Fruit-eating bats play a fundamental role in animal seed dispersal and should be considered key actors in tropical forest restoration. We explored the use of commercial fruits as attractants for bats to increase seed dispersal to areas affected by forest fires in southern Mexico. We captured bats and collected seeds from feces and seed rain at perturbed sample sites where mature bananas and mangos were placed, and from non-treated control sites. Bat and bat-dispersed plant species richness and abundance were analyzed, and the importance of each bat species as a disperser was evaluated. Additionally, germination boxes were set up to evaluate the germination of seeds found in bat feces. We captured 724 individuals of 16 frugivorous bat species, 15 spp in treated and 12 spp in control sites. Sowell's Short-tailed bat, Toltec Fruit-eating bat and the Western Long-tongued bat showed higher abundances in treated sites, suggesting that these three species were attracted by fruits. The most important disperser was the Sowell's Short-tailed bat, followed by the Jamaican Fruit-eating and Toltec Fruit-eating bat. A greater proportion of pioneer species and trees, followed by shrubs, were found in the overall bat diet. The germination percentage was > 50%, suggesting that the use of fruits to attract bats can be a feasible wildlife management activity to encourage the succession process. We recommend further studies to test and improve this activity.Key words: Chiapas, Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae, seed dispersal and germination, tropical forest restoration, wildlife management. ResumenLos murciélagos frugívoros juegan un papel fundamental en la dispersión zoocórica, por lo que deben ser considerados actores clave en la restauración de selvas tropicales. Exploramos el uso de frutas comerciales como atrayentes de murciélagos para incrementar la dispersión de semillas hacia áreas afectadas por incendios forestales en el sur de México. Capturamos murciélagos, colectamos semillas de sus heces y la lluvia de semillas en sitios perturbados con tratamiento donde colocamos plátanos y mangos maduros, así como en sitios de control sin tratamiento. Se analizó la riqueza y abundancia de las especies de murciélagos y las de las plantas dispersadas, y la importancia de cada especie de murciélago como dispersor. Además, se establecieron charolas de germinación para evaluar la germinación de semillas encontradas en las heces de murciélagos. Capturamos 724 individuos de 16 especies de murciélagos frugívoros, 15 spp en los sitios de tratamiento y 12 spp en sitios de control. El murciélago frugívoro de cola corta sedosa (Carollia sowelli), el murciélago frutero tolteca (Artibeus toltecus) y el murciélago lengüetón de Xiutepec (Glossophaga morenoi) mostraron mayores abundancias en los sitios con tratamiento, lo cual sugiere que estas tres especies fueron atraídas por las frutas. El dispersor más importante fue C. sowelli, seguido por A. jamaicensis (murciélago frugívoro de Jamaica) y A. toltecus. En la dieta de los murciélagos capturados...
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