Effects of Habitat Structure, Plant Cover, and Successional Stage on the Bat Assemblage of a Tropical Dry Forest at Different Spatial Scales

Abstract

Bats play a fundamental role in ecosystem functioning since they are responsible for several ecological services such as seed dispersal and pollination. Therefore, assessing the effects of habitat structure at different scales on the bat assemblage is extremely important for supporting conservation strategies. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of habitat structure at multiple spatial scales on the bat assemblages and their variation along a gradient of secondary succession in a Brazilian tropical dry forest. Our results suggest that bat abundance is higher in areas close to mature forests, which shows the important role of those habitats as refuges for the regional bat fauna (in a fragmented landscape) and for the maintenance of ecosystem services provided by this group in tropical dry forests in a landscape context. In addition, bat abundance was lower in protected areas whose surroundings were better preserved (greater forest extension). This unexpected finding could result from an altered behavior in areas under a strong influence of a fruit crop matrix. Finally, we showed that the effects of the surroundings depend on the successional stage of the area under analysis. Late forests are more susceptible to variations in the forest cover in their surroundings, which show the higher fragility of these environments.

A multifaceted approach to understanding bat community response to disturbance in a seasonally dry tropical forest

“…In support of the first hypothesis, Phyllostomidae showed greater sensitivity to habitat disturbance compared to the understory community as a whole based on richness. The negative association between richness and disturbance for both groups was likely the result of reduced tree density in semi-natural and degraded forests compared to natural forest, caused by years of selective logging, agriculture, and livestock grazing 8,10,19,24,35,36 . Simplification of structural complexity can adversely affect the presence and abundance of bats by reducing their roosting sites, shelter and food availability 31,37 .…”

“…In a study of SDTF successional stages in Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil, Avila-Cabadilla et al 20 attributed differential disturbance responses of phyllostomid bats to regional differences in environmental conditions, bat species composition, and landscape characteristics. However, other studies show more consistent responses such as decreasing phyllostomid richness from late to early successional habitats 10,19,21 . In general, the question of whether Phyllostomidae is a reliable indicator of disturbance has not been adequately addressed in SDTFs.…”

“…As in other ecosystems, phyllostomid species have been the focus of bat research in seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTFs), where their response to disturbance has been compared across different habitats, spatial scales, and levels of biological complexity ranging from individuals to the community 10,[18][19][20][21][22] . While evidence suggests that Phyllostomidae as a family is a poor bioindicator given the contrasting responses of its members to disturbance 7 , the question remains for STDFs where bat research is limited compared to other ecosystems 19 . In a study of SDTF successional stages in Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil, Avila-Cabadilla et al 20 attributed differential disturbance responses of phyllostomid bats to regional differences in environmental conditions, bat species composition, and landscape characteristics.…”

Ecological generalism and resilience of tropical island mammals to logging: A 23 year test

“…For example, 15–40 year old secondary forests in continental French Guiana (Brosset, Charles‐Dominique, Cockie, Cosson, & Masson, ) and Brazil (Faria, ) had between one‐third and two‐thirds of the species diversity of primary forests. In the Neotropics, bat abundance was higher in areas close to mature forest (Falcão, Espírito‐Santo, Fernandes, & Paglia, ), and deforestation resulted in losses of closely related species that were forest specialists (Frank, Frishkoff, Mendenhall, Daily, & Hadly, ). Logging in tropical forests has also resulted in severe reductions in bird species richness from all forest strata, presumably because high proportions of species are late‐successional forest specialists (LaManna & Martin, ).…”

MODIS and PROBA-V NDVI Products Differ when Compared with Observations from Phenological Towers at Four Tropical Dry Forests in the Americas

“…The tower height at this site is close to 18.0 m. The other two sites are located at the Lagoa do Cajueiro State Park (LC-SP) and Parque Estadual da Mata Seca-Environmental Monitoring Super Site (PEMS-EMSS). These two sites present a mosaic of forest covers at different stages of secondary succession, which is surrounded by an agricultural matrix [33]. The LC-SP tower height is close to 15 m. At the PEMS-EMSS there are four towers located along a successional gradient, as follows: [18] for a detailed description of these forest sites).…”