Resources partitioning in a fruit bat community of the southern Atlantic Forest, Brazil
-
Marcelo de Moraes Weber
,
Jeferson L. Steindorff de Arruda
Abstract
Bat species have differences in diet composition, use of vertical space, and nocturnal activity period. We analyzed diet and partitioning of spatial and temporal resources among fruit bats, and the influence of fruit availability on the number of bat captures in the southern boundary of the Atlantic Forest. Artibeus lituratus and A. fimbriatus fed mainly on Ficus, whereas Sturnira lilium fed on Solanaceae, Piperaceae, and Ficus. However, we did not find correlation between number of fruit bat captures with fruit availability. S. lilium was more active at dusk, whereas A. fimbriatus and A. lituratus were more active at dawn. S. lilium flew more in the understory than canopy and A. lituratus and A. fimbriatus did not show differences in the use of vertical space. There was no difference in the use of vertical space among these fruit bats. We showed that differences in one dimension of the niche, such as food, can help to explain differences in another dimension, such as space use. Niche overlap is greater for related species and studies about niche overlap addressing more than one spatial dimension can elucidate the patterns in use of these resources and also the understanding about bat community composition.
©2011 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Original Studies
- Resources partitioning in a fruit bat community of the southern Atlantic Forest, Brazil
- Current and potential distribution of Myotis simus (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae)
- Diurnal time budget of goitred gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa Güldenstaedt, 1780) in Xinjiang, China
- Sex ratios of Arabian Sand Gazelle Gazella marica Thomas, 1897 in the Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area, Saudi Arabia
- Influences of pine plantations on small mammal assemblages of the Patagonian forest-steppe ecotone
- Assessing mammal distribution and abundance in intricate eastern Himalayan habitats of Khangchendzonga, Sikkim, India
- Rhipidomys (Rodentia, Cricetidae) from Paraguay: noteworthy new records and identity of the Paraguayan species
- Observations of the woolly flying squirrel Eupetaurus cinereus in Pakistan
- Observations on the captive behavior of the rare Patagonian opossum Lestodelphys halli (Thomas, 1921) (Marsupialia, Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae)
- Short Notes
- Use of space by the black-eared opossum Didelphis aurita in a rural area in southeastern Brazil
- New records of bats for the state of Minas Gerais, with range extension of Eptesicus chiriquinus Thomas (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) to southeastern Brazil
- First records of mormoopid bats (Chiroptera, Mormoopidae) from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
- Long-term adult male sociality in ring-tailed coatis (Nasua nasua)
- Approach on the genetic diversity in a Lusitanian pine vole population
Articles in the same Issue
- Original Studies
- Resources partitioning in a fruit bat community of the southern Atlantic Forest, Brazil
- Current and potential distribution of Myotis simus (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae)
- Diurnal time budget of goitred gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa Güldenstaedt, 1780) in Xinjiang, China
- Sex ratios of Arabian Sand Gazelle Gazella marica Thomas, 1897 in the Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area, Saudi Arabia
- Influences of pine plantations on small mammal assemblages of the Patagonian forest-steppe ecotone
- Assessing mammal distribution and abundance in intricate eastern Himalayan habitats of Khangchendzonga, Sikkim, India
- Rhipidomys (Rodentia, Cricetidae) from Paraguay: noteworthy new records and identity of the Paraguayan species
- Observations of the woolly flying squirrel Eupetaurus cinereus in Pakistan
- Observations on the captive behavior of the rare Patagonian opossum Lestodelphys halli (Thomas, 1921) (Marsupialia, Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae)
- Short Notes
- Use of space by the black-eared opossum Didelphis aurita in a rural area in southeastern Brazil
- New records of bats for the state of Minas Gerais, with range extension of Eptesicus chiriquinus Thomas (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) to southeastern Brazil
- First records of mormoopid bats (Chiroptera, Mormoopidae) from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
- Long-term adult male sociality in ring-tailed coatis (Nasua nasua)
- Approach on the genetic diversity in a Lusitanian pine vole population
