More Urbanization, Fewer Bats: The Importance of Forest Conservation in Honduras

Urbanization is a phenomenon that results in fragmentation and eventual destruction of forests. Suburbanization is a subset of that same phenomenon in which fragmentation has resulted in the retention of small patches of the original forest and surviving old growth trees. Alternatively, the area surrounding the central city had been cleared for agricultural use and the suburban residents have planted many trees in parks and private property. This fragmentation will of course affect many species of bats, including species of the family Phyllostomidae. In this work, we estimate and compare the diversity of phyllostomid bats in three landscapes in Honduras: forests, suburban, and urban areas, from 2015 to 2018. Concurrently, we compared bat activity patterns based on the hour and percentage of moonlight at the time they were captured, and we compared external measurements, forearm and ear length. Urban areas are the least diverse and exhibited the lowest abundance. The forearm and ear length were significantly different only between forests and urban areas. The degree of lunar phobia also differed among those landscapes, but the time of capture did not differ. This is the first attempt to describe the activity patterns of phyllostomids in these studied areas and the effect of urbanization on Honduran bats. As expected, we found that from forests to cities, the diversity and abundance of phyllostomids decreased. However, there are many gaps in our knowledge of how totally or partially urbanized areas are affecting phyllostomid bats in Honduras

Los xenartros de Honduras: nuevos registros, principales amenazas y comentarios sobre su estado de conservación

The Xenarthra are one of the least studied mammalian groups in Honduras. Their ecology, natural history, and distribution in the country are poorly known. Here we compile and discuss, for the first time, the available information about the seven species of Xenarthra that occur in Honduras. We also present new distribution records and comment on their main threats. The lack of specific scientific studies, poaching, illegal traffic, cultural beliefs, and deforestation are among the main threats to xenarthrans in Honduras.Xenarthra es uno de los grupos de mamíferos menos estudiados en Honduras, y de los que menos se sabe sobre su ecología, historia natural y distribución en el país. Aquí recopilamos y discutimos, por primera vez, la información disponible de cada una de las siete especies de Xenarthra que ocurren en Honduras. También presentamos nuevos registros de distribución y comentamos sobre las principales amenazas. La falta de estudios científicos, la cacería y el tráfico ilegal, creencias culturales y la deforestación están entre algunas de las principales amenazas para los xenartros en Honduras.Fil: Turcios Casco, Manfredo A.. Instituto Nacional de Conservación y Desarrollo Foresta; HondurasFil: Ávila Palma, Hefer D.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras; HondurasFil: Martínez, Marcio. Instituto Nacional de Conservación y Desarrollo Foresta; HondurasFil: Trejo Ordoñez, Eduardo J.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras; HondurasFil: Meza Flores, David E.. Asociación de Investigación para el Desarrollo Ecológico y Socioeconómico; HondurasFil: Castañeda, Franklin. Panthera; HondurasFil: King, Travis. Washington State University; Estados UnidosFil: Thornton, Daniel. Washington State University; Estados UnidosFil: Superina, Mariella. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; Argentin

Additions of host associations and new records of bat ectoparasites of the families Spinturnicidae, Nycteribiidae and Streblidae from Honduras

We captured mormoopids, phyllostomids, and vespertilionids in Honduras to collect bat ectoparasites. Two species of Spinturnicidae (Acari) are the first reports of this family in Honduras. One species of Basilia Miranda Ribeiro, 1903, and four of Streblidae are recorded for the first time in Honduras. With these results, the current species number of each family for Honduras are two species of Spinturnicidae, three of Nycteribiidae, and 48 of Streblidae. We compared the number of species of Streblidae and bats in Honduras to highly sampled countries in Central and South America. Clearly, more effort is still needed in Honduras, although this is the third attempt to study the bat ectoparasites in Honduras

A global initiative for ecological and evolutionary hologenomics

The Earth Hologenome Initiative (EHI) is a global collaboration to generate and analyse hologenomic data from wild animals and associated microorganisms using standardised methodologies underpinned by open and inclusive research principles. Initially focused on vertebrates, it aims to re-examine ecological and evolutionary questions by studying host–microbiota interactions from a systemic perspective