Structure of mutualistic networks between bats and plants and other feeding strategies in a semiarid caatinga forest of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Caatinga is a deciduous thorny woodland and sclerophyllous vegetation, encountered in a semi-arid region of around 730 000 km2 entirely within the Brazilian territory . This environment presents high variation of vegetation types that have been attributed to large-scale variations in the climate,...
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| Formato: | Dissertação |
| Idioma: | por |
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Brasil
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| Endereço do item: | https://repositorio.ufrn.br/jspui/handle/123456789/21512 |
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| Resumo: | Caatinga is a deciduous thorny woodland and sclerophyllous vegetation,
encountered in a semi-arid region of around 730 000 km2 entirely within the Brazilian
territory . This environment presents high variation of vegetation types that have been
attributed to large-scale variations in the climate, geomorphology patterns, and smallscale
differences in topography and soils. The sparse and fluctuation precipitation of
arid and semiarid regions is believed to exert strong control over life histories,
physiological characteristics, and species composition of their biotas.
At least 77 bat species of the 178 species present in Brazil are found in Caatinga, of
which 13 are frugivorous and five nectarivorous including the endemic Xeronycteris
vieirai. Bats are known play important roles in pest control, pollination and seed
dispersal, nonetheless little information has been generated regarding the ecological
role these species play in an environment like Caatinga. In general, this habitat is the
most neglected Brazilian ecosystem in terms of investigation and conservation of its
biodiversity. Specifically in the case of bats, Rio Grande do Norte is one of the
biggest knowledge gaps in Brazil. The data presented here represent one of the first
formal investigations with bats in the Caatinga in Rio Grande do Norte. Information
on the nested and asymmetric structure of the mutualistc network between
nectarivorous bats and plants was generated, with data on key plant species for the
maintenance of the community of nectar-feeding bats in this region. Also, the first
evidence of folivory of at least 16 plant species by the fruit-eating bat Artibeus
planirostris was documented, representing the first record for a semi arid enviroment
and the first record for the bat species. Finally, the first insight to biological aspects of
the endemic X. vieirai including diet, roosts and reproduction data were registered as
well the extention of its range distribution at a national level. |
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