Atlantic Forest birds are more functionally and taxonomically diverse in valley bottoms relative to uplands

The theory behind metacommunity was recently reframed to incorporate the concepts of community ecology. Here we investigate how slight topographic variations might locally create habitat heterogeneity and a system of interchanging bird species (i.e., a metacommunity) in a continuous tropical forest. We studied the distribution of birds in a large and protected Neotropical Forest in southwestern Brazil to understand the influence of valley bottom sites on the taxonomic and functional diversity of the bird communities. As previous studies have shown that specialist species have spatially regular distribution when compared to generalists, in the present study we investigate if topography could influence those local patterns of distribution. We expected (1) to find higher taxonomic and functional diversity in communities of valley bottom areas and (2) lower beta taxonomic and functional diversity of the generalists at the valley bottom, but not of specialists, that should exhibit a somewhat consistent distribution. We gathered information on the composition of local bird communities by deploying eight automatic recording units, four in the valley bottoms and four in the uplands, along 4.3 km trail in the forest interior. Our data showed that bird diversity at the valley bottoms tended to be higher than that at the uplands. Specialist passerine assemblages presented high spatial stability and were regularly distributed throughout the forest. In contrast, generalist passerines have limited trait distribution due to valley bottoms. Because bird communities were distinct from each other, deforestation should have stronger impact in the system if only upland areas are left in the landscape. In this case, species dispersal and coexistence as well as complementary traits have predicted implications for the remaining forest fragments, and management actions should prioritize the conservation of forest fragments that include both bottom valleys and uplands areas.Fil: dos Anjos, Luiz. Universidade Estadual de Londrina; BrasilFil: Simões Oliveira, Helon. Universidade Estadual de Londrina; BrasilFil: Willrich, Guilherme. Universidade Estadual de Londrina; BrasilFil: Jardim, Marcelo. Universidade Estadual de Londrina; BrasilFil: Lima Medina Rosa, Gabriel. Universidade Estadual de Londrina; BrasilFil: Barros de Araújo, Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú; Argentin

Rapid survey of bats (Chiroptera) in the Atlantic Forest in eastern Sergipe, Brazil: unexpected diversity in a fragmented landscape

Despite advances in recent decades, the Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil is still one of the least studied regions of the country, regarding, for instance, the bat fauna. The present study reports on the results of a rapid survey of the bat fauna of a fragmented landscape in the Atlantic Forest of eastern Sergipe, in the legal forest reserve of Fazenda Santana, a commercial sugarcane plantation located in the adjoining municipalities of Japoatã and Pacatuba. We recorded 272 bats belonging to 23 species and four families, from which 265 individuals from 18 species from two families (Phyllostomidae and Vespertilionidae) were captured in the mist-nets, and seven individuals of six species from four families (Emballonuridae, Molossidae, Phyllostomidae and Vespertilionidae) were recorded during the active searches. This species richness was higher than that found in previous studies in the Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil. Lasiurus blossevillii and Micronycteris minuta were recorded in Sergipe for the first time, increasing to 57 the number of bat species known to occur in this state. The use of alternative strategies (such as active search and sampling one night per point, seeking to areas with greater availability of resources) in rapid surveys may contribute to the compilation of a more robust sampling, reinforcing the usefulness of this approach for the inventory of the bat fauna of a given region

ATLANTIC ANTS: a data set of ants in Atlantic Forests of South America

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