Abstract
The restingas present a considerable variation in the floristic structure and composition along their latitudinal and morphoclimatic gradients. This variation may have a direct influence on the set of conditions and resources available for their biological communities, including mammals. The present study is the first to assess the bat fauna of a coastal restinga habitat in northeastern Brazil. The study site was the RPPN Caju in the municipality of Itaporanga D’Ajuda, Sergipe. We collected data on 10 consecutive days in 2014, using mist nets set at ground level, sampling a different point on each day. We captured 191 bats (16 species, 14 genera and 5 families), including the first records of Saccopteryx leptura, Molossops temminckii and Eptesicus brasiliensis for the coastal restinga. The latter two species were recorded for Sergipe for the first time. The recorded species richness is one of the highest yet recorded for Brazilian restinga. We increased the number of records of bat species in the Brazilian restinga from 38 to 41, and the number of species known to occur in Sergipe from 48 to 50. We recommend the “wandering” placement of mist nets as an effective strategy for the rapid assessment of bat communities.Keywords: Chiroptera, Eptesicus brasiliensis, Molossops temminckii, Saccopteryx leptura, Sergipe.
Highlights
The Brazilian Atlantic Forest, known for its diversity and species endemism (Myers et al, 2000), originally occupied the entire eastern coast of Brazil
The RPPN Caju comprises a variety of habitats associated with the Atlantic Forest biome, such as coastal restingas, mangroves, and salt flats, a typical profile of the coastal lowlands of Sergipe, and much of the northeastern Brazil (Silva et al, 2000)
The bat species richness recorded in the present study (16 spp.) is one of the highest recorded for restinga habitats to date
Summary
The Brazilian Atlantic Forest, known for its diversity and species endemism (Myers et al, 2000), originally occupied the entire eastern coast of Brazil. The Atlantic Forest is a coastal formation, influenced profoundly by marine and fluvial forces, resulting in the establishment of distinct plant communities, such as mangroves and coastal restinga. The restinga vegetation can be considered a subset of the adjacent ecosystems, with few endemic species (Rizzini, 1997), resulting in considerable variation in the floristic structure and composition along the latitudinal and morphoclimatic gradients in which this ecosystem occurs (Gonzatti, 2015). This variation presumably has a direct influence on the set of conditions and resources available for the local animal communities, including mammals
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