Morcegos
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Artigo sobre o folclore oriental concernente aos quirópteros, na China e Japão.
O Estado do Maranhão possui 21.656.866 hectares e está localizado centralmente no Nordeste brasileiro em uma posição estratégica de confluência entre os biomas Amazônia, Cerrado e Caatinga. Além da presença destes três biomas estão... more
O Estado do Maranhão possui 21.656.866 hectares e está localizado centralmente no Nordeste brasileiro em uma posição estratégica de confluência entre os biomas Amazônia, Cerrado e Caatinga. Além da presença destes três biomas estão presentes inúmeras áreas onde esses ambientes se misturam formando os ecótonos. A presença destes três biomas e os seus ecotónos potencializam a ocorrência de uma alta diversidade biológica no estado do Maranhão. Esse potencial, até o momento, foi muito pouco explorado e sua biodiversidade corre o risco de nunca ser conhecida. A principal ameaça é o crescimento contínuo do desmatamento na região que é apontada como a última fronteira agrícola do país. Esse cenário é principalmente crítico para os mamíferos, e em especial, para os morcegos. Até o ano de 2009 existiam apenas quatro trabalhos publicados sobre estes animais, no Maranhão, sendo que três deles tiveram como enfoque os seus ectoparasitas.
O grupo dos morcegos (Chiroptera) corresponde à segunda ordem mais diversa dos mamíferos, constando até o momento 181 espécies descritas para o Brasil. Apesar de serem considerados como pragas e transmissores de doenças pela população comum, apenas três espécies apresentam ameaça direta ao homem por se alimentarem de sangue de mamíferos (uma espécie) ou de aves (duas espécies). Essas espécies hematófagas apresentam importante papel na saúde pública podendo ser transmissoras do vírus da raiva e outras doenças. As demais espécies, assim como qualquer mamífero, também podem ser transmissoras do vírus rábico, destarte, importantes agentes ecológicos, com atuação vital na manutenção de populações de várias plantas por meio da polinização e dispersão de sementes, ou ainda, por serem importantes predadores de artrópodes considerados pragas agrícolas, dentre outras tantas características listadas no decorrer deste livro.
Diante do exposto, o conhecimento da diversidade desse grupo e a desmistificação se fazem necessários para um melhor manejo e conservação dos morcegos. Dessa forma, a equipe coordenada pela Prof. Dra. Maria Claudene Barros do CESC-UEMA, começou a se preocupar em descrever essa diversidade a partir de dois projetos de pesquisa junto à Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico do Maranhão (FAPEMA), nos anos de 2013 e 2015 intitulados respectivamente: “Caracterização molecular da quiropterofauna com ênfase na família Phyllostomidae (Chiroptera, Mammmalia) em fragmentos do Cerrado leste maranhense” e “Caracterização molecular de morcegos com ênfase na família Phyllostomidae, na rota do surto da raiva, nos municípios maranhenses e paraenses”.
Esses projetos possibilitaram o desenvolvimento de vários trabalhos de monografias, dissertações e também a publicações de artigos, como por exemplo a lista de espécies de morcegos para o Cerrado no ano de 2016 na revista Biota Neotopica, bem como o presente livro. O livro reúne toda a diversidade listada até o momento nos biomas da Amazônia e Cerrado maranhense, com importantes informações sobre identificação correta dos animais tanto pelas características morfológicas quanto pelo seu código de barras genético, o status da raiva nas espécies estudadas, suas características ecológicas, morfológicas e de distribuição a partir de fotos e desenhos esquemáticos funcionando como um guia tanto para leigos quanto para a sociedade acadêmica.
O livro ainda trata de questões importantes como: a importância da correta identificação dos animais, aspectos ecológicos relacionados à polinização e a dispersão de sementes, educação ambiental, uma relação e descrição dos ambientes em que os animais foram coletados e os métodos de coleta dos mesmos, e por fim, as principais ameaças que os morcegos enfrentam no estado do Maranhão. Desta forma esperamos que o livro sirva de estímulo para a conservação desses animais tão importantes e tão pouco conhecidos no Estado.
O grupo dos morcegos (Chiroptera) corresponde à segunda ordem mais diversa dos mamíferos, constando até o momento 181 espécies descritas para o Brasil. Apesar de serem considerados como pragas e transmissores de doenças pela população comum, apenas três espécies apresentam ameaça direta ao homem por se alimentarem de sangue de mamíferos (uma espécie) ou de aves (duas espécies). Essas espécies hematófagas apresentam importante papel na saúde pública podendo ser transmissoras do vírus da raiva e outras doenças. As demais espécies, assim como qualquer mamífero, também podem ser transmissoras do vírus rábico, destarte, importantes agentes ecológicos, com atuação vital na manutenção de populações de várias plantas por meio da polinização e dispersão de sementes, ou ainda, por serem importantes predadores de artrópodes considerados pragas agrícolas, dentre outras tantas características listadas no decorrer deste livro.
Diante do exposto, o conhecimento da diversidade desse grupo e a desmistificação se fazem necessários para um melhor manejo e conservação dos morcegos. Dessa forma, a equipe coordenada pela Prof. Dra. Maria Claudene Barros do CESC-UEMA, começou a se preocupar em descrever essa diversidade a partir de dois projetos de pesquisa junto à Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico do Maranhão (FAPEMA), nos anos de 2013 e 2015 intitulados respectivamente: “Caracterização molecular da quiropterofauna com ênfase na família Phyllostomidae (Chiroptera, Mammmalia) em fragmentos do Cerrado leste maranhense” e “Caracterização molecular de morcegos com ênfase na família Phyllostomidae, na rota do surto da raiva, nos municípios maranhenses e paraenses”.
Esses projetos possibilitaram o desenvolvimento de vários trabalhos de monografias, dissertações e também a publicações de artigos, como por exemplo a lista de espécies de morcegos para o Cerrado no ano de 2016 na revista Biota Neotopica, bem como o presente livro. O livro reúne toda a diversidade listada até o momento nos biomas da Amazônia e Cerrado maranhense, com importantes informações sobre identificação correta dos animais tanto pelas características morfológicas quanto pelo seu código de barras genético, o status da raiva nas espécies estudadas, suas características ecológicas, morfológicas e de distribuição a partir de fotos e desenhos esquemáticos funcionando como um guia tanto para leigos quanto para a sociedade acadêmica.
O livro ainda trata de questões importantes como: a importância da correta identificação dos animais, aspectos ecológicos relacionados à polinização e a dispersão de sementes, educação ambiental, uma relação e descrição dos ambientes em que os animais foram coletados e os métodos de coleta dos mesmos, e por fim, as principais ameaças que os morcegos enfrentam no estado do Maranhão. Desta forma esperamos que o livro sirva de estímulo para a conservação desses animais tão importantes e tão pouco conhecidos no Estado.
PREFACE This book is designed as a guide aimed at satisfying the needs of those conducting field work on bats in the Amazon. It is largely based on Lim et al. (2001), with modifications derived from both personal observations and three... more
PREFACE
This book is designed as a guide aimed at satisfying the needs of those conducting field work on bats in the Amazon. It is largely based on Lim et al. (2001), with modifications derived from both personal observations and three years of field experience in the Brazilian Amazon at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP), as well as a thorough revision of available bat keys and scientific papers describing new species.
Our aim was to write a straightforward, easy-to-use guide that would be both practical and very visual, and would facilitate bat species identification in the field. We tried to avoid as much as possible confusing features such as fur colour, as well as certain skull and teeth characteristics that cannot be easily measured under field conditions.
We decided to group together many of the cryptic species that are still indistinguishable in the field and that can only reliably be identified using molecular methods such as DNA barcoding. Taxonomic
nomenclature throughout this key follows Nogueira et al. (2014). This is an interactive field-guide that we hope will be continuously improved and updated.
We will be delighted to receive readers’ comments and suggestions!
Please send them to: adria.baucells@gmail.com
Thank you!
The Authors
This book is designed as a guide aimed at satisfying the needs of those conducting field work on bats in the Amazon. It is largely based on Lim et al. (2001), with modifications derived from both personal observations and three years of field experience in the Brazilian Amazon at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP), as well as a thorough revision of available bat keys and scientific papers describing new species.
Our aim was to write a straightforward, easy-to-use guide that would be both practical and very visual, and would facilitate bat species identification in the field. We tried to avoid as much as possible confusing features such as fur colour, as well as certain skull and teeth characteristics that cannot be easily measured under field conditions.
We decided to group together many of the cryptic species that are still indistinguishable in the field and that can only reliably be identified using molecular methods such as DNA barcoding. Taxonomic
nomenclature throughout this key follows Nogueira et al. (2014). This is an interactive field-guide that we hope will be continuously improved and updated.
We will be delighted to receive readers’ comments and suggestions!
Please send them to: adria.baucells@gmail.com
Thank you!
The Authors
Tropical mountain ranges are known to support high biodiversity. In addition to their role as refuge habitat, complex topography within these ecosystems promotes the development of diverse species traits and evolutionary divergence.... more
Tropical mountain ranges are known to support high biodiversity. In addition to their role as refuge habitat, complex topography within these ecosystems promotes the development of diverse species traits and evolutionary divergence. However, species within these environments also face severe anthropological threats, most notably from habitat loss and degradation, invasive species, and climate change. A primary example is the Taita Hills in Kenya, which forms the northernmost portion of the biodiversity rich Eastern Arc Mountains. Despite the high biodiversity potential for the area, little is known regarding chiropteran diversity. In order to address this lack of knowledge, we conducted a rapid biological survey of bats during January-February 2016. Our trapping effort was focused on different habitat types (e.g. highland cloud rainforest fragments, lowland riverbeds and human structures) and diverse trapping methods were used (e.g. mist-netting and hand-netting). A total of 169 bats belonging to at least 19 species from 7 different families were captured across 16 sampling sites. We report 10 new species records for the Taita Hills region, including the first record of Miniopterus mossambicus for East Africa, with a major range expansion in its distribution, as well as the first echolocation call for Glauconycteris argentata in eastern Africa. Several cases of probable species complexes were also identified, which are the focus of ongoing molecular work. Together, our results demonstrate that the Taita Hills region is home to rich bat diversity, not yet completely assessed, and emphasizes the urgent need to conserve the remaining forest fragments.
Tropical forest loss and fragmentation are due to increase in coming decades. Understanding how matrix dynamics, especially secondary forest regrowth, can lessen fragmentation impacts is key to understanding species persistence in... more
Tropical forest loss and fragmentation are due to increase in coming decades. Understanding how matrix dynamics, especially secondary forest regrowth, can lessen fragmentation impacts is key to understanding species persistence in modified landscapes. Here, we use a whole-ecosystem fragmentation experiment to investigate how bat assemblages are influenced by the regeneration of the secondary forest matrix. We surveyed bats in continuous forest, forest fragments and secondary forest matrix habitats, ~15 and ~30 years after forest clearance, to investigate temporal changes in the occupancy and abundance of old-growth specialist and habitat generalist species. The regeneration of the second growth matrix had overall positive effects on the occupancy and abundance of specialists across all sampled habitats. Conversely, effects on generalist species were negligible for forest fragments and negative for secondary forest. Our results show that the conservation potential of secondary forests for reverting faunal declines in fragmented tropical landscapes increases with secondary forest age and that old-growth specialists, which are often of most conservation concern, are the greatest beneficiaries of secondary forest maturation. Our findings emphasize that the transposition of patterns of biodiversity persistence in island ecosystems to fragmented terrestrial settings can be hampered by the dynamic nature of human-dominated landscapes. Humanity's global footprint is so ubiquitous and far-reaching that many argue that we now live in a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene 1. Habitat loss and fragmentation are pervasive and conspicuous features of this new historical context, which, in combination with other human-related threats, are compelling the planet into a " sixth wave of extinction " 2,3. The scars of the Anthropocene defaunation are being carved deep into the planet's biodiversity strongholds, the tropical forests 4. As large swaths of old-growth forest give way to expanding humanized landscapes, species persisting in forest remnants are left to endure the pervasive consequences of increased isolation and decreased area 5. Landscape-wide assemblage dynamics in fragments created in the aftermath of deforestation are dependent , to a large extent, on the nature of the matrix within which forest patches are embedded 6. Conservation science has traditionally conceived the modified matrix as a " sea " of hostile habitat, in which fragments act as " islands " and this analogy has guided much of the theory and practice of the field 6,7. However, equating forest fragments with island ecosystems, while appropriate in some situations, fails to accommodate the heterogeneous and dynamic nature of most present-day modified landscapes 8,9. Vertebrate assemblage dynamics in tropical land-bridge islands have painted a dire portrait of the consequences of forest fragmentation in true island systems 10–12. Mainland studies that also construed fragments as
The use of bioacoustics as a tool for bat research is rapidly increasing worldwide. There is substantial evidence that environmental factors such as weather conditions or habitat structure can affect echolocation call structure in bats... more
The use of bioacoustics as a tool for bat research is rapidly increasing worldwide. There is substantial evidence that environmental factors such as weather conditions or habitat structure can affect echolocation call structure in bats and thus compromise proper species identification. However, intraspecific differences in echolocation due to geographical variation are poorly understood, which poses a number of issues in terms of method standardization. We examined acoustic data for Pteronotus cf. rubiginosus from the Central Amazon and the Guiana Shield. We provide the first evidence of intraspecific geographic variation in bat echolocation in the Neotropics, with calls significantly differing in almost all standard acoustic parameters for the two lineages of this clade. We complement our bioacoustic data with molecular and morphological data for both species. Considerable overlap in trait values prevents reliable discrimination between the two sympatric Pteronotus based on morphological characters. On the other hand, significant divergence in the frequency of maximum energy suggests that bioacoustics can be used to readily separate both taxa despite extensive intraspecific variability in their echolocation across the Amazon. Given the relative lack of barriers preventing contact between bat populations from the Central Amazon and French Guiana, the documented acoustic variation needs to be further studied in geographically intermediate locations to understand the potential isolation processes that could be causing the described divergence in echolocation and to determine whether this variation is either discrete or continuous.
- by Adria Lopez-Baucells and +1
- •
- Acoustics, Bioacoustics, Ecology, Amazonia
Molossus rufus é uma espécie sinantrópica, com a capacidade de estabelecer grandes colônias em ambientes urbanizados, podendo conviver com outras espécies de morcegos. Apesar de outros relatos de raiva para a espécie no Brasil, este é o... more
Molossus rufus é uma espécie sinantrópica, com a capacidade de estabelecer grandes colônias em ambientes
urbanizados, podendo conviver com outras espécies de morcegos. Apesar de outros relatos de raiva para a espécie no
Brasil, este é o primeiro para Pernambuco, e o segundo no Nordeste. O animal foi encontrado vivo no ambiente urbano
e encaminhado para diagnóstico, sendo positivo para as técnicas de imunofluorescência direta e a prova biológica.
Confirmando assim a circulação do vírus rábico no meio urbano de Chã de Alegria – PE, onde o último relato de raiva
foi descrito no município em 2001em um cão.
urbanizados, podendo conviver com outras espécies de morcegos. Apesar de outros relatos de raiva para a espécie no
Brasil, este é o primeiro para Pernambuco, e o segundo no Nordeste. O animal foi encontrado vivo no ambiente urbano
e encaminhado para diagnóstico, sendo positivo para as técnicas de imunofluorescência direta e a prova biológica.
Confirmando assim a circulação do vírus rábico no meio urbano de Chã de Alegria – PE, onde o último relato de raiva
foi descrito no município em 2001em um cão.
It is commonly assumed that aerial insectivorous bats in the tropics respond to moonlight intensity by decreasing their foraging activity during bright nights due either to an increase in predation risk, or to a reduction in insect... more
It is commonly assumed that aerial insectivorous bats in the tropics respond to moonlight intensity by decreasing their foraging activity during bright nights due either to an increase in predation risk, or to a
reduction in insect availability. The effect of moonlight on bat activity can be measured both between nights and within a single night. However, few studies have simultaneously used both approaches, and most authors generallycompare bat activity with lunar phases. Our main aim was to evaluate how moonlight influences aerial insectivorous bat activity at different time scales: between nights and within the same night. Activity of five bat species was measured using autonomous ultrasound recording stations and moonlight intensity percentages retrieved from the Moontool program nightly throughout a 53-day sampling period. Only one species (Myotis riparius) responded negatively to moonlight, while two species (Pteronotus parnellii
and Saccopteryx leptura) increased their foraging activity in moonlight. For Cormura brevirostris and S. bilineata, moonlight intensity did not affect activity level. Bat activity was greater for all species at the
beginning of the night, independent of the presence of the moon, indicating that foraging just after the sunset is adaptive. Thus, bat response to the effect of moonlight intensity is more apparent between nights than within a single night and may depend on species-specific traits, such as flight speed, flexibility in habitat use and body size.
reduction in insect availability. The effect of moonlight on bat activity can be measured both between nights and within a single night. However, few studies have simultaneously used both approaches, and most authors generallycompare bat activity with lunar phases. Our main aim was to evaluate how moonlight influences aerial insectivorous bat activity at different time scales: between nights and within the same night. Activity of five bat species was measured using autonomous ultrasound recording stations and moonlight intensity percentages retrieved from the Moontool program nightly throughout a 53-day sampling period. Only one species (Myotis riparius) responded negatively to moonlight, while two species (Pteronotus parnellii
and Saccopteryx leptura) increased their foraging activity in moonlight. For Cormura brevirostris and S. bilineata, moonlight intensity did not affect activity level. Bat activity was greater for all species at the
beginning of the night, independent of the presence of the moon, indicating that foraging just after the sunset is adaptive. Thus, bat response to the effect of moonlight intensity is more apparent between nights than within a single night and may depend on species-specific traits, such as flight speed, flexibility in habitat use and body size.
- by Giulliana Appel and +1
- •
- Bioacoustics, Bats (Mammalogy), Mammals, Echolocation
O presente trabalho objetiva estudar os impactos negativos causa-dos aos morcegos, promovidos pelo uso da energia eólica. Para isso, é fundamental discutir a produção da energia, sua relação jurídica com o Direito de Energia e o Direito... more
O presente trabalho objetiva estudar os impactos negativos causa-dos aos morcegos, promovidos pelo uso da energia eólica. Para isso, é fundamental discutir a produção da energia, sua relação jurídica com o Direito de Energia e o Direito Ambiental, bem como os fatores que influenciam a inobservância de melhores planejamentos das fazendas eólicas e sua utilização. O uso dessa matriz energética deve ser incentivado, de forma sustentável, pois a energia gerada pelos ventos é considerada renovável e de baixo custo de produção, porém, não deve deixar de observar a proteção dos animais na sua produção. Nesse sentido, pesquisas e projetos que proteja a mastofauna (morcegos) são necessários para um bom planejamento das fazendas eólicas. Para tanto, utilizamos a metodologia jurídico-teórica e o raciocínio dedutivo, com pesquisa bibliográfica e documental. Conclui-se que para se obter melhores condições de preservação dos animais é essencial o planejamento sustentável dessa matriz e de seus parques, para conciliar proteção animal e desenvolvimento econômico.
In recent years, large clearings (>1000 ha) accounted for gradually smaller amounts of total annual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, whereas the proportion of small clearings (<50 ha) nowadays represents more than 80% of annual... more
In recent years, large clearings (>1000 ha) accounted for gradually smaller amounts of total annual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, whereas the proportion of small clearings (<50 ha) nowadays represents more than 80% of annual deforestation. Despite the ubiquity of small clearings in fragmented Amazonian landscapes, most fragmentation research has focused on the effects of large-scale deforestation , leading to a poor understanding of the impacts of smaller barriers on Amazonian vertebrates. We capitalized on the periodical re-isolation of experimental forest fragments at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project in the Central Amazon as a before-after-control-impact experiment to investigate the short-term effects of small clearings on bat assemblages. Over the course of three years we sampled six control sites in continuous forest, the interiors and edges of eight forest fragments as well as eight sites in the surrounding matrix. Sampling took place both before and after the experimental manipulation (clearing of a 100 m wide strip of regrowth around each fragment), resulting in $4000 bat captures. Species were classified as old-growth specialists and habitat generalists according to their habitat affinities and a joint species distribution modeling framework was used to investigate the effect of fragment re-isolation on species occupancy. Following fragment re-isolation, species richness declined in all habitats other than fragment edges and, although responses were idiosyncratic, this decline was more pronounced for forest specialist than for generalist species. Additionally, fragment re-isolation led to a reduction in the similarity between assemblages in modified habitats (fragment interiors, edges and matrix) and continuous forest. Sampling of controls in continuous forest both prior to and after re-isolation revealed that much of the variation in bat species occupancy between sampling periods did not arise from fragment re-isolation but rather reflected natural spatiotemporal variability. This emphasizes the need to sample experimental controls both before and after experimental manipulation and suggests caution in the interpretation of results from studies in which the effects of habitat transformations are assessed based solely on data collected using space-for-time substitution approaches.
Recent studies predict a future decrease in precipitation across the tropics, particularly the Amazon, likely causing significant droughts that have negative consequences for Amazonian freshwater biomes, especially lakes. Furthermore,... more
Recent studies predict a future decrease in precipitation across the tropics, particularly the Amazon, likely causing significant droughts that have negative consequences for Amazonian freshwater biomes, especially lakes. Furthermore, immediate consequences of global warming for terrestrial fauna associated with tropical lakes are poorly understood as the vast majority of studies come from temperate regions. Here, we assess the seasonal importance of lakes for the conservation of aerial insectivorous bats in the Central Amazon using passive bat recorders. We compared richness, general bat activity and foraging activity between lakes and adjacent forest. Of a total of 21 species/sonotypes recorded in both habitats, all were detected over lakes, and 18 were significantly more active over lakes than in forest. Only two species had significantly higher activity levels in the forest than at the lakes. Species richness and general bat activity over the lakes were higher in the dry than in the rainy season. Foraging activity was also greater over the lakes than within the forest in both seasons. Moreover , both variables were positively correlated with lake size, although the effect on activity was species-specific. Climate change-driven shrinking of lakes may have detrimental consequences for aerial insectivorous bats, especially for the most water-dependent species. Compared to permanent water bodies of other regions, the value of tropical lakes for functionally important taxa, such as bats, has been understudied. Higher bat activity levels over lakes than in forest in both seasons and comprising the whole ensemble of aerial insectivorous bats of the study region, indicate that lakes embedded in Amazonian terra firme forests deserve special attention for future bat conservation.
Seasonality causes fluctuations in resource availability, affecting the presence and abundance of animal species. The impacts of these oscillations on wildlife populations can be exacerbated by habitat fragmentation. We assessed... more
Seasonality causes fluctuations in resource availability, affecting the presence and abundance of animal species. The impacts of these oscillations on wildlife populations can be exacerbated by habitat fragmentation. We assessed differences in bat species abundance between the wet and dry season in a fragmented landscape in the Central Amazon characterized by primary forest fragments embedded in a secondary forest matrix. We also evaluated whether the relative importance of local vegetation structure versus landscape characteristics (composition and configuration) in shaping bat abundance patterns varied between seasons. Our working hypotheses were that abundance responses are species as well as season specific, and that in the wet season , local vegetation structure is a stronger determinant of bat abundance than landscape-scale attributes. Generalized linear mixed-effects models in combination with hierarchical partitioning revealed that relationships between species abundances and local vegetation structure and landscape characteristics were both season specific and scale dependent. Overall, landscape characteristics were more important than local vegetation characteristics, suggesting that landscape structure is likely to play an even more important role in landscapes with higher fragment-matrix contrast. Responses varied between frugivores and animalivores. In the dry season, frugivores responded more to compositional metrics, whereas during the wet season, local and configurational metrics were more important. Animalivores showed similar patterns in both seasons, responding to the same group of metrics in both seasons. Differences in responses likely reflect seasonal differences in the phenology of flowering and fruiting between primary and secondary forests, which affected the foraging behavior and habitat use of bats. Management actions should encompass multiscale approaches to account for the idiosyncratic responses of species to seasonal variation in resource abundance and consequently to local and landscape scale attributes.
Context Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation are widespread drivers of biodiversity decline. Understanding how habitat quality interacts with landscape context, and how they jointly affect species in human-modified landscapes, is... more
Context Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation are widespread drivers of biodiversity decline. Understanding how habitat quality interacts with landscape context, and how they jointly affect species in human-modified landscapes, is of great importance for informing conservation and management. Objectives We used a whole-ecosystem manipulation experiment in the Brazilian Amazon to investigate the relative roles of local and landscape attributes in affecting bat assemblages at an interior-edge-matrix disturbance gradient. Methods We surveyed bats in 39 sites, comprising continuous forest (CF), fragments, forest edges and intervening secondary regrowth. For each site, we assessed vegetation structure (local-scale variable) and, for five focal scales, quantified habitat amount and four landscape configuration metrics. Results Smaller fragments, edges and regrowth sites had fewer species and higher levels of dominance than CF. Regardless of the landscape scale analysed, species richness and evenness were mostly related to the amount of forest cover. Vegetation structure and configurational metrics were important predictors of abundance, whereby the magnitude and direction of response to configurational metrics were scale
Bat casualties caused by opportunistic predation of entangled animals during surveys employing mist-nets are scarcely reported in the scientific literature. Consequently, predator induced mortality associated with this sampling method is... more
Bat casualties caused by opportunistic predation of entangled animals during surveys employing mist-nets are scarcely reported in the scientific literature. Consequently, predator induced mortality associated with this sampling method is probably underestimated. Here, we report a predation attempt of a silky short-tailed bat (Carollia brevicauda) by a
tawny-bellied screech-owl (Megascops watsonii) while the bat was entangled in the mistnet. The event took place in the Central Brazilian Amazon and represents the first report of bat predation attempt by this owl species. Additionally, we searched the literature for published records of bat predation during mist-net surveys since 1990. Twelve publications, covering at least 15 bat species and 11 predators, have reported opportunistic predation on entangled animals. We consider that predation of entangled animals is likely underreported and we recommend than in order to reduce opportunistic predation of entangled animals, researchers should: a) periodically visit the mist-nets every 15 to 20 minutes, and b) avoid that mist-nets reach ground-level once an animal becomes trapped.
tawny-bellied screech-owl (Megascops watsonii) while the bat was entangled in the mistnet. The event took place in the Central Brazilian Amazon and represents the first report of bat predation attempt by this owl species. Additionally, we searched the literature for published records of bat predation during mist-net surveys since 1990. Twelve publications, covering at least 15 bat species and 11 predators, have reported opportunistic predation on entangled animals. We consider that predation of entangled animals is likely underreported and we recommend than in order to reduce opportunistic predation of entangled animals, researchers should: a) periodically visit the mist-nets every 15 to 20 minutes, and b) avoid that mist-nets reach ground-level once an animal becomes trapped.
Despite conservation discourses in Madagascar increasingly emphasizing the role of customary institutions for wildlife management, we know relatively little about their effectiveness. Here, we used semi-structured interviews with ... more
Despite conservation discourses in Madagascar increasingly emphasizing the role of customary institutions for wildlife management, we know relatively little about their effectiveness. Here, we used semi-structured interviews with adults in eight villages to investigate whether sacred caves and taboos offer conservation benefits for cave-dwelling bats in and around Tsimanampetsotsa National Park, southwest Madagascar. Although some caves were described as sites of spiritual significance for the local communities, most inter-viewees (c. %) did not recognize their present-day sacred status. Similarly, only % of the interviewees recognized taboos inhibiting bat hunting and consumption. Legal protection of bats and caves through protected areas was often more widely acknowledged than customary regulations, although up to % of the interviewees reported consumption of bats within their communities. Guano extraction was often tolerated in sacred caves in exchange for economic compensation. This may benefit bat conservation by creating incentives for bat protection, although extraction is often performed through destructive and exploitative practices with little benefit for local communities. In view of these results our study questions the extent to which sacred sites, taboos and protected areas offer protection for bats in Madagascar. These results support previous studies documenting the erosion of customary institutions in Madagascar, including the loss of the spiritual values underpinning sacred sites. Given that many Malagasy bats are cave-dwelling species and that most depend on the customary protection of these sites, it is important to obtain a better understanding of the complex interactions between spiritual practices, taboos and protected areas in sustaining bat diversity.
Seasonality causes fluctuations in resource availability, affecting the presence and abundance of animal species. The impacts of these oscillations on wildlife populations can be exacerbated by habitat fragmentation. We assessed... more
Seasonality causes fluctuations in resource availability, affecting the presence and abundance of animal species. The impacts of these oscillations on wildlife populations can be exacerbated by habitat fragmentation. We assessed differences in bat species abundance between the wet and dry season in a fragmented landscape in the Central Amazon characterized by primary forest fragments embedded in a secondary forest matrix. We also evaluated whether the relative importance of local vegetation structure versus landscape characteristics (composition and configuration) in shaping bat abundance patterns varied between seasons. Our working hypotheses were that abundance responses are species as well as season specific, and that in the wet season, local vegetation structure is a stronger determinant of bat abundance than landscape-scale attributes. Generalized linear mixed-effects models in combination with hierarchical partitioning revealed that relationships between species abundances and...
O conhecimento da composição da quiropterofauna de qualquer área é de grande importância ao estudo da Biodiversidade, pois os morcegos desempenham um papel fundamental no equilíbrio dos ecossistemas... more
O conhecimento da composição da quiropterofauna de qualquer área é de grande importância ao estudo da Biodiversidade, pois os morcegos desempenham um papel fundamental no equilíbrio dos ecossistemas naturais, desde o controle de insetos e a regeneração das florestas, através da polinização das plantas e dispersão de sementes. Um estudo da comunidade de morcegos em um fragmento de Floresta estacional semidecidual no extremo noroeste do estado de São Paulo foi realizado, com o objetivo de inventariar a fauna desse fragmento. Conhecer as espécies ocorrentes na área de estudo fornece subsídios paraa sua conservação e manejo. O estudo foi desenvolvido na Fazenda Bela Vista, localizada no município de Santa Fé do Sul no estado de São Paulo. Os morcegos foram coletados através de redes de neblina (mist-nets) e abrigos. Um total de10 espécies foi identificado na Fazenda Bela Vista.Das espécies de morcegos registradas 6 pertencem à família Phyllostomidae, seguida por Molossidae (2) e (1) Vespertilionidae. As espécies coletadas foram: Família Phyllostomidae: Carollia perspicillata; Sturnira lilium, Platyrrhinus lineatus; Glossophagasoricina, Artibeus lituratus, A. planirostris e Chiroderma doriae. Família Molossidae: Molossus molossus; Molossops temminckii. Família Vespertilionidae: Myotis nigricans.
In recent years, interest and concern regarding biodiversity conservation have grown remarkably not only among conservationists but also amongst a wider public beyond scientific institutions. The monitoring of fauna and flora over long... more
In recent years, interest and concern regarding biodiversity conservation have grown remarkably not only among conservationists but also amongst a wider public beyond scientific institutions. The monitoring
of fauna and flora over long periods of time has been satisfactorily proven to be a viable tool for quantifying how environmental changes affect natural communities. Some bat species are regarded as
good bioindicators, mainly due to their longevity and high sensitivity to environmental changes. Myotis daubentonii is one of the species most closely associated with riparian habitats in the north-east Iberian
Peninsula, and is used as an ecological indicator in specific monitoring programs such as the Waterway Survey (United Kingdom) and the QuiroRius (Spain). Nonetheless, there is still great controversy as to
whether M. daubentonii is a good biological indicator or not. While some authors accept it as a bioindicator, others point to the studies carried out in the U.K., Poland, Switzerland and Germany that show a remarkable increase in the numbers of this bat when pollution increases in canalized rivers, which suggest that it is in fact a generalist species.
Due to the lack of information regarding habitat-quality requirements in Daubenton’s bats in the Mediterranean region and the species’ potential as a bioindicator in riparian habitats, we aimed to 1) examine how QuiroRius data match other well-established biological indicators (IBMWP for invertebrates and QBR for riparian forests); 2) analyse how environmental variables at both local and landscape scales affect the presence of M. daubentonii; and 3) describe how environmental traits influence the relative abundance of M. daubentonii.
A total of 104 streams below 1000 m a.s.l. were simultaneously sampled using bat, macroinvertebrate and vegetation bioindicators. Despite having similar conservation aims, these three bioindicators did not provide consistentimages of overall ecosystem quality and thus a multidisciplinary approach is necessary for a full analysis of the health of these riparian ecosystems. M. daubentonii were found more frequently in wide rivers with well-structured native riparian forests; on the other hand, landscape composition at broader scales and altitude had no influence on bat presence/abundance.
Thus, we suggest that QuiroRius could be used as a complementary bioindicator for analysing riparian forest quality but cannot be used alone as a tool for evaluating correctly overall riparian ecosystem health. Both relative abundance and/or presence/absence could be used as bioindicator surrogates given that the effect of microhabitat environmental predictors had similar impact on both these measures.
of fauna and flora over long periods of time has been satisfactorily proven to be a viable tool for quantifying how environmental changes affect natural communities. Some bat species are regarded as
good bioindicators, mainly due to their longevity and high sensitivity to environmental changes. Myotis daubentonii is one of the species most closely associated with riparian habitats in the north-east Iberian
Peninsula, and is used as an ecological indicator in specific monitoring programs such as the Waterway Survey (United Kingdom) and the QuiroRius (Spain). Nonetheless, there is still great controversy as to
whether M. daubentonii is a good biological indicator or not. While some authors accept it as a bioindicator, others point to the studies carried out in the U.K., Poland, Switzerland and Germany that show a remarkable increase in the numbers of this bat when pollution increases in canalized rivers, which suggest that it is in fact a generalist species.
Due to the lack of information regarding habitat-quality requirements in Daubenton’s bats in the Mediterranean region and the species’ potential as a bioindicator in riparian habitats, we aimed to 1) examine how QuiroRius data match other well-established biological indicators (IBMWP for invertebrates and QBR for riparian forests); 2) analyse how environmental variables at both local and landscape scales affect the presence of M. daubentonii; and 3) describe how environmental traits influence the relative abundance of M. daubentonii.
A total of 104 streams below 1000 m a.s.l. were simultaneously sampled using bat, macroinvertebrate and vegetation bioindicators. Despite having similar conservation aims, these three bioindicators did not provide consistentimages of overall ecosystem quality and thus a multidisciplinary approach is necessary for a full analysis of the health of these riparian ecosystems. M. daubentonii were found more frequently in wide rivers with well-structured native riparian forests; on the other hand, landscape composition at broader scales and altitude had no influence on bat presence/abundance.
Thus, we suggest that QuiroRius could be used as a complementary bioindicator for analysing riparian forest quality but cannot be used alone as a tool for evaluating correctly overall riparian ecosystem health. Both relative abundance and/or presence/absence could be used as bioindicator surrogates given that the effect of microhabitat environmental predictors had similar impact on both these measures.
ABSTRACT 1. Chromatic disorders in bats are being reported worldwide at an increasing rate. However, there is widespread misunderstanding and misuse of the associated terminology and concepts in the scientific literature. We conducted an... more
ABSTRACT
1. Chromatic disorders in bats are being reported worldwide at an increasing rate. However, there is widespread misunderstanding and misuse of the associated terminology and concepts in the scientific literature. We conducted an extensive assessment and standardisation of published and unpublished cases of chromatic disorders in bats worldwide.
2. Chromatic disorders have been recorded in at least 609 bats belonging to 115 species and 10 families (after correction of misused terms, 152 cases of albinism, 11 of leucism, 269 of piebaldism, 20 of hypomelanism, three of partial melanism and 94 of melanism; a further 60 records remain unclassified).
3. Of the 354 records in which a location was given, 297 bats were found in closed roost sites, mainly caves, buildings, and mines and galleries, while just three were found roosting externally. This difference could be attributed to the greater monitoring effort employed in underground areas than in forests, and to the greater detectability of bats dwelling in caves and buildings than forest-dwelling species.
4. Although reports of chromatic disorders in bats are reasonably well spread around the globe, there are large areas from which no disorders have ever been reported: the Central Amazon, almost all of Africa, northern Europe, and almost all of Asia and Oceania. This is likely to be attributable to either the disregard for information on chromatic disorders (e.g. Central Amazon) or to the low abundance of occurring species (e.g. northern Europe).
5. In all, 40% of the records of leucism and piebaldism were misclassified as ‘partial albinism’; leucism was also often used to designate pied aberrations.
6. We propose a standardised classification to distinguish between albinism, leucism, piebaldism, hypomelanism, melanism and partial melanism. Due to frequent confusion, we encourage scientists to follow this classification and we highlight the need to employ comprehensive terminology when describing chromatic disorders in scientific publications.
1. Chromatic disorders in bats are being reported worldwide at an increasing rate. However, there is widespread misunderstanding and misuse of the associated terminology and concepts in the scientific literature. We conducted an extensive assessment and standardisation of published and unpublished cases of chromatic disorders in bats worldwide.
2. Chromatic disorders have been recorded in at least 609 bats belonging to 115 species and 10 families (after correction of misused terms, 152 cases of albinism, 11 of leucism, 269 of piebaldism, 20 of hypomelanism, three of partial melanism and 94 of melanism; a further 60 records remain unclassified).
3. Of the 354 records in which a location was given, 297 bats were found in closed roost sites, mainly caves, buildings, and mines and galleries, while just three were found roosting externally. This difference could be attributed to the greater monitoring effort employed in underground areas than in forests, and to the greater detectability of bats dwelling in caves and buildings than forest-dwelling species.
4. Although reports of chromatic disorders in bats are reasonably well spread around the globe, there are large areas from which no disorders have ever been reported: the Central Amazon, almost all of Africa, northern Europe, and almost all of Asia and Oceania. This is likely to be attributable to either the disregard for information on chromatic disorders (e.g. Central Amazon) or to the low abundance of occurring species (e.g. northern Europe).
5. In all, 40% of the records of leucism and piebaldism were misclassified as ‘partial albinism’; leucism was also often used to designate pied aberrations.
6. We propose a standardised classification to distinguish between albinism, leucism, piebaldism, hypomelanism, melanism and partial melanism. Due to frequent confusion, we encourage scientists to follow this classification and we highlight the need to employ comprehensive terminology when describing chromatic disorders in scientific publications.
Context Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation are widespread drivers of biodiversity decline. Understanding how habitat quality interacts with landscape context, and how they jointly affect species in human-modified landscapes, is... more
Context Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation are widespread drivers of biodiversity decline. Understanding how habitat quality interacts with landscape context, and how they jointly affect species in human-modified landscapes, is of great importance for informing conservation and management. Objectives We used a whole-ecosystem manipulation experiment in the Brazilian Amazon to investigate the relative roles of local and landscape attributes in affecting bat assemblages at an interior-edge-matrix disturbance gradient. Methods We surveyed bats in 39 sites, comprising continuous forest (CF), fragments, forest edges and intervening secondary regrowth. For each site, we assessed vegetation structure (local-scale variable) and, for five focal scales, quantified habitat amount and four landscape configuration metrics. Results Smaller fragments, edges and regrowth sites had fewer species and higher levels of dominance than CF. Regardless of the landscape scale analysed, species rich...
Tropical mountain ranges are known to support high biodiversity. In addition to their role as refuge habitat, complex topography within these ecosystems promotes the development of diverse species traits and evolutionary divergence.... more
Tropical mountain ranges are known to support high biodiversity. In addition to their role as refuge habitat, complex topography within these ecosystems promotes the development of diverse species traits and evolutionary divergence. However, species within these environments also face severe anthropological threats, most notably from habitat loss and degradation, invasive species, and climate change. A primary example is the Taita Hills in Kenya, which forms the northernmost portion of the biodiversity rich Eastern Arc Mountains. Despite the high biodiversity potential for the area, little is known regarding chiropteran diversity. In order to address this lack of knowledge, we conducted a rapid biological survey of bats during January-February 2016. Our trapping effort was focused on different habitat types (e.g. highland cloud rainforest fragments, lowland riverbeds and human structures) and diverse trapping methods were used (e.g. mist-netting and hand-netting). A total of 169 bat...
Tropical forest loss and fragmentation are due to increase in coming decades. Understanding how matrix dynamics, especially secondary forest regrowth, can lessen fragmentation impacts is key to understanding species persistence in... more
Tropical forest loss and fragmentation are due to increase in coming decades. Understanding how matrix dynamics, especially secondary forest regrowth, can lessen fragmentation impacts is key to understanding species persistence in modified landscapes. Here, we use a whole-ecosystem fragmentation experiment to investigate how bat assemblages are influenced by the regeneration of the secondary forest matrix. We surveyed bats in continuous forest, forest fragments and secondary forest matrix habitats, ~15 and ~30 years after forest clearance, to investigate temporal changes in the occupancy and abundance of old-growth specialist and habitat generalist species. The regeneration of the second growth matrix had overall positive effects on the occupancy and abundance of specialists across all sampled habitats. Conversely, effects on generalist species were negligible for forest fragments and negative for secondary forest. Our results show that the conservation potential of secondary forest...
Eumops maurus and Eumops hansae are rarely captured Neotropical molossid bats for which information on taxonomy, natural history, and spatial distribution are scarce. This translates into a poor understanding of their ecology and limits... more
Eumops maurus and Eumops hansae are rarely captured Neotropical molossid bats for which information on taxonomy, natural history, and spatial distribution are scarce. This translates into a poor understanding of their ecology and limits the delimitation of useful characters for their identification. Here, we describe records of these two molossids from the Central Brazilian Amazon, providing data on their external and craniodental morphology, DNA barcode (COI) sequences complemented by acoustic data for the species. Morphological characters, DNA sequence data and phylogenetic relationships within the genus Eumops were consistent with those previously described for both species. Echolocation call characteristics did not differ significantly so as to be useful for separating E. maurus and E. hansae from other congeners. Our records are, respectively the first and the second for Central Amazonia as one individual previously attributed to Eumops amazonicus from Manaus may be considered a junior synonym for E. hansae. These new records increase the extent of the species’ known ranges, partially filling in previous existing gaps in their distribution in central South America. Our data further suggest that these molossid bats forage in a wider range of habitats than previously thought.
Despite conservation discourses in Madagascar increasingly emphasizing the role of customary institutions for wildlife management, we know relatively little about their effectiveness. Here, we used semi-structured interviews with 54... more
Despite conservation discourses in Madagascar increasingly emphasizing the role of customary institutions for wildlife management, we know relatively little about their effectiveness. Here, we used semi-structured interviews with 54 adults in eight villages to investigate whether sacred caves and taboos offer conservation benefits for cave-dwelling bats in and around Tsimanampetsotsa National Park, south-west Madagascar. Although some caves were described as sites of spiritual significance for the local communities, most interviewees (c. 76%) did not recognize their present-day sacred status. Similarly, only 22% of the interviewees recognized taboos inhibiting bat hunting and consumption. Legal protection of bats and caves through protected areas was often more widely acknowledged than customary regulations, although up to 30% of the interviewees reported consumption of bats within their communities. Guano extraction was often tolerated in sacred caves in exchange for economic compe...
Recent studies predict a future decrease in precipitation across the tropics, particularly the Amazon, likely causing significant droughts that have negative consequences for Amazonian freshwater biomes, especially lakes. Furthermore,... more
Recent studies predict a future decrease in precipitation across the tropics, particularly the Amazon, likely causing significant droughts that have negative consequences for Amazonian freshwater biomes, especially lakes. Furthermore, immediate consequences of global warming for terrestrial fauna associated with tropical lakes are poorly understood as the vast majority of studies come from temperate regions. Here, we assess the seasonal importance of lakes for the conservation of aerial insectivorous bats in the Central Amazon using passive bat recorders. We compared richness, general bat activity and foraging activity between lakes and adjacent forest. Of a total of 21 species/sonotypes recorded in both habitats, all were detected over lakes, and 18 were significantly more active over lakes than in forest. Only two species had significantly higher activity levels in the forest than at the lakes. Species richness and general bat activity over the lakes were higher in the dry than in...
Despite conservation discourses in Madagascar increasingly emphasizing the role of customary institutions for wildlife management, we know relatively little about their effectiveness. Here, we used semi-structured interviews with ... more
Despite conservation discourses in Madagascar increasingly emphasizing the role of customary institutions for wildlife management, we know relatively little about their effectiveness. Here, we used semi-structured interviews with adults in eight villages to investigate whether sacred caves and taboos offer conservation benefits for cave-dwelling bats in and around Tsimanampetsotsa National Park, southwest Madagascar. Although some caves were described as sites of spiritual significance for the local communities, most inter-viewees (c. %) did not recognize their present-day sacred status. Similarly, only % of the interviewees recognized taboos inhibiting bat hunting and consumption. Legal protection of bats and caves through protected areas was often more widely acknowledged than customary regulations, although up to % of the interviewees reported consumption of bats within their communities. Guano extraction was often tolerated in sacred caves in exchange for economic compe...
Lonchophylla Thomas, 1903 is a Neotropical bat genus that comprises 12 species, with little cytogenetic information available. Here we present the description of the karyotype of three species collected in Southeastern Brazil.... more
Lonchophylla Thomas, 1903 is a Neotropical bat genus that comprises 12 species, with little cytogenetic information available. Here we present the description of the karyotype of three species collected in Southeastern Brazil. Lonchophylla bokermanni Sazima, Vizotto & Taddei, 1978, Lonchophylla dekeyseri Taddei, Vizotto & Sazima, 1983, and Lonchophylla peracchii Dias, Moratelli & Esberard, 2013 showed the same diploid number 2n = 28 and the same autosomal fundamental number FNa = 50, in both L. bokermanni and L. peracchii. We observed that the karyotypes were also cytogenetically similar when we compared the studied species with other species within the same genus. It is therefore not possible to differentiate the species using only karyotypes with conventional staining. However, this information increases the knowledge of the genus and can be one more important character for a better phylogenetic comprehension of this taxon.
- by Brunna Almeida and +2
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- Bats (Mammalogy), Chiroptera, Small Mammals, Citogenetics
Livro de educação ambiental com o objetivo de informar o público em geral, sobre as funções dos morcegos na floresta, desmistificando essa figura tão emblemática, de uma forma descontraída, para atrair atenção principalmente das crianças.... more
Livro de educação ambiental com o objetivo de informar o público em geral, sobre as funções dos morcegos na floresta, desmistificando essa figura tão emblemática, de uma forma descontraída, para atrair atenção principalmente das crianças. Com o passar das páginas, o leitor vai entrando no mundo destes animais, conhecendo de perto, a rotina dos morcegos, o que eles comem, onde dormem, quais os tipos de morcegos existem e principalmente, porque devemos preservá-los.
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