Abstract

COPETE-MOSQUERA, Yucely del Carmen et al. Plants used as refuge by bats in the central rainforest of Chocó, Colombia. Rev. acad. colomb. cienc. exact. fis. nat. [online]. 2018, vol.42, n.162, pp.58-64. ISSN 0370-3908.  https://doi.org/10.18257/raccefyn.556.

The selection of leaves in the construction of shelters by some species of frugivorous bats of the Phyllstomidae family is one of the most interesting examples of plant-animal relationship. The species of plants used as refuges are largely determined by the biogeographic region inhabited by the bats. The objective of the present study was to describe the patterns of selection and utilization of plants as shelters by these bats in the central rainforest of Chocó, Colombia. We took samples in primary forests in the locality of Pacurita, municipality of Quibdó, Chocó. We searched and located refuges during random walks inside the forest along natural trails, roads and streams. We georeferenced each refuge, and we described the species of plant used, the height from the soil, as well as the habitability, occupation and temperature, which was registered using a laser thermometer; we classified the refuges according to their architecture. In inhabited refuges the catches were made manually. We recorded 114 refuges in 12 species of plants. We documented for the first time the use of Vismia laevis, Attalea allenii, Iriarte deltoidea, Aniba puchury minor and Heliconia atratensis as refuges, the palm A. alleni being the most used. We found four types of architecture: bifid (65.8%), apical (20.1%), conical (11.4%) and boat (2.6%). Our results suggest that the type of refuge relates more to the species of plant than to the species of bat, since we found D. rosembergi inhabiting several types of refuges, while in each species of plant we registered only one type of refuge.

Keywords : Bats; Dermanura; Palms; Shopkeepers..

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