Abstract
The vertical stratification of bat communities in primary forests of the Central Amazon (80 km north of
Manaus, Brazil) was investigated using capture nets in the canopy (17 to 30 m high) and in the understorey (from
0-2.5 m). Seventeen sites were sampled during one year (3398.5 mistnet-hours) and 936 individuals captured, belonging
to 6 families, 29 genera and 51 species. Utilizing Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMMDS), a well-marked
vertical stratification between the communities was verified, the canopy being the more utilized region. Fifteen species
were exclusively captured in the canopy, 10 were predominantly captured in the canopy, and 12 species were exclus
ively captured in ground nets. Species recorded and the communities they form were analysed using a matrix of guilds.
The matrix obtained had 24 cells. A guild composed by background cluttered/gleaning frugivores was the richest in
species (19), followed by background cluttered/gleaning insectivores (12 species). The results illustrate that when
studying tropical forests it is highly desirable to involve both the lower and the upper part of the forests; otherwise
the fauna would be merely subsampled, thus under-estimating the status and abundance of some species.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Subject
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Cited by
147 articles.
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