Abundancia estacional de los murciélagos herbívoros y disponibilidad de los recursos quiropterófilos en dos tipos de vegetación de la Reserva de la Biosfera Barranca de Metztitlán, Hidalgo, México

Abstract

We give information on the seasonal abundance of herbivores bats and their plant food resources in Reserva de la Biosfera Barranca de Metztitlan, Hidalgo, Mexico. Two types of vegetation were studied: crasicaule shrub of Isolatocereus dumortieri and tropical deciduous forest. We identified eight species of herbivorous bats that inhabit the Barranca de Metztitlan. Three species of nectar-feeding bats ( Leptonycteris yerbabuenae, Choeronycteris mexicana, Glossophaga soricina ) and one frugivore ( Sturnira ludovici ) were common in the crasicaule scrub and tropical deciduous forest. Four frugivores ( Artibeus jamaicencis, A. lituratus, A. aztecus and Sturnira lilium ) were associated only with tropical deciduous forest. At landscape level, we have identified 28 species of chiropterophilous plants that provide food (flowers and fruits) for bats throughout the year. Annually the greatest abundance of bats coincided with the highest chiropterophilous resources abundance. And at local level, we found a positive and significant relationship between the abundance of the pollinator’s bats and the productivity of flowers from the giant cacti Isolatocereus dumortieri .