Effect of forest areas configuration on the community of insectivorous bats in agroforestry landscapes

Abstract

In Chile, many aspects of the ecology of bats and their distribution are unknown, despite their ecological and economic importance. This situation does not allow a correct implementation of conservation efforts even when they are legally recognized as beneficial animals for agriculture. Here, we studied the bats' activity and community in two agricultural landscape types (homogeneous vs. heterogeneous) in a hotspot of biodiversity in the centre‐south of Chile. We monitored four transects of 10 km per landscape type with 10 listening points separated by 1 km. These transects were repeated 5 times, once per month. We evaluated the bats activity according to the forest cover type (native, mixed and plantations) and the isolated trees density. Our results showed that the heterogeneous landscape was dominated by T. brasiliensis while the homogeneous landscape was by Lasiurus spp. However, only the species T. brasiliensis was affected by the landscape type. In the heterogeneous landscape, only the forest cover variables had significance in the activity of the bat species, where Lasiurus spp. and M. chiloensis had a positive response for native and mixed forest, as well as Lasiurus spp. had a negative response for plantations. The density of isolated trees had a negative effect on the activity of T. brasiliensis and Lasiurus spp. in the homogeneous landscape type. Our results showed the importance of considering the forest elements in agroforestry landscape to conserve bat communities.

Species-Specific Responses of Insectivorous Bats to Weather Conditions in Central Chile

“…In contrast to the relatively high occurrences of T. brasiliensis , echolocation passes of H. montanus , L. villosissimus , L. varius , and M. arescens accounted for 22% of the total recorded. Tadarida brasiliensis is a commonly observed species in Chile, frequently found in both urban and rural environments, and is often documented in association with human habitats [ 32 , 33 , 56 , 57 ]. Our study sites are located on the outskirts of a metropolis (Santiago de Chile), raising the possibility that urbanization contributes to the observed high activity of this species compared to the others.…”

“…The central region of Chile boasts a temperate Mediterranean climate, hosting a bat fauna predominantly composed of insectivorous species [ 30 ]. Despite the documented presence of various bat species in agricultural lands [ 31 , 32 , 33 ] and their recognized role as suppressors of pest insects [ 3 ], there are significant gaps in our understanding of how environmental factors impact bat activity at their foraging sites. Bridging these knowledge gaps is crucial for the strategic planning and design of research and monitoring programs aimed at preserving their populations and the associated ecosystem services, particularly in the face of climate change adaptation [ 34 , 35 , 36 ].…”

Ecology in South America: Present state and future prospects

“…Vilches‐Piñones et al. (2024a, 2024b) emphasize the importance of conserving bat species considered to be beneficial to agriculture and highlight how little is known about how different landscape types can affect the activity patterns of various bat species. The researchers studied how the activity of seven insectivorous species of bats south of Chile is affected by landscape type (homogenous and heterogenous agricultural landscapes), vegetation cover types (native, mixed, plantation), and the density of isolated trees.…”