Molecular ecology approaches to study neotropical bats

Abstract

Bats constitute the second most diverse group of mammals, accounting for ca. 20% of mammalian diversity, with 1,400 extant species recognized worldwide. Of these, about 400 taxa occur in the Neotropical realm. Bats provide a number of environmental services, playing a crucial role in maintaining integrity of ecosystems. Like many other organisms, bats are struggling to persist in face of the dramatic environmental and climatic changes caused by human activities. The use of DNA-based methods has greatly contributed to study Neotropical Chiroptera in many aspects such as systematics, ecology, and basic biology, including dispersal, mating systems and foraging patterns, population genetic structure, and the identification of Management and Evolutionary Significant Units deserving special attention with regard to conservation. Here, we illustrate some of the research questions that have been addressed in Neotropical bats using conservation genetics tools. We discuss current limitations and challenges, and identify knowledge gaps and questions for future research, which could be answered using innovative methods and technological advances in this field.