O uso do habitat por morcegos em sistemas naturais e agroflorestais na savana brasileira

Tese de mestrado. Biologia (Ecologia e Gestão Ambiental). Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2011O processo de conversão de sistemas naturais em áreas para pastagens, agricultura e silvicultura no Brasil tem sido cada vez mais acelerado e são poucos os estudos que abordam o impacto destas transformações nas comunidades de morcegos. Visando contribuir neste aspecto, realizou-se entre Dezembro de 2010 e Abril de 2011 capturas com redes de neblina mensalmente, durante cinco meses, em oito fragmentos de dois tipos de habitat: 4 plantações de eucalipto (Eucalyptus) e 4 fragmentos de floresta semidecidual no Cerrado brasileiro, para avaliar as diferenças de diversidade e abundância e testar o efeito das características da paisagem e variáveis locais nas comunidades de morcegos. Dos 209 indivíduos capturados 75 foram em fragmentos de eucalipto e 134 em áreas de floresta nativa. Destes, 90% eram frugívoros e 97% pertencentes à família Phyllostomidae. A espécie mais capturada foi Carollia perspicillata (92 indivíduos) seguida por Artibeus planirostris (39) e Platyrrhinus lineatus (21). As áreas nativas apresentaram uma maior riqueza de espécies, menor dominância e maior diversidade e equitabilidade comparativamente às plantações de eucalipto. Além disso, áreas florestadas apresentam uma fauna mais completa e com espécies mais sensíveis como alguns morcegos da subfamília Phyllostominae. Através da ordenação não métrica multidimensional (NMDS) verificou-se uma fraca separação entre os habitats amostrados embora uma análise de similaridades (ANOSIM) indicou uma ausência de diferenças significativas na composição de espécies. A proporção de cobertura florestal (Cerrado e Eccalyptus) foi a única variável de paisagem com influência significativa na composição de espécies. Pelo contrário, a composição de espécies não apresenta qualquer relação com as distâncias geográficas entre os fragmentos florestais. Aplicando o modelo linear generalizado de efeitos mistos (GLMM), para as três espécies com maior abundância, verificou-se que o factor Habitat teve influência apenas na abundância de Artibeus planirostris, a espécie mais abundante em Cerrado. Os resultados demonstram o empobrecimento das comunidades de morcegos em plantações de eucalipto e a necessidade de se perceber a resposta de cada espécie a esta conversão do habitat nativo.The conversion of natural systems into areas for cattle grazing, agriculture, and silviculture in Brazil has been increasing rapidly, and there are few studies on the impact of these changes on bat assemblages. Aiming to contribute towards filling this gap, I compared bat assemblages in semideciduous forest fragments in Brazilian Cerrado with those of eucalyptus plantations (Eucalyptus sp.). Specifically, I assessed differences in species richness, diversity, abundance, and species composition between habitat types and evaluated bat responses with respect to a variety of landscape characteristics and local-scale variables. For this, I sampled bats with mist nets in 4 replicates each of eucalyptus plantations and fragments of native Cerrado over the course of 5 months, between December 2010 and April 2011. Of the total of 209 individuals captured, 75 were caught in eucalyptus fragments and 134 in native forest areas. Of these, 90% were frugivores and 97% belonged to the family Phyllostomidae. The most frequently captured species were Carollia perspicillata (92 individuals) followed by Artibeus planirostris (39) and Platyrrhinus lineatus (21). Native areas had greatest species richness, lower dominance and greatest diversity and evenness compared to eucalypt plantations. Gleaning animalivorous species of the subfamily Phyllostominae seem to be most sensitive to plantation forests as they were not captured in this habitat. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) indicated no strong separation between habitats types and there were no significant differences in species composition based on an analysis of similarities (ANOSIM). The proportion of forest cover (both Cerrado and Eucalyptus) in the landscape was the only landscape-scale variable which had a significant influence on species composition. In contrast, species composition was unrelated to geographical distance between forest fragments. A generalized linear mixed effects model (GLMM) for the three most abundant species only showed significant differences in abundance for Artibeus planirostris, the species being more abundant in native Cerrado. This results highlights the impoverishment of bat assemblages in eucalypt plantations and how is important understand the bat sepecies-specific responses to this native habitat conversion

The occurrence of Eptesicus chiriquinus Thomas, 1920 (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest with comments on the species’ distribution

This study provides a second recording of the bat Eptesicus chiriquinus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) for the Atlantic Forest biome in Brazil. A specimen was captured in a native forest near the Contas River in the District of Taboquinhas, municipality of Itacaré, in southern Bahia. In Brazil, this species had sparse known records, although it is previously considered endemic to the Amazon region and the States of Amazonas and Pará. Recently, this species was recorded in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil. This present record extends over a 1000 km northeast distribution of this species in Brazil

Where are the bats? An environmental complementarity analysis in a megadiverse country

Aim: Field surveys are necessary to overcome Wallacean shortfalls. The task is even more important when human pressure on tropical—megadiverse—ecosystems is con sidered. However, due to financial constraints, spatial and temporal prioritization is required. Here, we used the concept of environmental complementarity to identify non-surveyed regions for bats that are environmentally different from other already surveyed regions. We highlighted regions in Brazil where field inventories could be conducted to locate new occurrences or even new bat species. Location: Brazil. Methods: We based our analysis on environmental characterization aiming to iden tify dissimilar regions to those already sampled for bats in Brazil. We used 21 envi ronmental variables to characterize 1,531 unique localities where bats occur. Then, we applied the parameters of a generalized linear model (GLM) to extrapolate the expected values of the environmental variables for the entire country. We compared the predicted values of localities with newly described bat species occurrence against the values for other bat species. Results: We found that sites from which recently discovered species were described are environmentally distinct from the sites where previously described species occur. Therefore, new occurrences and even new species could be found in regions that are environmentally dissimilar from those already surveyed. By crossing the model with a human footprint map, we defined temporal priorities for field inventories. Regions such as the Northern Cerrado and Western Caatinga should be surveyed first. Similar approaches could be undertaken for other biological groups or regions, allowing the identification of spatial congruence and the development of a comprehensive na tional programme for biological field inventories. Main conclusion: Newly described species occurred in environments dissimilar to those previously identified, showing that environmental complementarity analysis is a valid approach to define priority regions for new bat inventories

O conhecimento sobre morcegos (Chiroptera: Mammalia) do estado do Espírito Santo, sudeste do Brasil

The Order Chiroptera plays a vital role in ecosystem dynamics. Among the states of Southeastern Brazil, Espírito Santo State is the one with the least known bat fauna. This study reports on the current state of knowledge on Espírito Santo bats generating this data bank. We have catalogued the bats deposited in the Biology Museum Prof. Mello Leitão (MBML), Laboratory of Bat Studies of the Federal University of Espírito Santo (LABEQ), Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ), Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), and University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ). In addition, we have investigated the literature seeking articles about bats exclusively for the State. About bats were published in the state 42 papers, three thesis and 11 monographs. There are recognized 63 bat species in the State, if considering the museum collections and published papers, from 37 of the 78 municipalities of Espírito Santo. The highest species richness was found in the municipalities of Linhares and Santa Teresa. This was probably occasioned by bias on sampling. The great potential for new bat occurrences in Espírito Santo is due to the lack of knowledge about bats in this State. This emphasizes the importance for new future studies about bats in that area.A Ordem Chiroptera apresenta importância relevante na dinâmica dos ecossistemas, sendo a ordem de mamíferos com maior diversidade de hábitos de vida. Dentre os estados da região Sudeste do Brasil, o Espírito Santo é um dos mais carentes em relação ao conhecimento de morcegos. Este estudo sintetizou o estado do conhecimento sobre quirópteros gerado no Espírito Santo. Para isso, foram catalogados os morcegos depositados no Museu de Biologia Prof. Mello Leitão (MBML), no Laboratório de Estudos de Quirópteros da Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (LABEQ), Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ), Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) e University of Michigan Museum Zoology (UMMZ). Além disso, foi realizada uma busca por artigos publicados sobre morcegos do Espírito Santo. Foram revistos 49 artigos científicos, realizadas três teses de mestrado e 11 monografias. Considerando as coleções amostradas e artigos publicados totalizam-se 63 espécies de morcegos para o estado, provenientes de 37 dos 78 municípios do Espírito Santo. A maior riqueza de espécies de morcegos foi encontrada nos municípios de Linhares e Santa Teresa, o que é provavelmente reflexo da maior parte dos espécimes depositados nos museus também serem desses municípios. O Espírito Santo apresenta um grande potencial para se encontrar novas ocorrências de espécies, enfatizando a importância da realização de futuros estudos sobre morcegos no estado

Susceptibility of targets to the vampire bat Desmodus rotundus are proportional to their abundance in Atlantic Forest fragments?

ABSTRACT Desmodus rotundus (É. Geoffroy, 1810) feeds preferably on mammal blood, including livestock animals, such as bovine cattle. In spite of using native preys in the wild, records of this feeding activity are scarce. In the present study, we investigated the foraging activity of D. rotundus based on video footage from camera traps in Atlantic Forest fragments in southern Goiás State, Brazil. Out of 23 mammal species recorded in the study area, four had interactions with Desmodus rotundus (Priodontes maximus, Tapirus terrestris, Mazama americana and Pecari tajacu). The records were obtained from early night to sunrise. There was a correlation between abundance of potential preys and the choice of the target by D. rotundus. Most of the bat-prey interaction occurred on the edge of fragments. The present study records for the first time the potential use of the collared peccary (P. tajacu) and the giant armadillo (P. maximus) in the diet of D. rotundus

Bat flies (Diptera, Streblidae and Nycteribiidae) in a Cerrado area of Goiás State, Brazil Dípteros ectoparasitos de morcegos em uma área de cerrado no estado de Goiás, Brasil

A survey of bat flies was carried out in the Brazilian savanna (Cerrado) in the Goiás state, Brazil. We collected 227 specimens of seventeen species belonging to nine genera of Streblidae and seven specimens of four species of Basilia Miranda-Ribeiro, 1903 (Nycteribiidae). Except for Paratrichobius longicrus (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1907) (Streblidae), all species are new recorded in Goiás.Realizamos um levantamento dos ectoparasitas em uma taxocenose de morcegos em uma área de Cerrado no Brasil central, em Goiás. Nós coletamos 227 espécimes de 17 táxons de nove gêneros de Streblidae e sete indivíduos de quatro espécies de Basilia (Nycteribiidae). Excetuando-se Paratrichobius longicrus (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1907) (Streblidae), todas demais espécies são novos registros para o estado de Goiás