Bat-species richness in the Pantanal floodplain and its surrounding uplands

Cjr Alho,Cf Santos,E Fischer,Lf Oliveira-Pissini

doi:10.1590/s1519-69842011000200010

Cjr Alho, Cf Santos + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1590/s1519-69842011000200010

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Abstract

We studied the bat fauna of the Pantanal floodplain and its surrounding plateaus in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, based on the scientific collection at Universidade Anhanguera-Uniderp and on the Projeto Morcegos do Pantanal data bank at UFMS, comprising 9,037 captures of 56 species recorded from 1994 to 2007. The Pantanal surveys were carried out in the Nhecolândia, Aquidauana, Miranda, and Paraguai sub-regions; the uplands surveys took place in the Maracaju, Bodoquena, and Urucum formations. Bat specimens were mist-netted over 376 nights in 35 sites, predominantly near fruiting trees, bat shelters, and forest patches. In the floodplain 46 species were recorded (n = 6,292 individuals), and 44 species were found in the uplands (n = 2,745 individuals). Six families were recorded: Phyllostomidae (30 species), Molossidae (12 species), Verpertilionidae (nine species) Noctilionidae (two species), Emballorunidae (two species) and Mormoopidae (one species). The bat fauna was predominantly composed of insectivore (32) and frugivore (15) species. The frugivorous Artibeus planirostris (n = 3,101 individuals) was the commonest species in floodplain and uplands. Other common species were Myotis nigricans (n = 762), Molossus molossus (n = 692), Noctilio albiventris (n = 681), Platyrrhinus lineatus (n = 633), Sturnira lilium (n = 461), Carollia perspicillata (n = 451), Glossophaga soricina (n = 436), Artibeus lituratus (n = 320), and Desmodus rotundus (n = 281). In the floodplain there were three insectivores among the most common species, contrasting with the uplands dominated by the frugivores. The diversity for the 35 sites assembled (H' = 2.5) is comparable to that recorded for tropical forests. The bat fauna presented here represents 34% of the Brazilian bat species, and 62% of species reported for the Upper Paraguay River Basin. Additionally, five species are reported for the first time in Mato Grosso do Sul.

Highlights

Bats are often the most species-rich mammalian taxonomic group in the tropics (Patterson et al, 2001) and represent nearly one-third of Brazilian land fauna (Marinho-Filho and Sazima, 1998)
The aim of this study is to show the magnitude of the bat species richness and the structure of the community, evaluating relative abundance and trophic distribution within the Pantanal floodplain and throughout its surrounding
In all 35 sites 9,037 individuals belonging to 56 species, 36 genera and six families were recorded (Table 1). This number of species represents 34% of the whole richness of bats in Brazil, including the Amazon, annotated by Reis et al (2006, 2007); it reaches 62% of the total richness reported for the entire Upper Paraguay River Basin (n = 90 bat species), including the northern area in Mato Grosso, Brazil, and the Bolivian and Paraguayan areas (Tomas et al, 2009)

Summary

Introduction

Bats are often the most species-rich mammalian taxonomic group in the tropics (Patterson et al, 2001) and represent nearly one-third of Brazilian land fauna (Marinho-Filho and Sazima, 1998). Different studies have shown latitudinal gradients contributing to the understanding of geographic distribution of bat diversity, by analysis of species richness patterns on a large scale, across wide spatial areas or with regional focus (Rohde, 1992; Willig, 2000; Stevens and Willig, 2002). Another approach is to examine changes in species richness along environmental gradients, when an assemblage of interacting bat species utilizes the same resource, for example seasonal productivity, which is carried out on smaller spatial scales (Alho, 2008; Drobner et al, 1998; Wilsey and Potvin, 2000). Available data on bats of the Pantanal floodplain and its neighbouring uplands, from Mato Grosso do Sul state, are reported in Leite et al (1998, 2000), Taddei et al (2000, 2001, 2003), Camargo and Fischer (2005), Gonçalves et al (2007), Longo et al (2007), Camargo et al (2009), Cunha et al (2009), and Teixeira et al (2009)

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