Ecological Traits of Phyllostomid Bats Associated with Sensitivity to Tropical Forest Fragmentation in Los Chimalapas, Mexico

Abstract

Certain ecological traits of bats may be associated with sensitivity to the fragmentation of their habitat, but the relative importance of this is unclear and has been poorly studied in tropical environments. We evaluated the relationship between six ecological traits of phyllostomid bats (body mass, trophic level, vertical foraging area, natural abundance in continuous forest, wing aspect ratio, and relative wing loading) and three measures of sensitivity to habitat fragmentation (species prevalence, change in abundance index, and nestedness ranking) in a fragmented forest in Los Chimalapas, Mexico. Ecological traits were obtained from 20 bat species for a period of 2 years, and their relationship with measures of sensitivity to fragmentation was analyzed using Generalized Linear Models. The analysis suggests that naturally non-abundant species (e.g., Salvin's Big-eyed Bat [Chiroderma salvini]) have a greater risk of population decline because of habitat fragmentation. In contrast, abundant species such as Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) will likely be less affected. The identification of these traits in studies of tropical bat conservation is fundamental to determine species-specific decline risk due to habitat fragmentation.Keywords: tropical bats; population decline; habitat fragmentation; Los Chimalapas tropical forest; Mexico. ResumenCiertas características ecológicas de los murciélagos están asociadas a la sensibilidad a la fragmentación de su hábitat, sin embargo su importancia relativa no es clara y no han sido estudiadas en paisajes tropicales. Se evaluó la relación de seis característica ecológicas (masa corporal, nivel trófico, carga relativa y proporción de aspecto del ala, área vertical de forrajeo y abundancia natural) de murciélagos filostómidos con tres medidas de la sensibilidad a la fragmentación de hábitat (permanecía de especies, índice de cambio en abundancia y rango de anidamiento) en un bosque fragmentado en Los Chimalapas, México. Las características ecológicas fueron obtenidas de 20 especies de murciélagos filostómidos en un paisaje fragmentado durante un periodo de 2 años. Se emplearon Modelos Lineales Generalizados para evaluar la las relaciones entre las características ecológicas y las medidas de sensibilidad a la fragmentación. Esta relación indica que especies naturalmente poco abundantes (e.g., murciélago de ojos grandes de Salvin [Chiroderma salvini]) son más probable que declinen debido a la fragmentación de hábitat, y de manera contraria, especies abundantes (e.g., murciélago frutero de Jamaica [Artibeus jamaicensis]) podrían ser afectados en menor medida. La determinación de estas variables en los estudios dirigidos a la conservación de murciélagos tropicales podrían ser claves para determinar el riesgo de decline de una especies debido a la fragmentación de hábitat.Palabras claves: murciélagos tropicales; decline poblacional; fragmentación de hábitat; el bosque tropical de Los Chimalapas; México.

Threshold effect of habitat loss on bat richness in cerrado‐forest landscapes

“…This study corroborates that animalivorous and nectarivorous bats are rarer in disturbed landscapes (see Fenton et al 1992, Wilson et al 1996, Medellín et al 2000, and that these guilds could be good indicators of ecosystem integrity (Rapport 1995). We believe that, together with studies that have been published over the last 20 years (Fenton et al 1992, García-García et al 2014, Farneda et al 2015, we are forming a robust body of evidence about the sensitivity of certain bats to anthropogenic habitat modification in the Neotropics.…”

“…, García‐García et al. , Farneda et al. ), we are forming a robust body of evidence about the sensitivity of certain bats to anthropogenic habitat modification in the Neotropics.…”

“…Such inconsistency among studies (Cunto and Bernard , García‐García et al. ) precludes the generalization of a common pattern of bat responses to habitat loss. Moreover, studies in different regions have demonstrated population decline, species loss, and turnover in impacted areas, although the magnitude of these effects on community structure is highly variable (Brosset et al.…”

Effects of Forest Fragmentation on the Vertical Stratification of Neotropical Bats

“…Yet, these studies have shown that species richness and abundance differ among strata, and that some species can be classified as either understory or canopy specialists. Canopy foragers appear to be less sensitive to fragmentation than understory species, as they tend to be more mobile due to less evenly distributed resources [29,34,37].Here, we combined extensive ground and canopy mist-netting to explore the effects of forest fragmentation on the vertical stratification of bat assemblages within a landscape-wide fragmentation experiment in the Brazilian Amazon. Specifically, we addressed the following questions:…”

“…Yet, these studies have shown that species richness and abundance differ among strata, and that some species can be classified as either understory or canopy specialists. Canopy foragers appear to be less sensitive to fragmentation than understory species, as they tend to be more mobile due to less evenly distributed resources [29,34,37].…”