The body mass index is influenced by the environment in populations of Artibeus planirostris (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)?

Abstract

Bats are the second most diverse taxa of mammals in the world, after rodents. Some studies have evaluated if there is a relationship between the environment and the morphology of bats, because environmental conditions can have an important influence on the phenotype of the species. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the relationship between a morphological variable (body mass index - BMI) of populations of the species Artibeus planirostris and the environment, considering the climatic variation in two hydrographic basins of the center of the Brazilian Amazon. The hypothesis is that the BMI responds to the environmental variables of each site. This will be higher during the rainy season and in the high water period, responding to a high availability of resources, according to studies carried out in the same region. 400 bats were captured, of which 180 were males and 220 were females. Although the index seemed to show differences considering the sex of the individuals, both in the Madeiras river basin (ANOVA: gl = 1, F = 6.90, P = .00) and in the Purus river (ANOVA: gl = 1, F = 3.95, P = .01), there was no significant difference between the BMI and the different environments, considering the climate season. It is concluded that, in this study, no evidence was found to support the hypothesis about the influence of the environment on BMI in populations of the bat species Artibeus planirostris in the center of the Brazilian Amazon.