Trophic guild and forest type explain phyllostomid bat abundance variation from human habitat disturbance

Carballo-Morales, Jorge D.; Saldaña‐Vázquez, Romeo A.; Villalobos, Federico

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01425

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…30 years of secondary forest regeneration, secondary forest is still less attractive as foraging habitat for most aerial insectivorous bat species. These results are consistent with those commonly reported for gleaning animalivorous bats, whose capture rates typically decrease in disturbed habitats (Rocha et al., 2017b; Webala et al., 2019; Willig et al., 2019), probably due to being poorer foraging and roosting areas (Carballo‐Morales, Saldaña‐Vásquez and Villalobos, 2021; Meyer and Kalko, 2008). Yet, they contrast with results from nectarivorous and frugivorous bats, which normally increase in abundance in fragments and in secondary forest due the higher density of food resources (Bobrowiec and Gribel, 2010; Farneda et al., 2015).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Habitat disturbance trumps moonlight effects on the activity of tropical insectivorous bats

Appel

López‐Baucells

Rocha

et al. 2021

Animal Conservation

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Changes in moonlight intensity can affect predation risk and induce changes in habitat use and activity of nocturnal species. However, the effect of moonlight on animal activity is rarely evaluated in human‐modified landscapes and can be of vital importance to understand possible changes in ecosystem services provided by light‐sensitive taxa, such as insectivorous bats. Fragmentation changes forest structure and affects light penetration across the landscape. In this case, the effects of fragmentation on bat activity can be modulated by cyclical variations of moonlight intensity. We acoustically quantified the activity of nine aerial insectivorous bat species in relation to moonlight at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, Central Amazonia. We aimed to understand species‐level variation in activity across habitats (continuous forest, fragments and secondary forest) at different temporal scales: lunar cycle, dark vs. bright nights and within nights. Amazonian aerial insectivorous bats responded more to habitat type than to moonlight, with two and six species showing reduced activity in fragments and secondary forest, respectively, compared to continuous forest. The lower activity in secondary forest suggests that despite c. 30 years of secondary forest regeneration, it is still less attractive as foraging habitat. An interactive effect of habitat type and moonlight on bat activity was most evident when contrasting dark and bright nights. Our results indicate that fragments have reduced bat activity on extremely bright nights, probably due to higher predation risk in small fragments. Species that emit constant‐frequency calls (Pteronotus spp.) were the ones that most modulated their responses to habitat disturbance and moonlight. Otherwise, moonlight had little effect on hourly activity levels, irrespective of habitat type. Moonlight is capable of modulating the responses of some bat species in disturbed habitats, particularly in fragments.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Habitat disturbance trumps moonlight effects on the activity of tropical insectivorous bats

Appel

López‐Baucells

Rocha

et al. 2021

Animal Conservation

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“…riparius also preferentially foraged in the understory, while other aerial insectivores, including other Myotis species, were more active in the higher strata and above the canopy (Marqués et al, 2016), suggesting a behavioral specialization for forest foraging. Together, our results on community composition and species habitat association support the idea that the responses of particular species to habitat disturbance is context specific (reviewed in Carballo-Morales et al, 2021; Farneda et al, 2020) and that members of each trophic group can be present at the onset of restoration.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Unexpected Diversity in Regenerating Sites Stresses the Importance of Baselines: A Case Study With Bats (Order Chiroptera) on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

Haave-Audet

Audet

Monge-Velazquez³

et al. 2021

Tropical Conservation Science

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Introduction: Background and Research Aims: Assessing biodiversity recovery is key to determine whether the objectives of habitat restoration for conservation are met. Many restoration initiatives use cross-sectional comparisons of wildlife communities to infer restoration impact instead of longitudinal assessments from a baseline state. Using an indicator of biodiversity in the neotropics— bats— we demonstrate how assessing community diversity and composition in an area targeted for restoration prior to implementation, and when compared to surrounding intact forest, provides the groundwork to track changes in the community post-restoration. Methods We assessed bat communities by 1) using mist-net surveys to identify species in the family Phyllostomidae (leaf-nosed bats), and 2) conducting acoustic surveys to identify non-phyllostomid species (aerial insectivores). Results For both groups, we found that areas targeted for restoration had similar diversity as the surrounding forest, but the two habitat types differed in community composition. Phyllostomids were captured at higher rates in forest, but aerial insectivores were detected at higher rates in restoration habitat. Conclusion Our baseline assessment revealed unexpected diversity in areas targeted for restoration. The presence of all trophic groups in restoration habitat suggests that bats provide key ecosystem services in the restoration process, such as through seed dispersal, pollination and insect pest control. Implications for Conservation: Conducting a baseline survey of bats in areas targeted for restoration demonstrated that the community was not species poor at the baseline and was different from the surrounding forest, allowing us to better track restoration success and the effects of different restoration treatments.

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“…Another notable bias concerns the bat species in our dataset. For instance, frugivores, the most heavily represented group (45% of unique species), are one of the most tolerant dietary guilds to habitat disturbance (Carballo‐Morales et al, 2021 ). If ectoparasite dynamics are less severely affected when infesting more tolerant species, this bias could result in conservative estimates of the effects of fragmentation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tropical bat ectoparasitism in continuous versus fragmented forests: A gap analysis and preliminary meta‐analysis

Heckley

Becker

2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Tropical regions are experiencing rapid rates of forest fragmentation, which can have several effects on wildlife, including altered parasite dynamics. Bats are a useful host group to consider the effects of fragmentation, because they are abundant in the tropics, serve important ecological roles, and harbor many parasites. Nevertheless, research on the effects of fragmentation on bat ectoparasites is still limited. To help guide ongoing and future research efforts, this study had two objectives: (1) conduct a gap analysis to characterize the state of currently available research on fragmentation effects on bat ectoparasites and (2) conduct a preliminary meta‐analysis to identify current trends. We systematically highlighted several research gaps: Studies comparing the effects of fragmented versus continuous forests on ectoparasites are limited and have primarily been conducted in the Neotropics, with a focus on bats in the superfamily Noctilionidea (especially frugivorous phyllostomids). Our preliminary meta‐analysis suggested that ectoparasite prevalence (but not the mean or variance in intensity) was higher in fragments than in continuous forests. Moreover, prevalence increased with increasing roost duration, and mean intensity was higher for bats with higher wing aspect ratios. Intensity variance was affected by an interaction between forest type and wing aspect ratio, such that variance increased for bats with high‐wing aspect ratios in continuous forests but decreased in fragments. These results suggest that fragmentation can shape aspects of bat ectoparasitism and could have implications for the ecology, health, and conservation of bats in fragmented landscapes. However, existing research gaps could bias our current understanding of habitat change and bat health, and future research should thus investigate these effects in the Paleotropics and with other bat families.

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Trophic guild and forest type explain phyllostomid bat abundance variation from human habitat disturbance

Cited by 9 publications

References 70 publications

Habitat disturbance trumps moonlight effects on the activity of tropical insectivorous bats

Habitat disturbance trumps moonlight effects on the activity of tropical insectivorous bats

Unexpected Diversity in Regenerating Sites Stresses the Importance of Baselines: A Case Study With Bats (Order Chiroptera) on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

Tropical bat ectoparasitism in continuous versus fragmented forests: A gap analysis and preliminary meta‐analysis

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