INFLUÊNCIA DO AMBIENTE EM DIFERENTES ESCALAS NA ABUNDÂNCIA DE DUAS ESPÉCIES DE MORCEGOS FRUGÍVOROS

Abstract

Agroforestry systems have a large cultivated area in southern Bahia, represented by cocoa plantations under the traditional cultivation system, called cabrucas. In these agroforestry, cocoa is grown under the shade of native forest species, which serve as habitat for a wide variety of bats, including the species Carollia perspicillata and Rhinophylla pumilio. Although both species are similar in size, they forage in the understory region and are important seed dispersers mainly of pioneer species, unlike C. perspicillata, R. pumilio is rarer in these environments. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate how the abundance of these two bat species varies as a function of landscape scale variables (percentage of forest and cabruca cover and edge quantity) and local variables (forest structure and amount resources) in areas of cabrucas in southern Bahia. The results of the study suggest that both C. perspicillata and R. pumilio are positively affected by the genus Piper, and that both have a preference for more preserved remnant areas with less edge. They also suggest that C. perspicillata is less affected by the attributes present in the sampling areas, whereas R. pumilio is more sensitive to environmental changes. We conclude that goats are important in the activity of Carollia perspicillata and Rhinophylla pumilio, but do not replace forest fragments, which are extremely important for the abundance of bat species.