Abstract
Some bat species are able to adapt to urban areas, where they find food and roosts. Despite the high number of parks in Brazilian cities, they did not yet raise the interest of most zoologists, except for some surveys of birds and butterflies. The objectives of the present study were: (i) to inventory the bat species of Quinta da Boa Vista (QBV), a large (25 ha) urban park centrally located in densely populated Rio de Janeiro, which is Brazil's second largest metropolis; (ii) to compare the species richness observed in roosts with the richness recorded through mist netting in flight routes and near fruiting fig trees; and (iii) to analyze recaptures of bats marked in this park and recaptured in other sites and vice-versa. Sampling totaled 104 sampling nights resulting in 3,256 captures (including 133 recaptures) between April 1989 and December 2004. We also sampled roosts and received some specimens from park visitors and city workers. We documented 21 bat species, predominantly large frugivores. The number of expected species for this park was 24.0 ± 4.6, and the total sampled represented 87.5% of the expected. The recapture of bats marked in surrounding forest fragments and in QBV shows the importance of urban parks for the maintenance of bat diversity. Inspection of roosts produced two species that had not been captured with other methods. Sampling near fruiting fig trees did not differ in terms of richness from sampling carried out far from these trees or during their non-fruiting periods.
Highlights
The Brazilian bat fauna of urban areas has received little attention, though it presents an opportunity to investigate which species can adapt to the increasing human alterations in the environment (Lima, 2008)
Because these parks are urban areas and not true forest remnants, their bat fauna is expected to comprise only species that are highly adapted to urban environments, and lack species that depend on a minimum forest area to survive (ÁvillaFlores & Fenton, 2005; Oprea et al, 2009)
Several localities included in this analysis are forest fragments that were preserved and are currently used by the public, as in Rio de Janeiro, where eight parks have been sampled, which are forest remnants and not urban parks
Summary
The Brazilian bat fauna of urban areas has received little attention, though it presents an opportunity to investigate which species can adapt to the increasing human alterations in the environment (Lima, 2008). Some bat species are able to adapt to urban areas, where they find food and roosts (e.g., Côrtes et al, 1994; Bredt et al, 1996; Sazima et al, 1994; Fenton, 1997; Esbérard et al, 1999; Zórtea & Aguiar, 2001; Lima, 2008; Gazarini & Pedro, 2013) In these areas they can reach high density, as a result of the absence of predators and potential competitors, and of the abundance of resources. For the city of Rio de Janeiro there is no published bat inventory, though it is known that at least 27 species recorded for the state use roof lining and other human structures as day or night roosts (Esbérard et al, 1999)
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