Diversidade e frugivoria de morcegos filostomídeos (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) em habitats secundários e plantios de Pinus spp., no município de Anhembi - SP

Abstract

In the Neotropical region, the Phyllostomidae family is the most diverse, in species and dietary habits, interacting with several species of animals and plants. In literature, the abovementioned bats are noted as crucial for the dynamics of tropical forests, given that they are the main seed dispersers of many pioneer plants found in the area. The objective of this study was to investigate structural aspects of phyllostomide bats assemblages and the frugivorous diet in three distinct secondary environments at the Experimental Station The assemblage of phyllostomide bats at EECFA follows the pattern found in other studies carried out in altered locations in the southeastern area, and present species associated with traits found in secondary areas; Carollia perspicillata, Sturnira lilium, and Artibeus lituratus, the most abundant species of frugivorous bats, corresponded to approximately 80% of the total captures. C. perspicillata turned out to be the dominant species in Pinus spp plantations; A. lituratus prevailed in the forest fragment and S. lilium in shrub areas. The Pinus plantation was the location which showed the highest rate of captures (45%), followed by the forest fragment and the shrub areas, with 38% and 17% respectively. However, the Pinus plantations presented the lowest range of diversity, followed by the shrub areas and forest fragment. The phenological observations of chiropterocory plants studied at EECFA indicate that the availability of fruits is even throughout the year, and do not show correlation with the erratic precipitation. The analyses concerning the dietary habits were limited to the three most abundant species. Consumption of 13 species of plants of 4 different families was registered, namely: Cecropiaceae, Moraceae, Piperaceae and Solanaceae. The rate frequency of the dietary items presented considerable statistical variation (χ 2 ; p<0,001). The piper genus, represented by five species, demonstrated the highest rate of total incidence, approximately 70,0% (n=76), standing out in the diet of C. perspicillata (91%) and S. lilium (62%). Ficus spp seeds demonstrated incidence rate of 19% (n=21) and were the most abundant in the feces of A. lituratus (75%). Cecropia spp. and Solanum spp. were present in 15% (n=16) and 0% (n=11) of the collected samples, respectively. The studied species showed low values of dietary amplitude and niche overlapping between species, which demonstrate the sharing of food resources, except between C. perspicillata and S. lilium species. These presented high levels of niche overlapping, which indicates that other factors might be into play in the sharing of these resources. These factors may include differences in foraging patterns, or even the abundance of Piperaceaes fruits in the area.

Bat assemblage in agricultural landscapes: comparison between native forest fragment and alley cropping system

“…Phyllostomidae make up a large family in Brazil with 92 species (Nogueira et al, 2014), and in São Paulo state with 37 species (Garbino, 2016). Their high presence has been described in several studies addressing local bat assemblages, including secondary forests (Tavoloni, 2006), urban areas (Teixeira and Rocha, 2013) and experimental fields (Sato et al, 2015). However, despite their dominance, the high abundance of Phyllostomidae in our study might also have been influenced by the sampling method used (understory mist-nets), which facilitates their capture in detriment of other common Table 1.…”

“…lilium (37.8%) abundances (Figure 2). Despite the differences among both periods, studies have shown no niche overlap between A. lituratus and C. perspicillata (Tavoloni, 2006). Besides interspecific relation of these bats to some pioneer plants (Tavoloni, 2006;Martins et al, 2014), food availability during the sampling period may also explain this pattern found in abundances.…”

“…Error bars show confidence interval (95%).59account for different wildlife representatives when planned and constructed.Lastly, we believe that the local alley cropping system could be improved in order to attract bats and other fauna than birds, by establishing a structural and floristic diversity that provides resources as fruits and roosts for wildlife. Studies based on diet of frugivorous bats, as performed byTavoloni (2006), Martins et al (2014) and others, can provide a valuable resource fund to design alley cropping systems and connect forest fragments among crop matrices. Castro-Luna and Galindo-González (2012) states that a higher abundance and diversity of bats are found in agroecosystems that have more fruit producing trees, suggesting that such strategy would benefit not only wildlife, but also the land owners and agricultural producers.CONCLUSION Despite its known ecological benefits, the alley cropping system within the Federal University of São Carlos -Araras campus in São Paulo, Brazil, does not support bat richness and diversity, as accomplished by other agroforestry complexes.…”