Trophic relationships within the genusCarollia(Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) in a premontane forest of central Peru

Abstract

Assemblages of Neotropical frugivorous bats are structured as a function of the fruit diets of species; however, ecological relationships among closely related species largely remain unknown. This study evaluated the trophic relations among three species of Carollia in a premontane forest of central Peru. To accomplish this, we first determined the diet composition of frugivorous bats to build a bat–fruit interaction network. We then assessed the trophic structure of the bat assemblage using a modularity analysis in the network. Carollia brevicauda and Carollia perspicillata were grouped apart from Carollia benkeithi. This partition occurred because the diet of C. benkeithi was more specialized, characterized by two Piper species, a Cyclanthaceae species, and Banara guianensis. Moreover, C. benkeithi, in contrast to its congeners, did not consume fruits of Ficus or Cecropia (canopy resources). This result and available information on the ecology of Carollia species suggest that small species of Carollia are more likely to carry out most of their feeding activities in the understory than are large species of the genus.

Seasonal dietary niche changes in Neotropical bats

“…Our results are consistent with those found in the literature, with the genera Artibeus, Carollia, Glossophaga, and Sturnira being more frequent in highly fragmented and anthropic regions and interacting with plants of the Piperaceae, Moraceae, Myrtaceae, Solanaceae, and Urticaceae (Fleming 1993, Lobova et al 2009, Marinho-Filho 1991, Mello et al 2004, Mikich 2002, Parolin et al 2016, Pellón et al 2021, Stevens 2022b. The fruits of these plants have characteristics that influence selection and consumption, such as accessibility, fruit position outside the foliage, and long stems, which protect the fruit from attacks by flightless animals (Fleming 1993, Muller & Reis 1992.…”

“…2016, Pellón et al . 2021, Stevens 2022b). The fruits of these plants have characteristics that influence selection and consumption, such as accessibility, fruit position outside the foliage, and long stems, which protect the fruit from attacks by flightless animals (Fleming 1993, Muller & Reis 1992).…”

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

“…According to Durant et al (2013), reproductive phenologies of populations are strongly molded by environmental variation because the phenomenon of natural selection tends to favor individuals that time energetically demanding portions of their life cycle to correspond with periods of high resource availability. Phyllostomidae family is endemic to Neotropical Region and recognized as the most abundant and diverse family of bats in Brazil (Gardner, 2008;Pellón et al, 2021). Generally, the individuals of this family present a reproductive pattern of seasonal polyestry, with two reproduction peaks here presented contribute to understand reproductive biology and abundance changes over one year for A. lituratus and S. lilium in a Semideciduous Seasonal Forest fragment, reducing knowledge gap about reproduction patterns of these species.…”

Evaluación rápida de la regeneración natural de Cedrelinga cateniformis en un bosque premontano de Satipo, Perú

“…Adicionalmente, se sugiere que, para comprender adecuadamente la regeneración vegetal en el bosque en estudio, es necesario estudiar el proceso de dispersión de semillas. Hasta el momento, solo se tiene información sobre los murciélagos como dispersores de semillas en dicho bosque (Pellon et al, 2021).…”