Abstract
In Honduras, most bat inventories have been carried out with mist nets as the main sampling method, skewing knowledge towards the Phyllostomidae family, therefore the diversity and distribution of insectivorous bats is underrepresented. In order to have a more complete knowledge of the diversity of bats in the municipality of Yuscarán and mainly in the Yuscarán Biological Reserve, an inventory was carried out using the techniques of mist-netting and acoustic monitoring. The samplings were carried out between 910 and 1,827 m.a.s.l., covering agroecosystems, broadleaf forest, pine forest and urban environment. A total of 32 species of bats were registered, which represents 28% of the species diversity present in Honduras. Species belonging to five families were recorded: Emballonuridae (6.25%), Mormoopidae (15.22%), Phyllostomidae (56.25%), Molossidae (9.37%) and Vespertilionidae (12.5%). With the mist nets, a sampling effort of 7,128 m²/h was reached, which allowed the capture of 20 species and 186 individuals. Through the acoustic method, with 84 h/r, 13 species of insectivorous bats were recorded. The values of the acoustic parameters analysed from the search phase of each insectivorous species are provided, which can serve as a reference for the identification of species from Hondurans. To advance our understanding of the distribution patterns, composition, and vocal signatures of insectivore bats, we suggest the complementary use of mist nets and acoustic recorders in the inventories.
Highlights
Bats, with more than 1,400 species are after of rodents, the second-largest group of mammals in the world (Simmons, 2005; Fenton & Simmons, 2014; Solari et al, 2019)
In the eastern zone of Honduras is located the department of El Paraíso, to which the Municipality of Yuscarán belongs with a territorial extension of 348.9 km2 and has a protected area, the Yuscarán Biological Reserve (YBR), (Fig. 1)
The species accumulation curve obtained with the mist nets did not show a stabilizing trend, indicating that the number of species would have increased if we had sampled more nights
Summary
Bats (order Chiroptera), with more than 1,400 species are after of rodents, the second-largest group of mammals in the world (Simmons, 2005; Fenton & Simmons, 2014; Solari et al, 2019). They face multiple threats: habitat loss and fragmentation, loss of roosting sites, disease, pesticide use, wind farms and rabies control (Mickleburgh et al, 2002; RELCOM, 2010; Botto-Nuñez et al, 2019)
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