Comunidade de morcegos em uma paisagem fragmentada da Mata Atlantica do Sul da Bahia, Brasil

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2002

RESUMO

The process of forest conversion on the tropical fragmented and disturbed landscapes is considered a major cause leading to the present high rates of extinction. The present study attempted to investigate the impact of forest fragmentation in a landscape of the Atlantic forest located in the southern part of the State of Bahia, Northeastern Brazil. Forest structure and the bat community were evaluated in six habitat categories comprising the bulk of the forest mosaic left in the Una region: interiors and edges of continuous forests (>1,000 ha) and fragments «100 ha), cacao shade plantations (cabrucas) and early secondary forests (capoeiras). In the Una region, fragmentation, regeneration and land use have resulted in overall modifications of the original forest structure, and it was possible to order the previously defined forest categories along gradients of structural disturbance. Pattems of bat species richness and abundance were not directly affected by the reduction of forest area, with fragments showing the same diversity, mean species richness and capture frequency as continuous forest tracts, although significant differences were reported to occur in the abundance of a single species, Artibeus obscurus, that was less frequent in fragments than continuous areas. The main impact of fragmentation on bats appears to be the formation of edges. Overall, species richness in all forest edge sites was roughly half the number reported to occur for all interior sites. Secondary forests, comprising the bulk of the forest matrix in the Una region, proved to be permeable to only a small fraction of bat species. On the other hand, shade cacao plantations showed a rich and diverse bat assemblage, including rare species. However, this striking richness seem to be closely linked with the presence of forest remnants nearby these plantations, as samples taken from cabrucas located at some distance from forest tracts were poorer and less diverse compared with those from Una region. The response of bats to different forest categories seems to be partially associated with some modifications on the original forest structure. This study brings some important information for the conservation of bats in this region of the Atlantic rainforest

ASSUNTO(S)

mata atlantica morcego

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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