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Alencastre-Santos AB, Gonçalves R, Correia LL, Brito D, Oprea M, Vieira TB. The effect of urbanization on species composition and trophic guilds of bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera) in the Brazilian Savanna. BRAZ J BIOL 2024; 84:e275828. [PMID: 38597516 DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.275828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Urban environments present less environmental heterogeneity in relation to the natural ones, affecting the biodiversity of bats and the ecological processes in which they participate. In this way, we will identify how urbanization influences the structure of bat communities in the municipality of Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil. We compared species composition, guilds and bat richness in a gradient that crossed urban, semi-urban and natural areas in the municipality of Goiânia, contained in the Cerrado biome. We captured a total of 775 bats of 16 species distributed in three families. Urban areas had a higher species abundance, while semi-urban areas had a higher species richness. The three types of environments have different compositions, the urban one being more homogeneous, the fauna in these areas is composed of generalist species, which benefit from this process. The diversity present in semi-urban areas is a consequence of the intersection between urban and natural fauna, which is why urban expansion needs to occur in a planned manner to minimize the impacts of this process and ensure the maintenance of biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- A B Alencastre-Santos
- Universidade Federal do Pará - UFPA, Programa de Pós-graduação em Zoologia - PPGZOOL, Belém, PA, Brasil
| | - R Gonçalves
- Universidade Federal de Goiás - UFG, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas - ICB, Goiânia, GO, Brasil
| | - L L Correia
- Universidade Federal do Pará - UFPA, Faculdade de Ciências Biológicas - FCB, Laboratório de Ecologia, Altamira, PA, Brasil
| | - D Brito
- Universidade Federal de Goiás - UFG, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas - ICB, Goiânia, GO, Brasil
| | - M Oprea
- Universidade Federal de Goiás - UFG, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas - ICB, Goiânia, GO, Brasil
| | - T B Vieira
- Universidade Federal do Pará - UFPA, Faculdade de Ciências Biológicas - FCB, Laboratório de Ecologia, Altamira, PA, Brasil
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Bueno LM, Melo DM, Azevedo RD, de Souza WM, Figueiredo LTM. Serological evidence of hantavirus infection in neotropical bats in an urban area of São Paulo State, Brazil. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2022; 117:297-300. [PMID: 36477881 PMCID: PMC10069298 DOI: 10.1093/trstmh/trac111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Background
Although hantaviruses have long been associated with rodents, they are also described in other mammalian hosts, such as shrews, moles and bats. Hantaviruses associated with bats have been described in Asian, European and Brazilian species of bats. As these mammals represent the second major mammalian order, and they are the major mammals that inhabit urban areas, it is extremely important to maintain a viral surveillance in these animals. Our aim was to conduct serosurveillance in bats in an urban area in the city of Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State, Brazil, to contribute to the information about hantaviruses circulation in bats.
Methods
We analyzed samples from 778 neotropical bat specimens classified into 21 bat species and four different families collected in the urban area of Ribeirão Preto city, from 2014 to 2019 by an ELISA for the detection of IgG antibodies against orthohantavirus.
Results
We detected IgG-specific antibodies against the nucleoprotein of orthohantavirus in 0.9% (7/778) bats tested, including four Molossus molossus (Pallas' Free-tailed Bat), two Glossophaga soricina (Pallas's Long-tongued Bat) and one Eumops glaucinus (Wagner's mastiff bat).
Conclusions
Overall, our results show the first serological evidence of hantavirus infection in three common bat species in urban areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larissa M Bueno
- Virology Research Center, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo , Ribeirão Preto, 140490-900, São Paulo , Brazil
| | - Danilo M Melo
- Virology Research Center, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo , Ribeirão Preto, 140490-900, São Paulo , Brazil
| | - Roberta D Azevedo
- Departamento de Vigilância em Saúde , Prefeitura Municipal de Ribeirão Preto, Ribeirão Preto, 14061-710, São Paulo , Brazil
| | - William M de Souza
- Virology Research Center, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo , Ribeirão Preto, 140490-900, São Paulo , Brazil
| | - Luiz T M Figueiredo
- Virology Research Center, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo , Ribeirão Preto, 140490-900, São Paulo , Brazil
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Linking activity of common pipistrelles, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, in an urbanised area with a nearby mass swarming site. Urban Ecosyst 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s11252-022-01222-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Meramo K, Ovaskainen O, Bernard E, Silva CR, Laine VN, Lilley TM. Contrasting Effects of Chronic Anthropogenic Disturbance on Activity and Species Richness of Insectivorous Bats in Neotropical Dry Forest. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.822415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
For prioritizing conservation actions, it is vital to understand how ecologically diverse species respond to environmental change caused by human activity. This is particularly necessary considering that chronic human disturbance is a threat to biodiversity worldwide. Depending on how species tolerate and adapt to such disturbance, ecological integrity and ecosystem services will be more or less affected. Bats are a species-rich and functionally diverse group, with important roles in ecosystems, and are therefore recognized as a good model group for assessing the impact of environmental change. Their populations have decreased in several regions, especially in the tropics, and are threatened by increasing human disturbance. Using passive acoustic monitoring, we assessed how the species-rich aerial insectivorous bats—essential for insect suppression services—respond to chronic human disturbance in the Caatinga dry forests of Brazil, an area potentially harboring ca. 100 bat species (nearly 50% are insectivorous), but with > 60% its area composed of anthropogenic ecosystems under chronic pressure. Acoustic data for bat activity was collected at research sites with varying amounts of chronic human disturbance (e.g., livestock grazing and firewood gathering). The intensity of the disturbance is indicated by the global multi-metric CAD index (GMDI). Using Animal Sound Identifier (ASI) software, we identified 18 different bat taxon units. Using Hierarchical Modeling of Species Communities (HMSC), we found trends in the association of the disturbance gradient with species richness and bat activity: species richness was higher at sites with higher human disturbance, whereas bat activity decreased with increasing human disturbance. Additionally, we observed taxon-specific responses to human disturbance. We conclude that the effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance on the insectivorous bat fauna in the Caatinga are not homogeneous and a species-specific approach is necessary when assessing the responses of local bats to human disturbances in tropical dry forests, and in other biomes under human pressure.
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Assessing the extent of land-use change around important bat-inhabited caves. BMC ZOOL 2021; 6:31. [PMID: 34840806 PMCID: PMC8605785 DOI: 10.1186/s40850-021-00095-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Modification and destruction of natural habitats are bringing previously unencountered animal populations into contact with humans, with bats considered important zoonotic transmission vectors. Caves and cave-dwelling bats are under-represented in conservation plans. In South Africa, at least two cavernicolous species are of interest as potential zoonotic hosts: the Natal long-fingered bat Miniopterus natalensis and the Egyptian fruit bat Rousettus aegyptiacus. Little information is available about the anthropogenic pressures these species face around important roost sites. Both bats are numerous and widespread throughout the country; land-use changes and urban expansions are a rising concern for both conservation and increased bat-human contact. Results Our study addressed this shortfall by determining the extent of land-cover change around 47 roosts between 2014 and 2018 using existing land cover datasets. We determined the land-cover composition around important roost sites (including maternity, hibernacula and co-roosts), distances to urban settlements and assessed the current protection levels of roost localities. We detected an overall 4% decrease in natural woody vegetation (trees) within 5 km buffer zones of all roost sites, with a 10% decrease detected at co-roost sites alone. Agricultural land cover increased the most near roost sites, followed by plantations and urban land-cover. Overall, roosts were located 4.15 ± 0.91 km from urban settlements in 2018, the distances decreasing as urban areas expand. According to the South African National Biodiversity Institute Ecosystem Threat Status assessment, 72% of roosts fall outside of well-protected ecosystems. Conclusions The current lack of regulatory protection of cavernicolous bats and their roosts, increasing anthropogenic expansions and proximity to human settlements raises concerns about increased human-bat contact. Furthermore, uncontrolled roost visitation and vandalism are increasing, contributing to bat health risks and population declines, though the extent of roosts affected is yet to be quantified. In an era where pandemics are predicted to become more frequent and severe due to land-use change, our research is an urgent call for the formal protection of bat-inhabited caves to safeguard both bats and humans. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40850-021-00095-5.
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Mena JL, Rivero J, Bonifaz E, Pastor P, Pacheco J, Aide TM. The effect of artificial light on bat richness and nocturnal soundscapes along an urbanization gradient in an arid landscape of central Peru. Urban Ecosyst 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11252-021-01163-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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Medinas D, Marques JT, Costa P, Santos S, Rebelo H, Barbosa AM, Mira A. Spatiotemporal persistence of bat roadkill hotspots in response to dynamics of habitat suitability and activity patterns. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021; 277:111412. [PMID: 33038670 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Revised: 09/07/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Wildlife roadkill hotspots are frequently used to identify priority locations for implementing mitigation measures. However, understanding the landscape-context and the spatial and temporal dynamics of these hotspots is challenging. Here, we investigate the factors that drive the spatiotemporal variation of bat mortality hotspots on roads along three years. We hypothesize that hotspot locations occur where bat activity is higher and that this activity is related to vegetation density and productivity, probably because this is associated with food availability. Statistically significant clusters of bat-vehicle collisions for each year were identified using the Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) approach. Additionally, we used a spatiotemporal analysis and generalized linear mixed models to evaluate the effect of local spatiotemporal variation of environmental indices and bat activity to predict the variation on roadkill hotspot locations and to asses hotspot strength over time. Between 2009 and 2011 we conducted daily surveys of bat casualties along a 51-km-long transect that incorporates different types of roads in southern Portugal. We found 509 casualties and we identified 86 statistically significant roadkill hotspots, which comprised 12% of the road network length and contained 61% of the casualties. Hotspots tended to be located in areas with higher accumulation of vegetation productivity along the three-year period, high bat activity and low temperature. Furthermore, we found that only 17% of the road network length was consistently classified as hotspots across all years; while 43% of hotspots vanished in consecutive years and 40% of new road segments were classified as hotspots. Thus, non-persistent hotspots were the most frequent category. Spatiotemporal changes in hotspot location are associated with decreasing vegetation production and increasing water stress on road surroundings. This supports our hypothesis that a decline on overall vegetation productivity and increase of roadside water deficit, and the presumed lower abundance of prey, have a significant effect on the decrease of bat roadkills. To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating that freely available remote sensing data can be a powerful tool to quantify bat roadkill risk and assess its spatiotemporal dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Medinas
- Conservation Biology Lab, Department of Biology, University of Évora, Pólo da Mitra, 7002-554, Évora, Portugal; CIBIO/InBIO-UE, Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, University of Évora, Rua Dr. Joaquim Henrique da Fonseca, 2nd, 7002-554, Évora, Portugal.
| | - João Tiago Marques
- Conservation Biology Lab, Department of Biology, University of Évora, Pólo da Mitra, 7002-554, Évora, Portugal; MED Institute, Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, 7006-554, Évora, Portugal.
| | - Pedro Costa
- Conservation Biology Lab, Department of Biology, University of Évora, Pólo da Mitra, 7002-554, Évora, Portugal.
| | - Sara Santos
- Conservation Biology Lab, Department of Biology, University of Évora, Pólo da Mitra, 7002-554, Évora, Portugal; MED Institute, Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, 7006-554, Évora, Portugal.
| | - Hugo Rebelo
- CIBIO/InBIO-UP, Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, University of Porto, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal; CEABN-InBIO, Centre for Applied Ecology "Prof. Baeta Neves", Institute of Agronomy, University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017, Lisbon, Portugal; School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, Bristol, UK.
| | - A Márcia Barbosa
- CICGE (Centre for Research in Geo-Spatial Sciences), University of Porto, Observatório Astronómico Prof. Manuel de Barros, Alameda Do Monte da Virgem, 4430-146, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.
| | - António Mira
- Conservation Biology Lab, Department of Biology, University of Évora, Pólo da Mitra, 7002-554, Évora, Portugal; MED Institute, Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, 7006-554, Évora, Portugal.
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Nest boxes do not cause a shift in bat community composition in an urbanised landscape. Sci Rep 2020; 10:6210. [PMID: 32277114 PMCID: PMC7148353 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-63003-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Nest boxes are often used to provide supplementary roosts for cavity-dependent wildlife, but little is known about if they influence faunal community composition. Long-term monitoring of bat boxes in south-eastern Australia indicated that their use was dominated by one generalist species (Chalinolobus gouldii), causing concern that installing bat boxes could cause a shift toward less diverse bat communities. To test this, we conducted a large-scale before-after control-impact experiment at 18 sites, over five years. Sites were either: (1) those with existing bat boxes, (2) those where boxes were added during the study, or (3) controls without boxes. We used echolocation call data from 9035 bat detector nights to compare community composition, diversity, and species' relative activity between the sites. Chalinolobus gouldii continued to dominate the use of existing boxes, but we found little difference in community composition between sites based on the presence, absence, or addition of boxes. Our study is the first to explore the influence installing artificial hollows has on localized faunal assemblages over spatio-temporal scales relevant to management. We conclude that there is cause for optimism that bat boxes might not have perverse outcomes on local community composition in the short- to medium-term, as we had feared.
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Nystrom GS, Bennett VJ. The importance of residential swimming pools as an urban water source for bats. J Mammal 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyz020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Gunnar S Nystrom
- Department of Biology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, USA
| | - Victoria J Bennett
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, USA
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