Chiropteran diversity and diet of fruit bats in a tropical dry forest of northern South America

Abstract

Remnants of Tropical Dry Forest persist in urban and peri-urban areas and are essential for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, the challenges facing the conservation of these respective forests have intensified with the encroachment of the urban frontier, mining activities, deforestation, and cattle ranching. In this context, our study aims to estimate the diversity of the order Chiroptera and characterize the diet of the family Phyllostomidae. This approach allows us to gain insights into the ecological dynamics and assess the status of Tropical Dry Forest fragments located within the urban and peri-urban areas of Cúcuta, Colombia. Field sampling was conducted from January to September 2018, with a total sampling effort of 2,160 hours/meter/net. Bats were sexed, morphometrically characterized, and had their feces collected for diet analysis before being tagged and released. We identified three families, nine genera, and 11 species. A total of 276 individuals were captured. Seven species were observed in the urban area and ten in the peri-urban zone; Artibeus lituratus and Carollia perspicillata were the most abundant species in both locations. The diet included seeds from the families Moraceae, Anacardiaceae, and Rosaceae. Our findings reveal that in areas with dense vegetation, such as peri-urban zones, frugivorous bats prefer to consume fruits of domesticated species, including economically significant fruits like guava and tomato. This dietary shift could alter seed dispersal patterns and the dynamics of the Tropical Dry Forest, highlighting the ecological importance of these flying mammals in ecosystem regeneration.