Title
Roosting ecology of Amazonian bats: Evidence for guild structure in hyperdiverse mammalian communities
Date Issued
14 December 2016
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Voss R.S.
Strauss R.E.
Velazco P.M.
Simmons N.B.
American Museum of Natural History
Publisher(s)
American Museum of Natural History
Abstract
The ecological mechanisms that sustain high species richness in Neotropical bat communities have attracted research attention for several decades. Although many ecologists have studied the feeding behavior and diets of Neotropical bats on the assumption that food is a limiting resource, other resource axes that might be important for species coexistence are often ignored. Diurnal refugia, in particular, are a crucial resource for bats, many of which exhibit conspicuous morphological or behavioral adaptations to the roost environment. Here we report and analyze information about roost occupancy based on >500 field observations of Amazonian bats. Statistical analyses of these data suggest the existence of distinct groups of species roosting (1) in foliage, (2) exposed on the trunks of standing trees, (3) in cavities in standing trees, (4) in or under fallen trees, (5) beneath undercut earth banks, and (6) in arboreal insect nests; additionally, we recognize other groups that roost (7) in animal burrows, and (8) in rocks or caves. Roosting-guild membership is hypothesized to have a filtering effect on Amazonian bat community composition because some types of roosts are absent or uncommon in certain habitats. Among other applications of our results, cross-classifying bat species by trophic and roosting guilds suggests that the often-reported deficit of gleaning animalivores in secondary vegetation by comparison with primary forest might reflect habitat differences in roost availability rather than food resources. In general, ecological and evolutionary studies of Neotropical bats would be enhanced by considering both trophic- and roosting-guild membership in future analyses, but additional fieldwork will be required to determine the roosting behavior of many data-deficient species. Kuesban utsi-utsiek ikek. Kuesban kuëte tëdion uzhek. Kuesban mani padan uzhek. Kuesban meçhodon uzhek. Kuesban tazhodo tëdion uzhek. Kuesban kuëte tanunkiokkid dadiadek. Kuesban kuëtedapa tëdion kodotanaknombo kuesban utsi ikkid. Padnubi zhëkuëdapambik utsi tëmpadapa zhëkuëdapan. Kuesban dadpenkiozhë ikek. (Bats exist in different ways. Bats sleep under trees. Bats sleep in wild banana plants. Bats sleep in termite nests. Bats sleep under buttress roots. Bats hang on the trunks of very dry trees. Other bats are under big fallen trees, where the tree is twisted. Also, others are in big hollows, in big hollows of big tëmpa trees. There are very, very many kinds of bats.) -Antonio Manquid Jiménez Tajur4.
Start page
1
End page
44
Volume
2016-December
Issue
3870
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Zoología, Ornitología, Entomología, ciencias biológicas del comportamiento Ecología
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85006489032
Source
American Museum Novitates
ISSN of the container
00030082
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus