Abstract
The establishment of extensive livestock systems in the Colombian Caribbean Region has historically generated a strong loss of the tropical dry forest (TDF) with negative effects on biodiversity. Currently, the implementation of silvopastoral systems (SPS) has been proposed with strategy to curb the loss of biodiversity caused by the conventional management system (CS). The objective was to evaluate the effect of SPS and CS of extensive livestock on the assemblage of bats associated with fragments of TDF. During a continuous year and a sampling effort of 30,240 h-net/night, the structure and composition of bat assemblage between SPS and CS were compared. 2788 bats belonging to six families, 23 genera, and 39 species were captured. The Phyllostomidae family presented the highest species richness (S = 30), with the greatest abundance in the Stenodermatinae subfamily (n = 1543). Bat assemblage in the SPS fragments was more equitable; and the relative abundance per species, per genera, and per foraging guilds was also significantly higher. The capture success showed significant variations between the climatic seasons (dry and rainy). The rate of species turnover was higher in the CS fragments. The species Artibeus planirostris, Artibeus lituratus, Carollia perspicillata, Carollia castanea, Phyllostomus discolor, Dermanura phaeotis, Uroderma convexum, Glossophaga soricina, C. brevicauda, and Sturnira lilium accounted for 92% of the captures. In conclusion, frugivorous bats were more abundant in the SPS, type of extensive livestock management that can generate greater temporal stability of bat assemblage. This research provides the first scientific evidence of the positive effect of silvopastoral management on the diversity of bats in tropical dry forest areas of the Colombian Caribbean region.
Highlights
Bats perform important roles in different ecological processes of tropical forests (Lobova et al 2009; Carpenter et al 2009), considered ecosystems of utmost importance for biodiversity conservation (Barrance et al 2009) and ecosystem services (Kunz et al 2011)
Bat EC was higher in silvopastoral systems (SPS), with no significant differences between fragments of the same management system
There were significant differences in temporal variation in bat abundances, with significant effects on the mean response (EC-0.2) of the bat species (F = 3.913, SC = 0.028, gl = 1, p \ 0.05), with higher EC during the rainy season; and in SPS the abundance of bats was significantly higher by species (F = 28.73, SC = 0.953, gl = 1, p \ 0.001), by genders (F = 24,597, SC = 1.247 gl = 1, p \ 0.001) and by foraging guilds (F = 10.289, SC = 0.0794, gl = 1, p \ 0.001)
Summary
Bats perform important roles in different ecological processes of tropical forests (Lobova et al 2009; Carpenter et al 2009), considered ecosystems of utmost importance for biodiversity conservation (Barrance et al 2009) and ecosystem services (Kunz et al 2011). The establishment of extensive livestock systems and crop areas in the Colombian Caribbean has transformed the landscape causing fragmentation and habitat loss of large areas of tropical dry forest (TDF), an ecosystem with a high degree of endemism (Dıaz 2006). Despite representing the only refuge of regional biodiversity in much of the Caribbean region, TDF fragments immersed in extensive livestock conditions are at high risk of extinction
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