Abstract
The diet of arthropodophagous bats can be influenced by several factors. Furthermore, its study is critical for understanding their role in the ecosystem as regulators of arthropod abundance. The aim of this study was to analyze the diet of 12 species beloging to two families of arthropodophagous bats from the Yungas Forests, Northwestern Argentina. We also evaluated differences in diet between well-preserved and disturbed sites, sexes, and seasons. The specimens were collected with mist nets in eight different localities, four well-preserved and four disturbed sites of the Yungas Forests. Through the analysis of feces, arthropod remains were identified until the lowest possible taxonomic level. Volume and frequency of occurrence percentages for each food item and the niche breadth for the species were estimated. A total of 475 samples from 12 species were analyzed and their diet contained arthropods from eight orders and seven families; the highest number of consumed arthropod orders were registered for Eptesicus diminutus. A low niche breadth was recorded in general for all species. The diet was significantly influenced by season and site characteristics only in E. diminutus and E. furinalis, respectively. This showed that bats could modify its diet according to the different habitats and seasons.
Highlights
The structure of an assemblage is affected by several ecological parameters, being the diet one of the most important (Vitt & Zani 1998)
Food is a key dimension of the niche (Krebs 1999), and the studies about feeding habits are crucial in our understanding of the ecological relationships between species and their habitat (Belver & Avila 2002)
There are more than 1,400 recognized species of bats worldwide (Fenton & Simmons 2014), and about 75% of them feed on arthropods (Hutson et al 2001)
Summary
The structure of an assemblage is affected by several ecological parameters, being the diet one of the most important (Vitt & Zani 1998). Food is a key dimension of the niche (Krebs 1999), and the studies about feeding habits are crucial in our understanding of the ecological relationships between species and their habitat (Belver & Avila 2002). This basic information can be useful in the evaluation of the conservation status of some poorly known species (Reca et al 1994). Arthropodophagous bats are voracious predators of nocturnal arthropods, including many crop and forest pests, providing substantial ecosystem services (Boyles et al 2011). Dietary studies of arthropodophagous bats are critical for understanding their role in
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