Frugivorous bat (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) community structure and trophic relations in Atlantic Forest fragments

Abstract

We evaluated the structure of a community of frugivorous bats using composition and abundance patterns, niche amplitude and food overlap of these animals in four Atlantic Forest fragments, each one exposed to different conservation realities. For twelve months, we captured six bat species and found the seeds of 13 species of pioneering plants in 158 fecal samples. The most abundant bat species were Artibeus planirostris (25.4%), Artibeus lituratus (24.1%) and Carollia perspicillata (23.9%). Only one fragment (Fazenda Unida), the most conserved area, exhibited a significantly different composition and abundance of species. We found low trophic niche amplitude values (<0.60), associated to high food overlaps. Our results suggest that bats can adjust their foraging strategy to deal with food availability variations. By favoring pioneering plant species, the fragmentation process noted of the studied areas creates an attractive environment for bats more tolerant to this type of disturbance. The sampled areas represent important secondary forest remnants in southern Brazil that require attention to avoid an even greater loss of bat diversity.

Seasonal dietary niche changes in Neotropical bats

“…Carollia perspicillata was more abundant during our field work, although this is not in agreement with other finds reported in the literature on bat feeding ecology (Faustino et al . 2021, Passos et al . 2003, Pinto & Ortêncio Filho 2006, Silveira et al .…”

“…2011) and on various strata of vegetation (Faustino et al . 2021, Silveira et al . 2011, Silveira et al .…”

“…Our results indicate that there is a greater increase in niche overlap during the dry season, suggesting that there is potential competition among species, and for them to coexist in equilibrium, or that there must be differentiation in another dimension of the niche, not measured in this study (Lopez & Vaughan 2007, Faustino et al . 2021, Munin et al . 2012).…”

“…planirostris with the highest values of niche breadth, indicating that their diet is not concentrated only on a few resources and that they coexist in great abundance (Faustino et al . 2021). For A .…”

“…2009); 2, the changes caused by the fragmentation of the environment (Faustino et al . 2021, Muñoz-Lazo et al 2018, Stevens 2022b); and 3, temporal changes in the availability of these resources (Fleming 1993, Stevens 2022b). The last two factors are probably the most influential in the diet of bats, given that in anthropogenically modified landscapes like the Brazilian Cerrado, plant species that bear fruit for long periods, or that bear fruit more than once a year, are the most consumed ones (Heithaus et al .…”