BAT DIVERSITY IN TWO ECOSYSTEMS OF NORTHWESTERN CAMPECHE, MÉXICO

Abstract

The wealth and diversity of bats in two localities of Campeche, México, were described and compared, from February to July, 2015. Five to seven sampling zones were used per site based on their vegetation, such as fruit-producing areas, conserved rainforest, perturbed/conserved rainforest, and perturbed rainforest. One hundred and thirty-four individuals were captured, belonging to three families and ten species, of which 76 (56%) of nine species were from the locality Rancho Xamantún; and 58 (43%) also of nine species from the second site, COLPOS Campus. The most abundant species was Artibeus jamaicensis with 34 individuals and the least were Dermanura phaeotis, Centurio senex and Lasiurus intermedius with only one individual each, followed by Desmodus rotundus and Sturnira parvidens with two individuals,
respectively. The Beta diversity was 0.8, similar between the two study areas. The accumulation curve of species for both sites was asymptotic. Four trophic guilds were found: nectar-pollenivore, frugivore, insectivore and hematophagous. Both study areas are important for the conservation of bat species in the Northwestern part of the state of Campeche, highlighting that this study is the first of its kind in the region.