Aim:This study aims to contribute to the identification of ecological determinants of tropical moist forest montane biodiversity, analysing changes in the structure of bat assemblages along an elevational gradient and testing the role of species traits shaping those assemblages.Location: Mountain ranges in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Methods:We compiled a dataset with the composition of phyllostomid bat assemblages at 32 forested sites, ranging from 60 m to 1,960 m a.s.l. We quantified how abundance and diversity changed along this elevational gradient, and assessed the capacity of each species to be present and abundant at each elevation, identifying traits that may influence that capacity.Results: Abundance and species diversity declined markedly with increasing elevation. Tolerance to low temperatures, low habitat specialization and cave roosting facilitated success at higher elevations. Owing to trait filtering, and to changes in resource availability with elevation, assemblages were progressively dominated by a smaller number of mostly generalist species as elevation increased. Higher elevations harbour only a subset of the species that are present in the lowland forest, with no mountain specialized species. Main conclusions:High mountains harbour phyllostomid assemblages that are impoverished subsets of those at lower elevations. Phyllostomids have a tropical origin and may thus have a low potential to adapt to montane forest environments, which possibly explains the observed climatic trait filtering. Habitat filtering is also important, keeping forest specialists mostly at lowest elevations. Protected areas in the Atlantic Forest are mostly limited to mountains. While these areas are clearly important to protect biodiversity, including phyllostomid assemblages, it is now critical to protect and restore the few remnants of lower elevation Atlantic Forest where higher productivity and resource levels, increased complexity of vertical structure, and fewer climatic constraints favour the success of a wider range of phyllostomid bat species of tropical origin. K E Y

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We studied infestation rates and parasite-host associations between streblid flies and phyllostomid bats in an Atlantic Forest area of Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil. We captured 301 individuals from seven Phyllostomidae bat species. Out of that total, 69 bats had been parasitised by nine Streblidae species; the most frequent species were Trichobius joblingi and Trichobius tiptoni. The species Paraeuctenodes longipes, associated with Anoura geoffroyi, was the most frequent species. The highest mean intensity was observed for Paraeuctenodes longipes, associated with A. geoffroyi, and Paratrichobius longicrus associated with Artibeus lituratus, both ectoparasite species with a mean intensity of five individuals per bat. Trichobius joblingi exhibited the highest mean abundance, which was over three on its host species. Streblid richness in the study area was similar to the richness found in other studies carried out in the Atlantic Forest. We observed that streblid richness in this biome depends more on inherent characteristics of each physiognomy and on the host-species than on the sampling effort.

Here we report the first records of the vespertilionid bat Histiotus montanus in southeastern Brazil. A male was found sheltering under a rock and collected by hand in the Serra do Papagaio State Park, Aiuruoca municipality, state of Minas Gerais. The taxonomic aspects of this species are discussed, and measurements of the sample are provided.