Bats are abundant and effective seed dispersers inside the forest, but what happens when a forest is fragmented and transformed into pasture? The landscape at Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, originally rainforest, is greatly fragmented and covered with pastures. We analyzed the seed rains produced by frugivorous bats and birds under isolated trees in pastures in the fragmented landscape and the contribution of this process to vegetational recovery. We surveyed bats and obtained fecal samples under isolated trees in pastures. We also collected seed rain below the canopy of 10 isolated Ficus trees, separating nocturnally dispersed seeds from diurnally dispersed seeds. We caught 652 bats of 20 species; 83% of captures were frugivores. The most abundant species were Sturnira lilium (48%), Artibeus jamaicensis (18%), Carollia perspicillata (12%), and Dermanura tolteca (11%). Fecal samples contained seeds of 19 species in several families: Piperaceae (50%), Moraceae (25%), Solanaceae (12%), Cecropiaceae (10%), and others (3%). Sturnira lilium was the most important disperser bat in pastures. Seed rain was dominated by zoochorous species (89%). We found seed diversity between day and night seed captures to be comparable, but we found a significant interaction of disperser type ( bird or bat) with season. Seven plant species accounted for 79% of the seed rain: Piper auritum (23%), Ficus ( hemiepiphytic-strangler tree) spp. (17%), Cecropia obtusifolia (10%), P. amalago (10%), Ficus ( free-standing tree) spp. (8%), P. yzabalanum (6%), and Solanum rudepanum (5%). Bats and birds are important seed dispersers in pastures because they disperse seeds of pioneer and primary species (trees, shrubs, herbs, and epiphytes), connect forest fragments, and maintain plant diversity. Consequently, they might contribute to the recovery of woody vegetation in disturbed areas in tropical humid forests. tantes dispersores en pastizales ya que dispersan semillas de especies pioneras y primarias (árboles, arbustos, hierbas y epífitas); conectan remanentes de selva y mantienen la diversidad vegetal. Consecuentemente pueden promover la recuperación de la vegetación leñosa en áreas perturbadas de regiones tropicales húmedas.

No abstract

Under the hypothesis that bat diversity would be lower in the early stages of secondary succession and that species affected negatively by habitat modification would be more frequent in later successional stages, we evaluated how bats use 12 vegetation stands representing four stages of secondary succession, following disturbance caused by slash-and-burn agriculture and selective logging. We compared bat richness, abundance and diversity, and found that none of these variables was different among stages or rainy seasons. However, of the 10 most common bat species, two were significantly more abundant in stands at the early stages of secondary succession, while the opposite was true for three other species. Canopy cover mainly explains these patterns. Rainy season had no effect on the abundance of the common species. The results of this study indicate that although some frugivorous species were very abundant in the younger stands, the majority of the rare species were captured in older stands. The absence of rare and habitatspecialized species from young successional stages close to primary forest suggests that, for effective bat conservation in landscapes modified by human activity, areas with original vegetation should be maintained to ensure the survivorship of sensitive-to-deforestation species.

Bats are abundant and effective seed dispersers inside the forest, but what happens when a forest is fragmented and transformed into pasture? The landscape at Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, originally rainforest, is greatly fragmented and covered with pastures. We analyzed the seed rains produced by frugivorous bats and birds under isolated trees in pastures in the fragmented landscape and the contribution of this process to vegetational recovery. We surveyed bats and obtained fecal samples under isolated trees in pastures. We also collected seed rain below the canopy of 10 isolated Ficus trees, separating nocturnally dispersed seeds from diurnally dispersed seeds. We caught 652 bats of 20 species; 83% of captures were frugivores. The most abundant species were Sturnira lilium (48%), Artibeus jamaicensis (18%), Carollia perspicillata (12%), and Dermanura tolteca (11%). Fecal samples contained seeds of 19 species in several families: Piperaceae (50%), Moraceae (25%), Solanaceae (12%), Cecropiaceae (10%), and others (3%). Sturnira lilium was the most important disperser bat in pastures. Seed rain was dominated by zoochorous species (89%). We found seed diversity between day and night seed captures to be comparable, but we found a significant interaction of disperser type ( bird or bat) with season. Seven plant species accounted for 79% of the seed rain: Piper auritum (23%), Ficus ( hemiepiphytic-strangler tree) spp. (17%), Cecropia obtusifolia (10%), P. amalago (10%), Ficus ( free-standing tree) spp. (8%), P. yzabalanum (6%), and Solanum rudepanum (5%). Bats and birds are important seed dispersers in pastures because they disperse seeds of pioneer and primary species (trees, shrubs, herbs, and epiphytes), connect forest fragments, and maintain plant diversity. Consequently, they might contribute to the recovery of woody vegetation in disturbed areas in tropical humid forests. Dispersión de Semillas Generada por Murciélagos y Aves Bajo Arboles Aislados en Pastizales de una Selva Alta PerennifoliaResumen: Los murciélagos son abundantes y efectivos dispersores de semillas en la selva húmeda alta. Pero, ¿qué sucede cuando la selva es fragmentada y convertida en pastizales? El paisaje en Los Tuxtlas, México, cuya vegetación original era la de bosque lluvioso, está fuertemente fragmentado y dominado por pastizales. Analizamos la lluvia de semillas producida por murciélagos y aves frugívoras bajo árboles aislados en pastizales del paisaje fragmentado, y la contribución de este proceso a la recuperación de la vegetación. Capturamos murciélagos y obtuvimos muestras fecales bajo árboles aislados en pastizales. Colectamos la lluvia de semillas bajo 10 Ficus aislados, separando las semillas "nocturnas" de las "diurnas." Capturamos 652 murciélagos de 20 especies, el 83% de ellos fueron frugívoros. Las especies dominantes fueron: Sturnira lilium (48%), Artibeus jamaicensis (18%), Carollia perspicillata (12%), y Dermanura tolteca (11%). Las muestras fecales contenían semillas de 19 especies de varias familias: Piperaceae (50%), Moraceae (2...

The mechanisms of plant facilitation are different from those of object facilitation. There are seed-seedling conflicts involved in the recruitment of P. leucocephalus: nurse plants favour mainly seedling survivorship by providing a suitable microenvironment, while nurse objects mainly favour seed permanence, by protecting them from predators.

Shifting and permanent cultivation, selective logging, cattle production and coffee plantations are among the most important factors in montane cloud forest conversion and disturbance. Although shaded-coffee plantations can contribute to the preservation of local species richness, abundance of organisms could be determined by habitat resource availability in agricultural landscapes. We compared abundance of Sturnira and Artibeus bats (Phyllostomidae, Stenodermatinae), in shade coffee plantations and disturbed cloud forest fragments, which represent habitats with different chiropterochorous plant density. We also investigated the relationship between bat species abundance and food plant richness, abundance and diversity. We captured 956 bats, 76% in cloud forest fragments and 24% in shaded coffee plantations. Abundance of Sturnira spp. (small bats) was greater in cloud forest than in coffee plantations, but Artibeus spp. (large bats) abundance was similar in both habitats. Chiropterochorous plant abundance was positively related with bat abundance for Sturnira spp., while chiropterochorous plant richness and diversity were negatively related for Artibeus spp. This suggests that frugivorous bats with different morphological and ecological characteristics respond differentially to anthropogenic activities. For landscape management purposes, the maintenance and augmentation of diverse food resources, for frugivorous bats with different foraging requirements in coffee plantations, will benefit the resilience of bats to modification of their natural habitat.

No abstract

We evaluate the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) community as measured by spores in different coffee production systems (at the depth of 0-15 cm). In addition, we analyze the similarities between the AMF communities in coffee production systems and those that occur in a tropical montane cloud forest patch in order to evaluate the capacity of coffee production systems to preserve the native AMF community. We carried out four samplings in five coffee production systems representative of a vegetation structure gradient, and in a forest. From 120 soil samples, 33 morphospecies were detected. In all the sites, the dominant morphospecies were Glomus clarum and Glomus sp. 3. We found no significant difference in AMF spore richness between sites. Diversity was similar in most of the coffee production systems. Significant differences were only detected in spore abundance; during the dry season the forest, shaded traditional rustic system and shaded simple system presented the highest spore abundance.With the exception of one species exclusive to the forest, the coffee production systems all share the same AMF species as the forest. The coffee production systems with the greatest similarity to cloud forest were the shaded traditional rustic system and the shaded simple system. It is suggested that control of weeds and fertilization could be important factors influencing the composition and abundance of AMF spores in coffee production systems.