Diversity, richness, and vertical stratification of bat species in an Atlantic Forest remnant in the Brazilian southern region

• Published in: Biotemas Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 121 - 131
• Main Authors: Marta Elena Fabián, Daniel Paulo de Souza Pires
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina 01.11.2013
• Subjects: Canopy; Seasonal forest; Understory
• ISSN: 0103-1643; 2175-7925

In this study, we evaluated the diversity, richness, and composition of bat species in the canopy and understory of an Atlantic Forest remnant in the Brazilian southern region, in the municipally of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. Between July 2010 and June 2011, bats were captured by means of 10 mist nets, 5 in the canopy and 5 in the understory. We calculated the Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H’), the expected richness (Chao 1 and Jackknife 2), and the constancy index of species for the entire area. We applied Fisher’s Exact test to check if the catches were different in the canopy and understory. We captured 107 chiropteran specimens, 20 individuals of 5 species in the canopy and 87 individuals of 7 species in the understory. The diversity index was 1,481 and the expected richness was 9 (Chao 1) and 10 (Jackknife 2). The constancy index showed that Sturnira lilium and Glossophaga soricina are relatively common in the study area. The registered richness represents about 22% of bat species listed for the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Vertical stratification analysis showed that some species are more frequent in the canopy and others in the understory.