Bat Responses to Anthropogenic Forest Fragmentation: Insights from an Amazonian Fragmentation Experiment in Brazil

Rocha, Ricardo; López-Baucells, Adrià; Farneda, Fábio Z.; Meyer, Christoph F. J.

Abstract

Forest loss and fragmentation are two of the most pressing threats to Amazonian biodiversity. This chapter examines the responses of bats, one of most species-rich Amazonian mammal groups, to anthropogenic forest fragmentation by providing an overview of the research conducted over the last decade at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP), a whole-ecosystem experiment in the Central Brazilian Amazon. Between 2011 and 2014, almost 7000 bats of over 50 species were captured using mist netting, and ca. 650,000 bat passes of 21 sonotypes were recorded using passive acoustic detectors. We briefly describe the sampling design used to survey bats in the BDFFP reserves, characterise the bat assemblages in fragments, secondary forest matrix and continuous forest and discuss the effects of forest fragmentation on the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic dimensions of phyllostomid and aerial-hawking insectivorous bat biodiversity. We report on area, edge and matrix effects and explore time-related complexities associated with both short- and long-term responses to changes in matrix structure and composition. Finally, taking the BDFFP as an illustrative example, we discuss the implications of our findings for the conservation of Amazonian bats and propose directions for future research.

Citation

Rocha, R., López-Baucells, A., Farneda, F. Z., & Meyer, C. F. J. (2024). Bat Responses to Anthropogenic Forest Fragmentation: Insights from an Amazonian Fragmentation Experiment in Brazil. In W. R. Spironello, A. A. Barnett, J. W. Lynch, P. E. Bobrowiec, & S. A. Boyle (Eds.), Amazonian Mammals (365-387). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43071-8_14

• Online Publication Date: Jan 30, 2024
• Publication Date: Jan 30, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jan 31, 2024
• Publisher: Springer
• Pages: 365-387
• Book Title: Amazonian Mammals
• ISBN: 9783031430701
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43071-8_14