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Dryad

Dietary items recorded in Chocoan bats

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Aug 30, 2024 version files 19.13 KB

Abstract

Human disturbances have reduced the three basic niche dimensions for the survival of some mammalian species (space, time and resources). Many studies consider that anthropic activities cause the extinction of ecological functionalities faster than the species extinctions. The effects of human disturbances on the niche structure and ecological relationships of bat communities are fairly unknown.  Based on management use, we identified 4 types of habitats in the Ecuadorian Andean Chocó: primary forest (PF), secondary forest in natural regeneration (SF1), secondary forest in assisted regeneration (SF2) and pastures for cattle (P). We used these habitats to determine the responses in the trophic niche and the ecological relationships of understory fruit bats. Our results show that niche overlap is higher in disturbed habitats (SF1, SF2, and P), while ecological relationships are weaker. These results mean that bat communities and the ecosystem services that these animals provide are highly endangered due to anthropogenic disturbances.