Diversity of fruits inArtibeus lituratusdiet in urban and natural habitats in Brazil: a review

Abstract

The great fruit-eating bat (Artibeus lituratus) is a large-sized species that forages primarily on fruits. This species is widespread throughout the Neotropics, where it is common in natural areas and also occupies forest patches and cities. In this study, we review the composition of Artibeus lituratus diet in Brazil as well as the size of fruits and seeds, plant geographic origin, and sampling methods used in natural versus urban habitats. We show that Artibeus lituratus is able to consume a higher proportion of exotic fruits with large seeds in urban environments than in natural areas. Fruit diameter was not statistically different between environments, but both fruit and seed diameters are smaller when detected by fecal sampling than by other methods. This difference is likely due to the fact that in natural habitats studies are predominantly based on fecal samples, which hinders the detection of large unswallowed seeds. Consequently, we recommend the use of complementary sampling methods (not only the widely used technique of fecal sorting) in order to produce more accurate descriptions of frugivorous bats’ diets. We suggest that the ability to exploit fruits of exotic plant species including the ones with large seeds may be a key trait for the persistence of A. lituratus in urban habitats.

Frugivory of bats in a threatened semiarid region in southeastern Brazil

“…Those results were expected because warmer and humid tropical areas usually present a greater diversity of fleshy fruits (Chen et al 2017). We noted that 25% of the samples contained only fruit pulp because several species of frugivorous bats consume fruits that have large seeds, which are not ingested (Melo et al 2009;Laurindo & Vizentin-Bugoni 2020). Hence, it is important to emphasize that this type of sampling probably underestimates the resources consumed by bats, since they can consume and disperse fruits with large seeds that will not pass through their digestive tract.…”

“…Hence, it is important to emphasize that this type of sampling probably underestimates the resources consumed by bats, since they can consume and disperse fruits with large seeds that will not pass through their digestive tract. This shows that complementary sampling techniques to assess the diversity of fruits consumed by bats should be employed (Laurindo & Vizentin-Bugoni 2020).…”

Reproduction of Artibeus lituratus and Sturnira lilium (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in a Semideciduous Seasonal Forest fragment in southern Brazil

“…More specifically, the species Artibeus lituratus (Olfers, 1818) and Sturnira lilium (E. Geoffroy, 1810) belong to the Stenodermatinae subfamily which have a predominant frugivorous diet and are widely distributed across Brazil (Zortéa, 2007). Artibeus lituratus is one of the most common species in urban environments (Pacheco et al, 2010), mainly because of their diverse diet, which can consume exotic fruits (Novaes & Nobre, 2009;Laurindo & Vizentin-Bugoni, 2020). Sturnira lilium is also commonly found in altered environments, such as urban habitats, showing a varied frugivorous diet (Zortéa, 2007;Pacheco et al, 2010).…”

Ants benefit from the Japanese raisin tree invasion and favor its invasiveness in the subtropical Atlantic Rainforest

“…Hovenia dulcis invests a massive amount of energy in the production of infructescences with fleshy sugary peduncle that ripens during South American autumn–winter (Carvalho, 1994), which can be considered a triggering attribute facilitating its invasion within nondisturbed sites (Gurvich et al, 2005). Several native species of birds and mammals are local consumers of its diaspores, and some of them act as dispersers (Hendges et al, 2012; Laurindo & Vizentin‐Bugoni, 2020; Lima et al, 2015; Zhou et al, 2013). Although no studies on the relationship between H .…”