Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2019 Jul 29;14(7):e0220504. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220504. eCollection 2019.
Deforestation is a critical threat to bats. The woolly false vampire bat Chrotopterus auritus is a carnivorous bat that is both an indicator species for well-conserved forests and a threatened species in Mexico and other countries due to deforestation. We currently lack the information needed to assess the effects of forest fragmentation and destruction on their populations and to develop plans for their conservation. We used GPS loggers to study the movement patterns of C. auritus in southern Mexico. We observed 72 foraging nights by GPS-tagging 10 individuals from two colonies on 32 occasions in a highly disturbed heterogeneous landscape with extensive deforestation (Hormiguero), and in a more homogeneous, well-preserved forested landscape (Monterrey). Tracked false vampire bats averaged a home range of 108.24 ha, a core foraging area of 3.78 ha and average maximum flight distances of 2.06 km. The bats ranged farther and flew significantly longer distances in Hormiguero than in Monterrey, with males flying longer and more variable distances. They used the well-preserved semi-deciduous forest more often than secondary forest and agricultural fields for traveling and foraging, but the bats occasionally moved and hunted along the borders of secondary forest and agricultural fields adjacent to semi-deciduous conserved forest areas. Although this carnivorous bat might cope with some fragmentation, we suggest that large well-preserved forested areas are highly important for its conservation.
森林砍伐对蝙蝠构成了严重威胁。毛腿假吸血蝠 Chrotopterus auritus 是一种肉食性蝙蝠，既是森林保护良好的指示物种，也是墨西哥和其他国家受威胁的物种，原因是森林砍伐。我们目前缺乏评估森林破碎化和破坏对其种群影响的信息，也缺乏制定保护计划所需的信息。我们使用 GPS 记录仪来研究毛腿假吸血蝠在墨西哥南部的活动模式。我们在 Hormiguero（一个高度破碎和多样化的景观，森林砍伐严重）和 Monterrey（一个更为均匀和保护良好的森林景观）的两个群体中，对 10 只个体进行了 32 次 GPS 标记，共观察到 72 次觅食夜，以研究 10 只个体的移动模式。被跟踪的假吸血蝠的平均家域为 108.24 公顷，核心觅食区为 3.78 公顷，平均最大飞行距离为 2.06 公里。蝙蝠在 Hormiguero 中的活动范围和飞行距离明显大于 Monterrey，雄性的飞行距离更长且更具变化性。它们在保护良好的半落叶林和农业用地中穿行和觅食的频率更高，但蝙蝠偶尔也会在半落叶林保护区域的周边和相邻的次生林和农业用地中移动和狩猎。尽管这种肉食性蝙蝠可能会应对一些碎片化，但我们建议，大面积的保护良好的森林对其保护非常重要。
