Abstract

VARGAS ESPINOZA, Aideé; AGUIRRE, Luis. F.; GALARZA, M. Isabel  and  GARECA, Edgar. Assemblage of bats in sites with varying degrees of disturbance in montane forests of Carrasco National Park, Bolivia. Mastozool. neotrop. [online]. 2008, vol.15, n.2, pp.297-308. ISSN 0327-9383.

Montane forests in Bolivia are characterized by sites with high biodiversity and endemism but are also faced by threats due to human activities, mainly agriculture. For a period of 11 months, we evaluated the effect of human disturbance due to traditional agricultural activities on bat communities in a montane forest in the foothills of the Santuario de Vida Silvestre Cavernas de Repechón, Carrasco National Park. We found that the total community contained 36 species based on a sample of 2518 individuals belonging to Phyllostomidae and Vespertilionidae. The most abundant species in all sites was Carollia perspicillata; in abandoned fields, young forest and mature forest C. brevicauda was the second most abundant species, whereas in agricultural lands Artibeus lituratus was the most common. Fruit-eating bats were the best represented trophic guild in terms of species and abundance. The sites with most similar species composition were abandoned fields and mature forests. Young forests were less similar to abandoned fields, and agricultural lands differed most from all other sites. Because the study sites were small compared with the larger matrix consisting mostly of secondary forest, most of the bat species are probably using these sites as commuting areas.

Keywords : Bolivia; Chiroptera; Communities; Disturbance; Yungas.

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