Abstract
In Brazil, bat migrations have been inferred based on seasonal variations in bat abundances observed for several species, probably as a result of variations in temperature and food availability. However, direct evidence of individual medium to long distance (> 10 km) movements, based on marked specimens, is restricted to large frugivorous bats, genus Artibeus (Phyllostomidae). We report the longest bat movement recorded in Brazil, along 113 km in a straight line, difference in altitude of 738 m, from a mixed Araucaria forest in Curitiba, PR, to the Atlantic Forest, Alto Ribeira, SP, by a female Artibeus lituratus (Olfers, 1818), over a period of 14 months. This data is consistent with the occurrence of migratory movements in Neotropical bats, such as the ecologically flexible Artibeus spp., over relatively large areas, probably with short stopover foraging intervals. Implications for the conservation of these bats are clear, as their home ranges may be much larger than their foraging areas, encompassing more than one biome and overcoming political borders.
Highlights
The key role of bats in tropical ecosystems is widely recognized (Kalko 1998, Muscarella & Fleming 2007), and several studies on the ecology of Neotropical bats, including patterns of space and habitat use, have been published in the last two decades (e.g., Charles-Dominique 1991, Fenton et al 1992, Gannon & Willig 1997, Kalko et al 1996, Avila-Cabadilla et al 2009, Trevelin et al.2013)
We report long distance movement of a large Artibeus lituratus, as evidence of far range migration or dispersion in these Neotropical frugivorous bats
Most of the region rests within a conservation unit — the Parque Estadual Turıstico do Alto Ribeira (PETAR) — situated between the towns of Apiaı and Iporanga, with 33,000 hectares mostly covered by dense rainforest
Summary
The key role of bats in tropical ecosystems is widely recognized (Kalko 1998, Muscarella & Fleming 2007), and several studies on the ecology of Neotropical bats, including patterns of space and habitat use, have been published in the last two decades (e.g., Charles-Dominique 1991, Fenton et al 1992, Gannon & Willig 1997, Kalko et al 1996, Avila-Cabadilla et al 2009, Trevelin et al.2013). Migration is the movement of animals that follow seasonal availability of resources, whose strategies involve a great variety of schemes; this differs from dispersal, which is generally unidirectional (Krauel & McCracken 2013). It is defined as a seasonal and cyclic population movement, but may not occur in all populations of a species (Alerstam & Hedenstrom 1998, McCracken et al 1994). Some authors do not consider shorter spatial movements in bats as migration because they do not require physiological adaptations (Fleming & Eby 2003, McCracken et al 1994). Regional migrants are assumed to move in search of roost sites (Griffin 1945, 1970, Tuttle 1976), many latitudinal migrants are assumed to be in the pursuit of food, with roosts being a secondary factor (Krauel & McCracken 2013)
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