Tolima (CZUT-M), Museo Javeriano de Historia Natural Lorenzo Uribe (MPUJ), bases de datos de colecciones nacionales, internacionales e información bibliográfi ca. La lista de mamíferos consolidada confi rma 126 especies, lo que equivale al 24,32% de las especies de mamíferos de Colombia, entre las cuales, se registra seis endémicas y siete en alguna categoría de amenaza. Esta diversidad, se agrupa en 30 familias, 88 géneros y 12 órdenes, en donde Chiroptera (71 spp.) y Rodentia (18 spp.) son los mejor representados. La zona de vida que evidenció la mayor riqueza de especies fue el Bosque Seco Tropical, con 56; no obstante, estas áreas han presentado un mayor esfuerzo investigativo en relación con otras, como las establecidas por encima de los 2.000m s.n.m. Se resalta la necesidad de investigaciones en el departamento, para complementar los vacíos de información, así como la implementación de planes de manejo y de conservación, tanto de las especies como de las áreas.Palabras clave: categoría de amenaza; colección biológica; endemismo; Chiroptera; Rodentia.
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La dispersión de semillas es una de las interacciones planta-animal más importante en la dinámica de comunidades vegetales y el mantenimiento de la diversidad de plantas en los bosques tropicales; ya que, mediante este mecanismo, las plantas encuentran la posibilidad de colonizar nuevos sitios y mantener la estructura poblacional. Por lo anterior, se evaluó la preferencia en la dieta de las especies de murciélagos frugívoros de un bosque seco. El análisis de 63 registros dietarios de 14 especies de murciélagos permitió identificar 11 especies, tres géneros y una morfoespecie de frutos dispersados, de los cuales Bidens pilosa, Piper crassinervium y Physalis peruviana L. fueron las especies más explotadas. Artibeus planirostris presentó la mayor amplitud de dieta seguido por Dermanura phaeotis. Se presentó sobreposiciones de dieta bajas debido a que la dieta se centró en plantas con patrones de fructificación continuos. Se resalta el consumo de frutos en estado sucesional arbusto, lo cual confirma el papel clave de los murciélagos en la dispersión de especies pioneras.
The visored bat, Sphaeronycteris toxophyllum Peters, 1882, is a species listed as Data Deficient by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, being considered rare throughout its geographical range due to the small number of specimens recorded. This study reports a new record that broadens the distribution range of the species in Colombia to the central mountain range and upper valley of the Magdalena river. One adult male of S. toxophyllum was captured after a sampling effort of 3,870 net-hours over 36 nights in the Andean region, at the upper valley of the Magdalena river, Department of Tolima, Colombia. Its diet was analyzed and a model for Colombia was built. The morphometric analysis of the specimen captured yielded values lower than those previously reported for Colombia. The analysis of stomach contents identified two floristic elements as part of its diet, corroborating the frugivorous feeding habits of this species. Separately, the application of species distribution modeling techniques established that S. toxophyllum has a potential geographic range that continues north of the Chocó-Magdalena province and west of the Orinoco and Guayana biogeographical provinces of Colombia. Based on these data, we propose that the extended distribution range reported here may be associated with a current connection between these geographical provinces. El murciélago de vísera Sphaeronycteris toxophyllum Peters, 1882, está catalogado con Datos Deficientes por la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza y es considerado raro a lo largo de su distribución, debido al escaso número de ejemplares conocidos. Este estudio presenta un nuevo registro que extienden la distribución geográfica de la especie en Colombia, hacia la cordillera Central y el valle alto del río Magdalena. Durante 36 noches y un esfuerzo de muestreo de 3,870 horas-red en la región andina en el valle alto del río Magdalena en el departamento de Tolima, Colombia, se capturó un macho adulto de S. toxophyllum. Se analizó su dieta y se construyó un modelo de distribución potencial para Colombia. El espécimen capturado registró medidas morfológicas craneales inferiores a las reportadas en trabajos previos para Colombia. El análisis del contenido estomacal permitió identificar dos elementos florísticos como parte de la dieta de la especie, información que permite corroborar su frugivoría. A través de la aplicación de técnicas de modelaje de distribución de especies fue posible establecer que S. toxophyllum presenta un intervalo geográfico potencial que se extiende al norte de la provincia Choco-Magdalena y al oeste de las provincias biogeográficas de la Orinoquia y de la Guayana de Colombia. Los datos permiten proponer que la ampliación de distribución presentada aquí puede estar asociada a la conexión existente entre estas provincias geográficas.
The study of human relationships with other components of the landscape allows us to understand the dynamics of ecological communities and biodiversity. Although there has been an increase in ethnobiological studies, little is known about the interaction between humans and bats. The objective of this study was to evaluate the perceptions and attitudes about bats by people in the fragile life zone of the tropical dry forest of Colombia. We selected four representative areas and evaluated three different aspects: (1) biological and ecological knowledge, (2) uses and cultural beliefs, and (3) interactions between humans and bats. The data were collected through surveys of 18 questions to 197 people with a gender ratio close to parity. The data obtained are presented as descriptive statistics by using a generalized linear model (GLM). The results showed that people's knowledge and attitude towards bats depend on the covariates of education and gender of the respondents. Women and people with a higher education level had positive attitudes towards bats. Although the ecosystem services provided by bats were clearly recognized, the need for conservation was not as obvious. These results indicate that human-bat relationships are complex and may be the result of multiple social and cultural factors.Likewise, these cross-cultural perceptions must be understood and addressed in the development of actions that promote the conservation of bats in tropical forests.
We report the first record of the bat Platyrrhinus albericoi Velazco, 2005 on the eastern slope of the Colombian Central Andes. Currently there are records of this species on the western slope of the Central Andes, eastern slope of the western Andes, and both slope of the eastern Andes in Colombia. We performed a morphological review of the specimens from several Colombian collections and analyzed their character variation, life zone, and distribution in Colombia. The geographic range of P. albericoi is increased and a new life zone, Premontane Wet Forest (bmh-PM in Spanish), is added to its distribution.
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