Echolocation and stratum preference : key trait correlates of vulnerability of insectivorous bats to tropical forest fragmentation
| Autor: | Paulo Estefano D. Bobrowiec, Adrià López-Baucells, Ricardo Rocha, Fábio Z. Farneda, Christoph F. J. Meyer, Silvia Fraixedas Núñez, Jorge M. Palmeirim |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
0301 basic medicine Species distribution lcsh:Evolution Biodiversity Human echolocation Stratification (vegetation) Biology 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences bioacoustics 03 medical and health sciences species traits Chiroptera lcsh:QH540-549.5 lcsh:QH359-425 deforestation Vulnerable species wing Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Ecology Fragmentation (computing) Vegetation passive recorders 030104 developmental biology Habitat destruction lcsh:Ecology |
| Zdroj: | Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya instname Recercat: Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya) Repositório Institucional do INPA Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA) instacron:INPA Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol 7 (2019) Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| ISSN: | 2296-701X |
| Popis: | Habitat loss and fragmentation rank high amongst the most pressing threats to biodiversity. Understanding how variation in functional traits is associated with species vulnerability in fragmented landscapes is central to the design of effective conservation strategies. Here, we used a whole-ecosystem ecological experiment in the Central Amazon to investigate which functional traits of aerial-hawking insectivorous bats best predict their sensitivity to forest fragmentation. During 2014, bats were surveyed using passive bat recorders in six continuous forest sites, eight forest fragments, eight fragment edges, and eight forest clearings. The interaction between functional traits, environmental characteristics, and species distribution was investigated using a combination of RLQ and fourth-corner analyses. Our results showed that echolocation call structure, vertical stratification, and wing aspect ratio were the strongest predictors of sensitivity to forest fragmentation. Frequency of maximum energy, body mass, and relative wing loading did not show any correlation with the environmental variables. Bat species with constant-frequency calls were associated with high vegetation density, being more susceptible to forest fragmentation than species with frequency-modulated calls. Vertical stratum preference was also correlated with vegetation structure, indicating that understory species were more sensitive to forest loss than canopy species. Finally, species with high aspect ratio wings were linked to forest edges and clearings. Our findings suggest that species functional traits determine the vulnerability of aerial-hawking insectivorous bats toward fragmentation and, similarly, environmental conditions determine if a species is likely to become locally extinct due to fragmentation. Preserving structurally complex forests will be crucial to ensure the long-term persistence of the most sensitive and vulnerable species of this bat ensemble in fragmented landscapes across the Neotropics. © Copyright © 2019 Núñez, López-Baucells, Rocha, Farneda, Bobrowiec, Palmeirim and Meyer. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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