Time and seasonal patterns of activity of phyllostomid in fragments of a stational semidecidual forest from the Upper Paraná River, Southern Brazil

Bats may exhibit different patterns of activity, considering aspects concerning niche dynamics as well as the establishment and permanence of the communities in the ecosystems. In this way, the present study analyzed the time and seasonal patterns of activity in different species of frequent phyllostomid bats in remnants of the stational semidecidual forest from the Upper Paraná River, Southern Brazil. Captures were performed between January and December, 2006, using 32 mist nets set above the soil along the nocturnal period during the four seasons of the year. The daily and seasonal patterns of activity of each species was modeled using generalized linear models with Poisson error. The best model was selected using Akaike's Information Criterion (AICc). Artibeus planirostris (Spix, 1823) did not exhibit a conspicuous time pattern, whereas A. lituratus (Olfers, 1818) was more frequent after the sixth hour and A. fimbriatus Gray, 1838 had an activity increase along the night. Platyrrhinus lineatus (E. Geoffroy, 1810) was registered during all sampling hours. Carollia perspicillata (Linnaeus, 1758) and Sturnira lilium (E. Geoffroy, 1810) were the most active during the first four hours. Concerning seasonal pattern, the highest activity of these species was verified during the summer. These data contribute to the information about the ecology of bats in the region, highlighting the high adaptive potential of the species studied in relation to the use of space throughout the night and in to variations in environmental conditions

Digestion time and intactness of seeds ingested by <i>Sturnira lilium</i> (E. Geoffroy, 1810) (Mammalia, Chiroptera)

<p>Bats are responsible for many ecological services, such as seed dispersal of several plant species, contributing to the processes of succession and forest regeneration. A factor that can interfere with this process is the animal digestion, which can affect germination, altering the patterns of seedling distribution. The effects of seed passage through bats’ guts varies with the species, leading to some discrepancies in the literature. In this study, we tested the digestion time of one Phyllostomidae bat species, <i>Sturnira lilium</i>, in two Neotropical plants: <i>Solanum paniculatum</i> and <i>Ficus organensis</i>, and the effects on seed germination. The experiment was conducted in captivity and the germination tests were made in laboratory conditions. The results suggested that most seeds ingested by <i>S. lilium</i> are dispersed within 40 min for both species and the digestion seems not to significantly affect the germination of <i>F. organensis</i>, despite the slight acceleration of germination. In <i>S. paniculatum</i>, germination occurred only in the control (39%), whereas in the treatments, all the seeds remained dormant during the 25 experimental days. In this case, the digestion of <i>S. lilium</i> possibly contributes to the formation of seed banks, randomizing the temporal distribution of seedlings.</p