The understory bat community in a fragmented landscape in the lowlands of the Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico

Abstract

Bat species in Neotropical regions are known to reach a high diversity. The Chiropteran fauna contributes significantly to the ecological dynamics of tropical forests and are excellent indicators of the state of conservation. The Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz has suffered severe habitat degradation and forest fragmentation in the last four decades, mostly due to anthropogenic activities. The main objective of the present study was to describe in terms of species richness, feeding guild, biomass, and dominance, the little known bat community of the Parque de Flora and Fauna Silvestre Tropical (PAFFASIT) in the municipality of Catemaco, Veracruz. We expected that after nearly 30 years of ambient protection that this study site would maintain its functional diversity, as well as complexity in the bat understory assemblage. Since the relationship between richness and abundance is regulated by area size and the structural complexity of the vegetation, we hypothesize that in the PAFFASIT, a small number of species in the understory are dominant in terms of abundance and biomass. Fieldwork was conducted from November 2007 to November 2008. Sixteen mist nets were operated on four consecutive nights monthly from dusk until 0300 hours. All bats captured were processed and released in the field. We estimate the overall species diversity. A species accumulation curve over time was constructed. All species were assigned a feeding guild. Sampling effort totaled 1344 net/hours. We captured a total of 509 individuals, which represented 22 species. The Phyllostomidae family accounted for 98% of the total captures. Four species of this family, Sturnira parvidens, Carollia sowelli, Artibeus jamaicensis and Glossophaga soricina, alone accounted for 79 % of the total captures. The frugivore guild had the highest number of species (68 % of total captures). Two species, S. parvidens and C. sowelli, represented 57 % of the total gross biomass of the sample. The ShannonWiener Index value was 1.97 for the overall sample. New species were added slowly each month, but after nine months the accumulation curve tended to reach an asymptote. Nine species were added to the bat inventory for this site. In PAFFASIT due to the slow accumulation of species the number of bat species may increase as more surveys are carried out. In our study, we initially hypothesized a dominance by a few species. Our results concur with our prediction; as we found four species, S. parvidens, C. sowelli, A. jamaicensis and G. soricina that dominated the bat assemblage. In agreement with our hypothesis, results revealed the presence of a rich understory assemblage of bat species, which is similar to other findings in neotropical forests, but with a different species composition. The four species, belonging to the Phyllostomidae family accounted for 79 % of all captures, as well as 68 % of the total captures of the frugivore guild. The PAFFASIT forest reserve probably serves as an important link between two large areas of relatively well-preserved rainforest immersed in an ant...

Absence of Large and Presence of Medium-Sized Mammal Species of Conservation Concern in a Privately Protected Area of Rain Forest in Southeastern Mexico

“…Mammal species richness values for the two PPAs not studied here, as well as the LTBR, were retrieved from the literature and from unpublished reports and updated according to the most recent revision of mammal species nomenclature available for Mexico (Ramírez-Pulido et al., 2014). Since LTBR, which includes the Los Tuxtlas Tropical Biology Station of the Instituto de Biología of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, is the most studied site with tropical humid forests in Mexico, its mammal list is quite reliable and was used as a reference for the maximum mammal species richness expected for the region where the compared PPAs are located (Coates, Ramírez-Lucho, & González-Christen, 2017; Coates-Estrada & Estrada, 1986; González-Christen, 2008; Martínez-Gallardo & Sánchez-Cordero, 1997; Ramírez-Lucho, Coates, & González-Christen, 2017).…”

Bat cellular immunity varies by year and dietary habit amidst land conversion

“…Sturnira parvidens is a frugivore that specializes in fruit from early successional plants, which are most abundant in fragmented and disturbed forests ( Galindo-Gonzalez et al, 2000 ; García-Morales et al, 2012 ; Kraker-Castañeda et al, 2016 ). Prior work has found that S. parvidens is one of the most abundant bat species in at least some fragmented forests ( Ramírez-Lucho et al, 2017 ; Herrera et al, 2018 ). In contrast, Pteronotus mesoamericanus may be more vulnerable to increasing habitat loss and fragmentation, as these bats forage for insects using echolocation in dense vegetation within forest interiors ( Alpízar et al, 2019 ; Núñez et al, 2019 ).…”

Bat cellular immunity varies by year and dietary habit in an increasingly fragmented landscape

“…Sturnira parvidens is a frugivore that specializes in fruit from early successional plants, which are most abundant in fragmented and disturbed forests (Kraker-Castañeda et al 2016;García-Morales et al 2012;Galindo-González et al 2000). Prior work has found that S. parvidens is one of the most abundant bat species in at least some fragmented forests (Herrera et al 2018;Ramírez-Lucho et al 2017). In contrast, Pteronotus mesoamericanus may be more vulnerable to increasing habitat fragmentation, as these bats forage for insects using echolocation in dense vegetation within forest interiors (Alpízar et al 2019;Núñez et al 2019).…”