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Bat (Mammalia, Chiroptera) diversity in forest remnants of Fênix, State of Paraná, southern Brazil

The richness and the relative abundance of bats were evaluated in three Semideciduous Seasonal Forest fragments located in the municipal district of Fênix, northwest of the State of Paraná, southern Brazil. Between July 2002 and June 2003 bats were sampled with mist-nets set in four 1 ha plots representing different degrees of isolation of riparian and lowland forest. A total of 752 individuals of 14 species of Phyllostomidae (n = 10) and Vespertilionidae (n = 4), were captured. Considering the limitations of mist-net sampling, the study area was satisfactorily inventoried based on the ICE estimator. Nevertheless, if compared with similar studies conducted in other Semideciduous Seasonal Forest remnants, the obtained richness is less expressive, suggesting that local extinctions have taken place. Artibeus lituratus (Olfers, 1818) and Carollia perspicillata (Linnaeus, 1758) were dominant in the three studied forest fragments, followed by other three frugivores: A. fimbriatus Gray, 1838, A. jamaicensis Leach, 1821 and Sturnira lilium (E. Geoffroy, 1810). The Shannon's index showed subtle differences among the four studied plots and the Sorensen's index presented high similarities among most of them. However, the grouping analysis revealed higher similarities only between plots representing the same type of vegetation and exhibited two separate groups, one represented by riparian forests and the other by lowland forests, which could be related to particularities in habitat use by bat species. This study also indicated that the forest remnants sampled, in spite of being small, shelter a significant number of bat species and, for that reason, are important for biological conservation.

Bat conservation; forest fragmentation; habitat use; Phyllostomidae; Semideciduous Seasonal Forest


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