Abstract
In the tropics, rainfall seasonality seems to be the most important factor affecting bat reproductive cycles, triggering reproductive activity or by its indirect affect on the availability of food resources. Considering this, we studied the reproductive phenology of three phyllostomid fruit-eating bats (Artibeus jamaicensis, Dermanura phaeotis and A. intermedius) in a markedly seasonal coastal wetland in northwestern Yucatan Peninsula. Bats were sampled with mist nets during a consecutive 3-year period in 16 naturally formed forest islands and we assessed the reproductive condition of captured bats during the dry and rainy seasons. Sampling effort of 196 nights (11,100 net-hours), resulted in the capture of 738 individuals of A. jamaicensis (40%), D. phaeotis (32%), and A. intermedius (28%). At least 91% of the males captured showed reproductive evidence (males with testes descended) for the three species throughout the year. For D. phaeotis and A. intermedius we detected seasonal changes in reproductive ...
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