Bat richness (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in an area of montane Atlantic Forest in the Serra da Mantiqueira, state of Minas Gerais, southeast Brazil

Carlos Eduardo Lustosa Esbérard,William Douglas Carvalho,Lorena De Oliveira Tabosa,Carlos Eduardo Lopes Santos,Daniela Dias,Bruna Da Silva Xavier

doi:10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2017-0496

Carlos Eduardo Lustosa Esbérard, William Douglas Carvalho + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2017-0496

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Abstract

Abstract: In recent years there has been an increase in research interest in remnants of Atlantic Forest above 500 m a.s.l., such as in the Serra da Mantiqueira, which is considered a priority area for conservation. The chiropterofauna of the Serra da Mantiqueira remains relatively under-studied, and here we present a list of bat species from the "Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural (RPPN) Cachoeira do Tombo", a private conservation unit located in an area of montane Atlantic Forest in the Serra da Mantiqueira. Bats were captured with mist nets along trails and near a diurnal roost. A total of 498 individuals of 19 bat species belonging to the families Phyllostomidae, Vespertilionidae and Molossidae were captured. Phyllostomidae were captured only along the trails, Molossidae were captured only in the diurnal roost and Vespertilionidae were captured in both. The species accumulation curves did not show stabilizing trends. However, 80% of the expected richness was sampled and the species richness of bats found is similar to other studies previously carried out in the region. In contrast to other inventories carried out in the Atlantic Forest, Desmodus rotundus was the species most frequently captured along the trails. A large number of individuals of Molossus aztecus sheltering in man-made structures were caught, constituting an unusual event. Additionally, here we report cohabitation of this species with Molossus molossus for the first time. Our results show that this area, which appears on the map of environmental conflicts for the state of Minas Gerais, has a rich chiropterofauna and also further corroborate the importance of using mist-nets at roosts to increase the probability of capturing the richness and abundance of insectivorous bats present in the area.

Highlights

The southeast region of Brazil is considered to be the most wellstudied of the country in terms of Chiroptera (Bergallo et al 2003, Brito et al 2009), owing in large part to a higher concentration of research institutes compared with other regions (Brito et al 2009)
Most of studies on Chiroptera in the region have been conducted at elevations below 500 m a.s.l., in recent years there has been an increase in research interest in remnants of Atlantic Forest between 500 and 1,500 m a.s.l. (e.g., Dias et al 2008, Modesto et al 2008, Delciellos et al 2012, Luz et al 2013, Moras et al 2013, Martins et al 2015)
A total of 498 individuals of 19 bat species belonging to three families (Phyllostomidae, Vespertilionidae and Molossidae) were captured (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

The southeast region of Brazil is considered to be the most wellstudied of the country in terms of Chiroptera (Bergallo et al 2003, Brito et al 2009), owing in large part to a higher concentration of research institutes compared with other regions (Brito et al 2009). The largest remnants of Atlantic Forest are located in the border region between Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (Costa et al 2009, Ribeiro et al 2009). This region is further characterised by areas of transition between Cerrado and Atlantic Forest, such as those found in the foothills of the Serra da Mantiqueira in Minas Gerais (IBGE 2012). While some species lists and local occurrences of bats have recently been published for the region (e.g., Carvalho et al 2013, Luz et al 2013, Nobre et al 2013a, Nobre et al 2013b, Dias et al 2015, Martins et al 2015), the chiropterofauna still remains relatively under-studied

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