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Nycteribiidae encompasses a specialized group of wingless blood-sucking flies that parasitize bats worldwide. Such relationships are frequently species- or genus-specific, indicating unique eco-evolutionary processes. However, despite this significance, comprehensive studies on the relationships of these flies with their hosts, particularly in the New World, have been scarce. Here, we provide a detailed description of the parasitological patterns of nycteribiid flies infesting a population of Myotis lavali bats in the Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil, considering the potential influence of biotic and abiotic factors on the establishment of nycteribiids on bat hosts. From July 2014 to June 2015, we captured 165 M. lavali bats and collected 390 Basilia travassosi flies. Notably, B. travassosi displayed a high prevalence and was the exclusive fly species parasitizing M. lavali in the surveyed area. Moreover, there was a significant predominance of female flies, indicating a female-biased pattern. The distribution pattern of the flies was aggregated; most hosts exhibited minimal or no parasitism, while a minority displayed heavy infestation. Sexually active male bats exhibited greater susceptibility to parasitism compared to their inactive counterparts, possibly due to behavioral changes during the peak reproductive period. We observed a greater prevalence and abundance of flies during the rainy season, coinciding with the peak reproductive phase of the host species. No obvious correlation was observed between the parasite load and bat body mass. Our findings shed light on the intricate dynamics of nycteribiid-bat interactions and emphasize the importance of considering various factors when exploring bat-parasite associations.

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Ecosystem engineers are organisms able to modify their environment by changing the distribution of materials and energy, with effects on biotic and abiotic ecosystem components. Several ecosystem engineers are known, but for most of them the mechanisms behind their influence are poorly known. We detail the role of bats as ecosystem engineers in iron ore caves in the Carajás National Forest, Brazilian Amazonia, an area with > 1,500 caves, some holding ~150,000 bats. We analyzed the chemical composition of guano deposits in bat caves, radiocarbon-dated those deposits, and elucidated the chemical mechanisms involved and the role the bat guano has on modifying those caves. The insect-composed guano was rich in organic matter, with high concentrations of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus pentoxide and ferric oxide, plus potassium oxide, calcium and sulfur trioxide. Radiocarbon dating indicated guano deposits between 22,000 and 1,800 years old. The guano pH was mainly acid (from 2.1 to 5.6). Percolating waters in those bat caves were also acid (pH reaching 1.5), with the presence of phosphate, iron, calcium, nitrate and sulfate. Acid solutions due to guano decomposition and possible microbial activity produced various forms of corrosion on the caves´ floor and walls, resulting in their enlargement. Bat caves or caves with evidence of inactive bat colonies had, on average, lengths six times larger, areas five times larger, and volumes five times bigger than the regional average, plus more abundant, diversified and bigger speleothems when compared with other caves. In an example of bioengineering, the long-term presence of bats (> 22,000 years) and the guano deposits they produce, mediated by biological and chemical interactions over millennia, resulted in very unique ecological, evolutionary and geomorphological processes, whose working are just beginning to be better understood by science. However, the current expansion of mineral extraction activities coupled with the loosening of licensing and cave protection rules is a real conservation threat to the bat caves in Carajás. The destruction of those caves would represent an unacceptable loss of both speleological and biological heritage and we urge that, whenever they occur, bat caves and their colonies must be fully protected and left off-limits of mineral extraction.

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Bats host a large variety of viruses, including some that may infect other vertebrates and humans. Research on bat-borne viruses attracted significant attention in recent years mainly due to epizootics caused by viruses having bats as hosts. The characterization of the viral communities of bats was then prioritized, but despite increasing efforts, there are large disparities in the geographical ranges covered and the methodologies employed around the world. As a result, large gaps remain in our current understanding of bat viromes and their role in disease emergence. This is particularly true for megadiverse regions in Latin America. This review aims to summarize the current understanding about bat viruses that inhabit Brazilian biomes, one of the most bat species-rich and diverse regions of the globe. Taking into account all known bat-associated viral families studied in Brazilian biomes, we found that almost half of all bat species (86/181 species) were not investigated for viruses at all. Moreover, only a small fraction of viral lineages or families have been studied more in depth, usually employing targeted methods with limited power to characterize a broad virus diversity. Additionally, these studies relied on limited spatiotemporal sampling and small sample sizes. Therefore, our current understanding of bat viral communities in the Brazilian biomes is limited and biased at different levels, limiting zoonotic risk assessments of bat-borne viruses. Considering these limitations, we propose strategies to bridge the existing gaps in the near future. IMPORTANCE Bat-borne viruses have attracted much attention due to zoonotic outbreaks with large consequences to humans. Because of that, virus characterization in bats has been prioritized in tropical regions of the globe. However, bat-virus research in Latin America and particularly in Brazil, which are among the most bat species-rich regions of the world, are highly biased toward zoonotic viruses and known bat reservoir species. These results have direct implication for virus studies in general but also for new zoonotic virus and spillover events characterization. The limited knowledge we currently have about the virome of Brazilian bats drastically limits any broad assessment of zoonotic viruses they carry and calls for coordinated and large-scale studies to fill this crucial knowledge gap.

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Streblid flies (Diptera: Streblidae) are hematophagous and highly specialized parasitic insects, found only on bats (Chiroptera). Caves are important roosts for bats but, despite harboring high bat richness, relatively few studies exist on the ecology and biology of streblid flies in cave environments, especially in Amazonia, the largest domain in northern Brazil, with >140 bat species and thousands of caves. To fill some of the gaps in the geographical distribution and interspecific relationships for streblid flies in the region, we sampled bats in six caves in Carajás National Forest, a protected area in Pará state (Brazil). Thirteen of the 14 streblid species found are new records for Carajás, with three new records for Pará state and two for the northern region of Brazil. Nycterophilia fairchildi was recorded for the first time in Brazil. Most streblids had host-specific behavior, however, N. fairchildi, Trichobius caecus, and T. johnsonae were less host-specific, parasitizing different Pteronotus bat species. The gregarious behavior of Pteronotus species and the spatial distribution of their colonies within the caves may be important factors in the flies' exchange among congener hosts and deserve special attention in future studies. Furthermore, studies on ecological interaction networks between bats and their ectoparasitic flies in caves will be useful for a broader understanding of how this relationship is structured over time and space, as well as its impact on both bats and flies.(AU)

Moscas estréblidas (Diptera: Streblidae) são insetos hematófagos e parasitas encontrados apenas sobre morcegos (Chiroptera). As cavernas são abrigos importantes para morcegos, mas, apesar de abrigarem alta riqueza desses mamíferos, são relativamente poucos os estudos focados na ecologia e biologia de moscas estréblidas em ambientes cavernícolas, especialmente na Amazônia, o maior domínio no norte do Brasil, com >140 espécies de morcegos e milhares de cavernas. Para preencher algumas das lacunas na distribuição geográfica e nas relações interespecíficas de moscas estréblidas na região, amostramos morcegos cavernícolas em seis cavernas na Floresta Nacional de Carajás, uma área protegida no estado do Pará. Treze das 14 espécies de moscas estréblidas encontradas são novos registros para Carajás, com três novos registros para o Pará e dois para a região norte do Brasil. Nycterophilia fairchildi foi registrada pela primeira vez no Brasil. A maioria das espécies de moscas foi hospedeiro-específica; entretanto, N. fairchildi, Trichobius caecus e T. johnsonae foram menos específicas, parasitando diferentes espécies de morcegos do gênero Pteronotus. O comportamento gregário das espécies de Pteronotus e a distribuição espacial de suas colônias dentro das cavernas podem ser fatores importantes na troca de moscas entre hospedeiros congêneres e merecem atenção especial em estudos futuros. Adicionalmente, estudos sobre redes de interação ecológica entre morcegos e suas moscas ectoparasitas em cavernas serão úteis para uma compreensão mais ampla de como essa relação se estrutura no tempo e no espaço, bem como sobre o seu impacto, tanto sobre os morcegos como sobre as moscas.(AU)

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Bat flies are obligate ectoparasitic dipterans that are highly specialised to bats and have apomorphic characteristics, such as absent or reduced wings, and specialised legs and claws, which contribute to their survival. They are often associated with fungi and harbour a fungal diversity that is still poorly understood. Fungi were found in association with the bat flies in a cave of the Caatinga dry forest in Brazil. In total, 43% of the captured bat flies were associated with fungi. Seventy-six flies were collected. DNA sequence analyses of 39 isolates showed that the isolates belonged to 13 species within nine genera, with 38 isolates belonging to Ascomycota and one isolate to Basidiomycota, and Aspergillus was the most frequently isolated genus. Most of the genera found have also been isolated from bat bodies and other substrates/hosts in caves in different regions of the world. Based on morphological and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses, two new species of Ascomycota were described: Allophoma brasiliensis sp. nov. and Pyrenochaetopsis cecavii sp. nov.

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Brazil's Caatinga drylands is under extensive environmental deterioration, with 38% of its natural cover already lost. There is a need for a better understanding of the effects of such degradation on Caatinga's rich and singular biota. Bats form a large part of this biota, and are pointed as good bioindicators. Here, we used the micronucleus test -an easy-to-use, accessible and cost-effective in vivo approach- to detect DNA damage in cells from bats of different species and feeding habits in three protected areas in the Caatinga, comparing them with samples from an industrial sugarcane plantation. We hypothesized that environmental disturbance would reflect in DNA damage, with lower levels of damage in the less disturbed protected areas. The frequency of micronucleated cells differed significantly between sites and feeding habits (carnivores > insectivores > frugivores > nectarivores > hematophagous) but did not differ between sexes. Alarmingly, the highest levels of DNA damage were in two strictly protected areas (Seridó and Raso da Catarina Ecological Stations). Glossophaga and Anoura were the genera with more damaged cells, and had, respectively, 1.48 and 3.53 times more micronucleated cells (average of 19.33 and 22.67 cells, respectively) than individuals from the same genera from the area with least damaged cells (average of 7.80 and 5.00 cells, respectively). Our analysis is a warning call for an in-depth investigation on the effects of both genotoxic contamination and environmental stressors on bats and other species in Brazil's Caatinga, including the role that historical human-induced processes -like the intense use of agrochemicals- may have had in the region.

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Wind energy is an important electricity source. Even though it is cleaner than other energy sources in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, gathering energy from the wind has impact on organisms that fly, including bats. Understanding whether and how bat activity patterns are affected by environmental variables may be useful when trying to mitigate these impacts, for example bat mortality from collisions with wind turbines. Northeastern Brazil concentrates one of the world's largest wind potentials and has thousands of wind turbines in operation. In spite of this scenario, there is a lack of basic information, such as the presence of bat species and their activity patterns in those wind farms. We used passive acoustic monitoring to assess species richness and species composition and obtain data on activity patterns of insectivorous bats in four wind farm complexes in northeastern Brazil. We also investigated the possible correlation between environmental variables (wind speed and direction, air temperature and humidity, and percentage of moon illumination) and bat activity. The acoustic monitoring carried out for 30 nights produced approximately 120,000 bat passes of 29 sonotypes and four families. Environmental variables may influence bat activity, but in a site-specific way, i.e., although the environmental conditions of wind-energy complexes were similar, there was not an activity pattern common to all. Considering such specificities, we strongly recommend long-term specific on-site monitoring in each wind complex, avoiding generalizations for the environmental licensing of wind energy in Brazil.(AU)

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Species distribution modelling (SDM) gained importance on biodiversity distribution and conservation studies worldwide, including prioritizing areas for public policies and international treaties. Useful for large-scale approaches and species distribution estimates, it is a plus considering that a minor fraction of the planet is adequately sampled. However, minimizing errors is challenging, but essential, considering the uses and consequences of such models. In situ validation of the SDM outputs should be a key-step-in some cases, urgent. Bioacoustics can be used to validate and refine those outputs, especially if the focal species' vocalizations are conspicuous and species-specific. This is the case of echolocating bats. Here, we used extensive acoustic monitoring (>120 validation points over an area of >758,000 km2, and producing >300,000 sound files) to validate MaxEnt outputs for six neotropical bat species in a poorly-sampled region of Brazil. Based on in situ validation, we evaluated four threshold-dependent theoretical evaluation metrics' ability in predicting models' performance. We also assessed the performance of three widely used thresholds to convert continuous SDMs into presence/absence maps. We demonstrated that MaxEnt produces very different outputs, requiring a careful choice on thresholds and modeling parameters. Although all theoretical evaluation metrics studied were positively correlated with accuracy, we empirically demonstrated that metrics based on specificity-sensitivity and sensitivity-precision are better for testing models, considering that most SDMs are based on unbalanced data. Without independent field validation, we found that using an arbitrary threshold for modelling can be a precarious approach with many possible outcomes, even after getting good evaluation scores. Bioacoustics proved to be important for validating SDMs for the six bat species analyzed, allowing a better refinement of SDMs in large and under-sampled regions, with relatively low sampling effort. Regardless of the species assessing method used, our research highlighted the vital necessity of in situ validation for SDMs.

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Bat ectoparasitic flies are hematophagous insects highly specialized to parasitize only bats. Knowledge about how biotic and abiotic factors can influence ecological relationships between parasites and hosts is in general incipient. Large information gaps are even worst in biodiversity-rich, but poorly sampled areas like Brazil's Caatinga, the largest tropical dry forest in South America. We used bats and their highly specialized ectoparasitic flies as a study model to clarify some aspects of this host-parasite system in this semiarid environment. We conducted fieldwork at 55 sites in the Caatinga, between April 2017 and March 2020 and collected 1300 flies (19 species) on 333 bats (15 species). Bat ectoparasitic flies were highly host-specific, had an aggregated distribution, frequently formed infracommunities with only one species, and had a male-biased sex ratio. Except for the prevalence of the streblid fly Strebla guajiro on Carollia perspicillata, which was significantly higher in the rainy season, bat flies showed no preference - expressed by frequency and intensity of infestation - for host sex, and their interspecific relationships were not mediated by rainfall. Other variables that could potentially be interfering in this host-parasite relationship deserve further attention, especially in environments such as the Caatinga where there is great seasonal variation. Furthermore, the existence of species-specific responses must be taken into account.

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Bat caves are very special roosts that harbour thousands of bats of one or more species. Such sites may hold an incredible "dark fungal diversity" which is still underestimated. We explored the culturable fungal richness in the air, on bats, and in the guano in a bat cave in Brazil's Caatinga dry forest. Fungal abundance was 683 colony-forming units (CFU) in the guano, 673 CFU in the air, and 105 CFU on the bats. Based on morphological and phylogenetic analysis of ITS, LSU, and TUB2 sequences, fungal isolates of 59 taxa belonging to 37 genera in the phyla Ascomycota (28 genera, including Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium, and Talaromyces), Basidiomycota (eight genera, including Rhodotorula and Schizophyllum), and Mucoromycota (only Rhizopus) were identified. The fungal richness in the air was 23 taxa (especially Aspergillus taxa), mainly found at 15 m and 45 m from the cave entrance; on the bodies of bats it was 36 taxa (mainly Aspergillus taxa), especially on their wing membranes (21 taxa, nine of which were exclusively found in this microhabitat); and in guano 10 fungal taxa (especially Aspergillus and Penicillium) were found. The fungal richness associated with guano (fresh and non-fresh) was similar from bats with different eating habits (insectivorous, frugivorous, and haematophagous). Sampling effort was not sufficient to reveal the total fungal taxa richness estimated. Eight (21.6%) of the 37 genera and 17 (53.1%) of the 32 identified fungal species are reported for the first time in caves. Our results highlight bat caves in Brazil as hotspots of fungal diversity, emphasizing the need to protect such special roosts.

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Argasid ticks are a diverse group of acarines that parasitize numerous vertebrate hosts. Along with birds, bats serve as hosts for several argasid ticks, which are commonly found in bat caves. Argasid ticks have regained attention from tick taxonomists in recent decades, with a number of new species described in various zoogeographical regions. Nonetheless, studies on their ecology are still scarce. We conducted a 1-year longitudinal study to assess the presence of argasid ticks in a bat cave in the drylands of north-eastern Brazil and evaluate their possible response to abiotic factors. From July 2014 to June 2015, 490 ticks were collected (272 nymphs, 169 males and 49 females) in a cave chamber hosting a large colony of Pteronotus spp. bats, being relatively more frequent from July to December 2014. Adults were identified as Antricola guglielmonei, whereas nymphs were assigned to the genus Antricola. Almost all ticks (98%) were collected on the cave walls. Only 2% were on the ceiling and, surprisingly, no specimens were found on the floor and/or guano. Adults were usually clustered in the crevices and little mobile, whereas nymphs were dispersed and more active, moving over the walls or ceiling of the cave. Although present in most of the studied period, there was a significantly negative correlation between tick abundance and relatively humidity, and A. guglielmonei was more frequent during the dry season. Moreover, there was no evident correlation between the abundance of ticks and bats. Further long-term studies will be able to verify whether this pattern is repeated over time, and even whether other variables can influence the population dynamics of A. guglielmonei.

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Abstract Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, bats are being pointed as responsible for its origin, even without solid scientific evidence. In this opinion piece, we discuss the most updated information on bats and COVID-19 and argue that bats should not be blamed for a disease they are not responsible for. Bats should be seen not as dangerous animals but, instead, as sources of several scientific insights useful for human health.

Resumo Morcegos e COVID-19: vilões ou vítimas? Desde o início da epidemia de COVID-19, morcegos estão sendo apontados como os culpados por sua origem, mesmo sem evidências científicas sólidas que apontem para tal. Neste artigo de opinião trazemos informações atualizadas sobre morcegos e COVID-19 e discutimos porque morcegos não deveriam ser culpados por uma doença pela qual não foram responsáveis. Morcegos não deveriam ser vistos como animais perigosos, mas sim como fontes de várias ideias e abordagens científicas úteis para a saúde humana.

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Facing a global biodiversity conservation crisis, urgent decisions are needed but prioritization is challenging. We analyzed how students, recent graduates of Biology, Law, and Engineering, and environmental managers in Brazil ranked ten conservation actions. Reduction in habitat loss and in overexploitation, and in situ protection were consensual top priorities. Freshmen students have similar priorities, which change as their courses advance. Biologists, engineers, and lawyers agree about only two priorities, but not in a consensual order. Biologists gave little importance to financial resources; managers much higher, and lower to action plans. Flagship species and ex situ protection were least priorities for all. Prioritization was influenced by educational level and experience and some priorities are counterintuitive. Our study reinforces the need to assess inter-groups differences, so conservationists could anticipate tendencies of single group decisions. Gaps in the conservation-oriented education of potential decision-makers must be filled, so their decisions could be more effective.

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Measures of traits are the basis of functional biological diversity. Numerous works consider mean species-level measures of traits while ignoring individual variance within species. However, there is a large amount of variation within species and it is increasingly apparent that it is important to consider trait variation not only between species, but also within species. Mammals are an interesting group for investigating trait-based approaches because they play diverse and important ecological functions (e.g., pollination, seed dispersal, predation, grazing) that are correlated with functional traits. Here we compile a data set comprising morphological and life history information of 279 mammal species from 39,850 individuals of 388 populations ranging from -5.83 to -29.75 decimal degrees of latitude and -34.82 to -56.73 decimal degrees of longitude in the Atlantic forest of South America. We present trait information from 16,840 individuals of 181 species of non-volant mammals (Rodentia, Didelphimorphia, Carnivora, Primates, Cingulata, Artiodactyla, Pilosa, Lagomorpha, Perissodactyla) and from 23,010 individuals of 98 species of volant mammals (Chiroptera). The traits reported include body mass, age, sex, reproductive stage, as well as the geographic coordinates of sampling for all taxa. Moreover, we gathered information on forearm length for bats and body length and tail length for rodents and marsupials. No copyright restrictions are associated with the use of this data set. Please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data.

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Better knowledge of the geographical distribution of parasites and their hosts can contribute to clarifying aspects of host specificity, as well as on the interactions among hosts, parasites, and the environment in which both exist. Ectoparasitic flies of the Nycteribiidae and Streblidae families are highly specialized hematophagous parasites of bats, whose distributional patterns, species richness, and associations with hosts remain underexplored and poorly known in Brazil. Here, we used information available in the literature and unpublished data to verify if the occurrence of bat hosts in a given environment influences the occurrence and distribution of nycteribiid and streblid flies in different ecoregions in the northeastern Brazil. We evaluate species richness and similarity between ecoregions and tested correlations between species richness and the number of studies in each ecoregion and federative unit. We recorded 50 species and 15 genera of bat ectoparasitic flies on 36 species and 27 genera of bat hosts. The Atlantic Forest had the highest fly species richness (n = 31; 62%), followed by Caatinga (n = 27; 54%). We detected the formation of distinct groups, with low species overlap between ecoregions for both flies and bats. Fly species richness was correlated with host species richness and with the number of studies in each federative unit, but not with the number of studies by ecoregion. Due to the formation of distinct groups with low species overlap for both groups, host availability is likely to be one of the factors that most influence the occurrence of highly specific flies. We also discuss host specificity for some species, produced an updated list of species and distribution for both nycteribiid and streblid flies with information on interaction networks, and conclude by presenting recommendations for more effective inventories of bat ectoparasites in the future.

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Abstract The state of Rio Grande do Norte is considered a data gap for bat species records in Brazil. The state is also currently target of large economic projects with potential impacts on bats, especially wind farms and mining enterprises. In addition, Rio Grande do Norte has few conservation units in which there is no systematic study on bat fauna. The Nísia Floresta National Forest (NFNF), a federally protected area of 174 hectares, is located in the eastern coast of Rio Grande do Norte and corresponds to one of the last remnants of Atlantic Forest in the state, in its northernmost limits. A bat inventory was conducted in NFNF using mist nets set at ground level, from sunset to sunrise, from December 2011 to December 2012, totaling 25 sampling nights. We captured 1,379 bats belonging to four families and 16 species. Artibeus planirostris (Phyllostomidae) was the most frequently captured species (n = 685; 50%), followed by Myotis lavali (Vespertilionidae) (n = 248; 18%) and Phyllostomus discolor (Phyllostomidae) (n = 147; 11%). Peropteryx leucoptera, Phyllostomus discolor, Phyllostomus hastatus, Lophostoma brasiliense, Lasiurus blossevillii, Myotis lavali, and Promops nasutus are new records for Rio Grande do Norte, increasing the current number of bat species from 25 to 32 in this state. Further inventories, especially using acoustic surveys with bat detectors, might add more species to the NFNF bat list.

Resumo O estado do Rio Grande do Norte é considerado uma lacuna de informações sobre ocorrência de morcegos no Brasil. O estado também é atualmente alvo de grandes empreendimentos com potencial impacto sobre a quiropterofauna, especialmente no setor de energia eólica e mineração. Além disso, apresenta poucas unidades de conservação, e estas não possuem sua quiropterofauna estudada de maneira sistematizada. A Floresta Nacional de Nísia Floresta (FNNF), uma unidade de conservação federal de 174 hectares, localiza-se na costa leste do Rio Grande do Norte e corresponde a um dos últimos remanescentes de Mata Atlântica no estado e no limite norte do bioma. Foi realizado um inventário de morcegos na FNNF com a utilização de redes de neblina armadas no nível do solo, do por do sol ao amanhecer, de dezembro de 2011 a dezembro de 2012, totalizando 25 noites de amostragem. Nós capturamos 1379 morcegos pertencentes a quatro famílias e 16 espécies. Artibeus planirostris (Phyllostomidae) foi a espécie mais frequentemente capturada (n = 685; 50%), seguida por Myotis lavali (Vespertilionidae) (n = 248; 18%) e Phyllostomus discolor (Phyllostomidae) (n = 147; 11%). Peropteryx leucoptera, Phyllostomus discolor, Phyllostomus hastatus, Lophostoma brasiliense, Lasiurus blossevillii, Myotis lavali e Promops nasutus são novos registros para o Rio Grande do Norte, aumentando o número atual de espécies de morcegos no estado de 25 para 32. Inventários adicionais, especialmente utilizando amostragens acústicas com detectores de morcegos, tendem a acrescentar novas espécies à lista de morcegos da FNNF.

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The greatest current threat to terrestrial fauna is continuous and severe landscape modification that destroys and degrades animal habitats. This rapid and severe modification has threatened species, local biological communities, and the ecological services that they provide, such as seed dispersal, insect predation, and pollination. Bats are important pollinators of the Cerrado (woodland savanna) because of their role in the life cycles of many plant species. However, there is little information about how these bat species are being affected by habitat loss and fragmentation. We used radio-tracking to estimate the home ranges of Glossophaga soricina (Pallas, 1776) and Lonchophylla dekeyseri Taddei, Vizotto & Sazima, 1983. The home range of G. soricina varies from 430 to 890 ha. They combine shortrange flights of up to 500 m to nearby areas with longer flights of 2 to 3 km that take them away from their core areas. The maximum flight distance tracked for L. dekeyseri was 3.8 km, and its home range varies from 564 to 640 ha. The average distance travelled by this species was 1.3 km. Our data suggest that G. soricina and L. dekeyseri are able to explore the fragmented landscape of the Central Brazilian Cerrado and that they are likely to survive in the short- to medium-term. The natural dispersal ability of these two species may enable them to compensate for continued human disturbance in the region.(AU)

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The greatest current threat to terrestrial fauna is continuous and severe landscape modification that destroys and degrades animal habitats. This rapid and severe modification has threatened species, local biological communities, and the ecological services that they provide, such as seed dispersal, insect predation, and pollination. Bats are important pollinators of the Cerrado (woodland savanna) because of their role in the life cycles of many plant species. However, there is little information about how these bat species are being affected by habitat loss and fragmentation. We used radio-tracking to estimate the home ranges of Glossophaga soricina (Pallas, 1776) and Lonchophylla dekeyseri Taddei, Vizotto & Sazima, 1983. The home range of G. soricina varies from 430 to 890 ha. They combine shortrange flights of up to 500 m to nearby areas with longer flights of 2 to 3 km that take them away from their core areas. The maximum flight distance tracked for L. dekeyseri was 3.8 km, and its home range varies from 564 to 640 ha. The average distance travelled by this species was 1.3 km. Our data suggest that G. soricina and L. dekeyseri are able to explore the fragmented landscape of the Central Brazilian Cerrado and that they are likely to survive in the short- to medium-term. The natural dispersal ability of these two species may enable them to compensate for continued human disturbance in the region.

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Bats are good seed dispersers and hundreds of plants depend on them for reproduction. Estimating the volume of seeds dispersed by bats is a scientific challenge, but necessary to better define the role and magnitude of those animals as ecological agents and providers of environmental services. Here, we investigated the seed load of Piper marginatum Jacq., a bat-dispersed species in the northeastern Atlantic Forest of Brazil. We were guided by a central question: On average, how many seeds are transported when a bat removes one fruit from a plant? Between July 2011 and January 2012, 590 fruits were monitored for 27 weeks, taking 13 weeks for their maturation, and 11 weeks from complete removal. Correlations and regressions based on fruit length, diameter, weight, and number of total and ripe seeds indicated that a single 14.2 cm ripe fruit contains, on average, 848 seeds (800 ripe). Based on a sample of 149 ripe fruit monitored weekly, we observed that, on average, 16 fruits are removed per week, resulting in the transportation of nearly 12,800 ripe seed. Our data allows a better estimation on the volume of seeds dispersed by bats, emphasizing the ecological services they provide.(AU)

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