Article
Efectos de la estructura del paisaje y de la vegetación en la diversidad de murciélagos filostómidos (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) de Oaxaca, México
Fecha
2014-03Autor
Santos Moreno, Antonio
Institución
Resumen
Effects of landscape and vegetation structure on the diversity of phyllostomid bats (Chiroptera:
Phyllostomidae) in Oaxaca, Mexico. The tropical forest fragmentation is known to affect the spatial structure
of the landscape and habitat. These alterations can modify the attributes of bat assemblages, however, this
phenomenon has been little studied and understood. In this work we evaluated the structure of landscape (i.e.
composition and configuration) and vegetation, and its relationship with assemblage- and population-level
characteristics of phyllostomid bats in a tropical rainforest of Southeastern Mexico. For this, we previously
selected 12 sites located in continuous and fragmented forests, where bats were captured using mist nets during
a two years sampling effort (144 nights). Bats relative abundance, species richness (diversity of order 0,
0D), Shannon diversity index (1D) and Simpson index (2D) were evaluated in all sites, and their relationship
with seven measures of landscape structure and seven measures of vegetation structure was described using a
Hierarchical Partitioning Analysis. A total of 1 840 individuals of 29 species of phyllostomid bats were captured
in this period. Differences in the assemblages were manifested only in the relative abundance and not in the richness
of the species. The assemblages of fragmented forest exhibited greater variation in species composition and
a greater abundance of frugivorous and nectarivorous bats in comparison with the assemblages of continuous
forest. The landscape configuration was related to the assemblage- and population-level attributes, contrasting
with previous studies where the composition was a key element. At habitat level, tree density and canopy cover
determined the abundance of bats. Nectarivorous and frugivorous bats were mostly found in disturbed vegetation
landscapes, primarily due to landscape configuration (e.g. edge density). This phenomenon could be a response
to the availability of food in primary and intermediate successional stages, which are characterized by an abundance
of food value