Efeitos da fragmentação florestal sobre a estrutura trófica de morcegos filostomídeos na região da Serra da Bodoquena

Abstract

Forest loss and fragmentation are simultaneous processes that impact the biodiversity in tropical regions. The response of bat communities to forest fragmentation is still poorly studied in the Brazilian Cerrado, and may differ among species with different feeding habits, body sizes, and foraging modes. The aim of this study was to evaluate how forest loss and fragmentation influence phyllostomid bat communities and their trophic structure across 20 landscapes constituting a gradient of forest cover in the Serra da Bodoquena region, Mato Grosso do Sul. Specifically, I evaluate the effects of forest cover, number of fragments, and edge length, at three spatial scales (buffers of 500, 1000, and 2500 m radius), on biomass, dominance, and diversity of species and trophic guilds. A total of 2,646 individuals belonging to 24 phyllostomid species and five trophic guilds were recorded. The frugivore guild was dominant, followed by the animalivore and nectarivore guilds. Insectivorous and omnivorous phyllostomids were relatively rare. The richness of trophic guilds in the Serra da Bodoquena showed a positive response to forest edge length, and a negative response to forest cover and number of forest fragments. However, the biomass, dominance and diversity of the communities did not show a significant response to landscape variables. The results indicate that increasing edges due to forest fragmentation promotes an increased richness of phyllostomid trophic guilds in the Serra da Bodoquena. Landscapes with high forest cover or, at the other extreme, with low cover and small fragments, tend to contain smaller edge areas, leading to a negative effect on richness. Keywords: Bat richness, forest cover, number of fragments, forest edge