Structure of mutualistic networks between bats and plants and other feeding strategies in a semiarid caatinga forest of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

• Main Author: Schmidt, Eugenia Cordero
• Other Authors: 07873068862
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: PROGRAMA DE P?S-GRADUA??O EM ECOLOGIA 2016
• Subjects: CNPQ::CIENCIAS BIOLOGICAS::ECOLOGIA; Nestedness; Diet; Chiropterophily; Resource use; Pollen types; Cactaceae; Bats; Folivory; Phyllostomidae; Caatinga
• Online Access: https://repositorio.ufrn.br/jspui/handle/123456789/21512

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica ([e-mail]) on 2016-12-26T20:08:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 EugeniaCorderoSchmidt_DISSERT.pdf: 37502107 bytes, checksum: 8ea90c3282a2c39d9600a891b990f41e (MD5) === Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva ([e-mail]) on 2016-12-26T20:17:54Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 EugeniaCorderoSchmidt_DISSERT.pdf: 37502107 bytes, checksum: 8ea90c3282a2c39d9600a891b990f41e (MD5) === Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-26T20:17:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 EugeniaCorderoSchmidt_DISSERT.pdf: 37502107 bytes, checksum: 8ea90c3282a2c39d9600a891b990f41e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-19 === Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq) === Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES) === A Caatinga ? uma forma??o florestal escler?fila, dec?dua e espinhosa. Situase em uma regi?o semi-?rida, com cerca de 730 000 km2, exclusiva do territ?rio brasileiro. Este ambiente apresenta grande varia??o de tipos de vegeta??o que foram atribu?das ? varia??es em larga escala no clima, padr?es de geomorfologia e diferen?as de pequena escala em relevo e solos. A precipita??o escassa e flutuante das regi?es ?ridas e semi-?ridas, exercem um forte controle sobre: hist?rias de vida, caracter?sticas fisiol?gicas e composi??o de esp?cies de sua biota. Pelo menos 77 esp?cies de morcegos das 178 esp?cies presentes no Brasil s?o encontrados na Caatinga, dos quais 13 s?o frug?voros e cinco nectarivorous incluindo o end?mica Xeronycteris vieirai. Os morcegos s?o conhecidos por desempenharem pap?is importantes no controle de pragas, poliniza??o e dispers?o de sementes. No entanto, pouca informa??o foi gerada sobre o papel ecol?gico dessas esp?cies em um ambiente como Caatinga. Em geral, esse habitat ? o ecossistema brasileiro mais negligenciado em termos de pesquisa e conserva??o da sua biodiversidade. Especificamente no caso dos morcegos, o Rio Grande do Norte possui uma das maiores lacunas de conhecimento no Brasil. Os dados aqui apresentados, representam uma das primeiras pesquisas formais com morcegos na Caatinga do Rio Grande do Norte. Foram geradas informa??es sobre a estrutura aninhada e assim?trica da rede mutual?stica entre morcegos nectar?voros e esp?cieschave de plantas para a manuten??o da comunidade de morcegos nectar?voros nesta regi?o. Al?m disso, a primeira evid?ncia de folivoria de pelo menos 16 esp?cies de plantas pelo morcego frug?voro Artibeus planirostris foi documentada. Isto representa o primeiro registro para um ambiente semi-?rido e o primeiro registro para a esp?cie. Finalmente, o primeiro ?insight? para aspectos biol?gicos do morcego end?mico X. vieirai, incluindo dieta, poleiros e dados de reprodu??o, assim como a extens?o de sua distribui??o a n?vel nacional. === 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.