Abstract
We evaluated the structure of a community of frugivorous bats using composition and abundance patterns, niche amplitude and food overlap of these animals in four Atlantic Forest fragments, each one exposed to different conservation realities. For twelve months, we captured six bat species and found the seeds of 13 species of pioneering plants in 158 fecal samples. The most abundant bat species were Artibeus planirostris (25.4%), Artibeus lituratus (24.1%) and Carollia perspicillata (23.9%). Only one fragment (Fazenda Unida), the most conserved area, exhibited a significantly different composition and abundance of species. We found low trophic niche amplitude values (<0.60), associated to high food overlaps. Our results suggest that bats can adjust their foraging strategy to deal with food availability variations. By favoring pioneering plant species, the fragmentation process noted of the studied areas creates an attractive environment for bats more tolerant to this type of disturbance. The sampled areas represent important secondary forest remnants in southern Brazil that require attention to avoid an even greater loss of bat diversity.
Highlights
The fundamental niche of a species can be defined as a set of n-dimensions, where each dimension represents an important factor or resource in a multidimensional space (Hutchinson, 1957), considering interspecific interactions and abiotic conditions (Chase & Myers, 2011)
We captured 497 frugivorous bats comprising six species and four genera, all belonging to the Phyllostomidae family
The most common species were Artibeus planirostris, Artibeus lituratus and Carollia perspicillata (Table 1), which accounted for 73.4% of the total captured animals
Summary
The fundamental niche of a species can be defined as a set of n-dimensions, where each dimension represents an important factor or resource in a multidimensional space (Hutchinson, 1957), considering interspecific interactions and abiotic conditions (Chase & Myers, 2011). Differentiation with regard to the use of one or more niche dimension, becomes a determining factor for species coexistence and similar niche occupation (Hutchinson, 1957, Chesson, 1991). According to MacArthur and Levins (1967), there is a limit regarding how much species similarity can occur for them to coexist, since, otherwise, selective forces will exclude one of the competitors. Certain factors, such as habitat heterogeneity, can aid in distinguishing niches and promote species coexistence (Chesson, 1994, Chesson et al, 2004, Hortal, Triantis, Meiri, Thébault, & Sfenthourakis, 2009). Vegetation loss, especially in agricultural areas, make habitats more homogeneous, resulting in loss of species (Foley et al, 2011)
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