Chapter 16 - Organization, Diversity, and Long-Term Dynamics of a Neotropical Bat Community

Abstract

The study of processes that influence the distribution, diversity, and abundance of species is one of the most challenging and complex fields in biology. Many basic questions are still controversial. As the results of an increasing number of studies clearly demonstrate, good data on temporal and spatial variability in community composition and species abundance are essential for formulating and evaluating hypotheses about the processes determining organization of communities and diversity of species. However, recent studies indicate that ecomorphologically similar species may be clearly differentiated by behavioral traits such as spatial segregation in habitat use, roost site selection, foraging strategies, and diet. Ecomorphological predictions alone would have placed these species closer together in the community than they actually are. Furthermore, relative abundance of well-sampled species showed individual year-to-year variation. Some frugivorous species with large seasonal variation in numbers may be migratory, but except for one species that declined, long-term population trends remained rather constant. Long-term monitoring of bats at many localities is urgently needed to build databases for intercommunity comparisons.