Some bats are here: Reducing the Wallacean shortfall of bats in the amazon.

The Amazon rainforest has approximately 23% of its sampled area dedicated to bats, making it one of the least sampled and most diverse regions for bats in Brazil. The lack of sampling results in a lack of knowledge regarding the accurate geographical distribution of bat species. This lack is referred to as the Wallacean shortfall, which should be addressed with primary data obtained from in situ collections. However, the use of Species Distribution Models (SDMs) can help alleviate this gap. The states of Pará and Acre are located in the Brazilian Amazon. So, our objective is to decrease the Wallacean shortfall concerning Amazonian bat species. To achieve this, we provide (i) a list of bat species sampled in the states of Pará and Acre in the last 5 years (2017 to 2022); (ii) the potential distribution of species considered as new occurrences for the region; and (iii) the potential distribution of species classified as Data Deficient (DD) and Near Threatened (NT) according to the IUCN classification. With 96 nights of collection and 129,600 m2h of mist netting, we obtained 75 bat species, with an estimated total of 94.78 species. Additionally, 21 species were considered as range extensions. The Brazilian Amazon region has a vast geographic expanse and few established research centers, resulting in a limited sampling of bats and other biological groups. Furthermore, we draw attention to the significant number of bat species with expanded geographical distributions, with 21 out of the 75 sampled species. This should be a reminder that primary biogeographic data is still necessary for the neotropical region.

Spatiotemporal trends in floral visitation and interaction networks reveal shifting niches for bats in a Neotropical savanna.

Flower-vising bats are important components of tropical pollinator communities, yet little is known about the structure of their pollination networks and how resource availability through time (seasons) and space (habitat heterogeneity) affects the extent to which bats interact with plants within a community-wide context. This information is key for the conservation of threatened nectarivore species, such as the Cerrado-endemic Lonchophylla dekeyseri, for which data on its specialization on floral-resources is scarce. Within a seasonal and heterogeneous savanna in the central Brazilian Cerrado, we performed a year-round assessment of an inclusive assemblage of flower-visiting bats (both nectarivores and other guilds that can also feed on nectar) within a savanna-edge-forest gradient, the phenological trends and spatial distribution of bat and their resource plants, and the resultant temporal and spatial interaction networks between bats and plants in order to associate network structure to resource availability. Clear spatiotemporal trends emerged in the community. Nectarivores dominated the flower-visiting niche outside forests and were prolific floral visitors, resulting in networks with lower specialization and modularity. These bats diverged into savanna foragers active during the wet season and the wet-dry transition, and edge foragers active mostly during the dry season. The latter group encompassed L. dekeyseri, which visited mostly Bauhinia species. Frugivores took over as main floral visitors within forests, as well as during peak dry season, when fewer fruits were available, resulting in more specialized and modular networks. Our work shows that the turnover of floral resources across seasons and vegetation types has a defining role in bat-plant interactions and relates to network structure, as bat trophic guilds interact with plants in distinct habitats and times of the year. Frugivores dominate the flower-visiting niche in certain temporal and spatial subsets of the network, which calls for the inclusion of this guild in future studies. Moreover, the high visitation to Bauhinia species by L. dekeyseri during the dry season might reduce competition with other nectarivores and is relevant to the management of the species, although more data is needed on its resource consumption on a larger time frame and across its geographic range.

Morcegos visitantes florais são importantes componentes de comunidades tropicais de polinizadores, apesar de pouco ser conhecido sobre a estrutura de suas redes de polinização com plantas e como a disponibilidade de recursos através do tempo (estações) e espaço (heterogeneidade espacial) afeta a intensidade com a qual morcegos interagem com plantas na escala de comunidades. Estas são informações chave para a conservação de espécies ameaçadas de nectarívoros, como o morcego endêmico do Cerrado Lonchophylla dekeyseri, para o qual dados sobre especialização em recursos florais são escassos. Na savana sazonal e heterogênea do Cerrado central brasileiro, nós realizamos uma avaliação de uma assembleia de morcegos visitantes florais (incluindo nectarívoros e outras guildas que também podem alimentar-se de néctar) ao longo de um ano em um gradiente savana-borda-floresta, explorando as tendências fenológicas e distribuição espacial de morcegos e de suas plantas recurso, assim como a redes espaciais e temporais resultantes entre morcegos e plantas com o objetivo de associar a disponibilidade de recurso à sua estrutura. Claros padrões espaciotemporais emergiram na comunidade. Nectarívoros dominaram o nicho de visitação floral fora das florestas e foram visitantes prolíficos, resultando em redes marcadas por baixa especialização e modularidade. Estes morcegos divergiram entre aqueles que forrageiam em savanas e durante a estação chuvosa ou na transição chuva-seca, e aqueles forrageando nas bordas de mata e ativos principalmente na estação seca. Estes últimos incluíram L. dekeyseri, a qual visitou primariamente espécies de Bauhinia. Frugívoros dominaram o papel de visitantes florais dentro de florestas, assim como durante o pico da estação seca quando há menor disponibilidade de frutos, o que resultou em redes mais especializadas e modulares. Mostramos que a substituição de recursos florais ao longo das estações e de tipos de vegetação tem um papel preponderante nas interações morcego-planta e está relacionada à estrutura de rede, pois guildas tróficas interagem com plantas em habitas e em períodos do ano distintos. Frugívoros dominam o nicho de visitante floral em determinados subconjuntos temporais e espaciais da rede, o que destaca a importância de inclusão desta guilda em estudos futuros. Além disso, a forte visitação a espécies de Bauhinia por L. dekeiseri durante a estação seca pode resultar em uma competição reduzida com outros nectarívoros e é uma informação relevante para seu manejo da espécie, apesar de dados do consumo de recursos pela espécie em janelas temporais maiores e em toda sua extensão de ocorrência são necessários.

The interplay between spatiotemporal overlap and morphology as determinants of microstructure suggests no 'perfect fit' in a bat-flower network.

Plant-pollinator interactions in diverse tropical communities are often predicted by a combination of ecological variables, yet the interaction drivers between flower-visiting bats and plants at the community level are poorly understood. We assembled a network between Neotropical bats and flowering plants to describe its macrostructure and to test the role of neutral and niche variables in predicting microstructure. We found a moderately generalized network with internally nested modules comprising functionally similar plant and bat species. Modules grouped bats and plants with matching degrees of specialization but had considerable overlap in species morphologies and several inter-module interactions. The spatiotemporal overlap between species, closely followed by morphology, and not abundance, were the best predictors of microstructure, with functional groups of bats also interacting more frequently with plants in certain vegetation types (e.g., frugivores within forests) and seasons (e.g., long-snouted nectarivores in the dry season). Therefore, flower-visiting bats appear to have species-specific niche spaces delimited not only by their ability to exploit certain flower types but also by preferred foraging habitats and the timing of resource availability. The prominent role of resource dissimilarity across vegetation types and seasons likely reflects the heterogeneity of Neotropical savannas, and further research in biomes beyond the Cerrado is needed to better understand the complexity of this system.

The Vocal Repertoire of the Bearded Capuchin (Cebidae: Sapajus libidinosus): Implications for Understanding the Complexity of Neotropical Primate Communication.

Vocal communication is an essential aspect of primate social behaviour. The bearded capuchin Sapajus libidinosus is endemic to Brazil, and some studies have described specific vocalisation types for this species; however, there is still no complete description of its vocal repertoire. Thus, this study aimed to describe the vocal repertoire of a group of S. libidinosus living in theParque Nacional de Brasília, a protected area in the Cerrado area of Central Brazil. We carried out focal samplings and recording of vocalisations of members of an S. libidinosus troop in different behavioural contexts. The call analyses revealed 25 different types of vocalisations, and each call presented significant structural variation. We grouped these vocalisations according to the context of the emission or acoustic structure into the following categories: contact calls (contact note, infant babbling, trill, teeth- and lip-smacking, and sirena); foraging calls (chihui, grgr, and patinado); whistle series (food-associated, long-distance, and intergroup encounter); aggressive calls (aggressive contact note, ascending rapid staccato, cough cough, and pip); calls in response to aggression (scream, squeal, and pulsed scream), sexual display calls (chuck and raspy oestrous call), and stress-related calls (alarm call/bark, hiccup, hip, double hip, and wah wah). S. libidinosus presented a very rich vocal repertoire, revealing a pattern consistent with the repertoire of other capuchin monkey species. This is the first comprehensive description of the S. libidinosus vocal repertoire and highlights the complexity of neotropical primate communication.

The Program for Biodiversity Research in Brazil: The role of regional networks for biodiversity knowledge, dissemination, and conservation.

The Program for Biodiversity Research (PPBio) is an innovative program designed to integrate all biodiversity research stakeholders. Operating since 2004, it has installed long-term ecological research sites throughout Brazil and its logic has been applied in some other southern-hemisphere countries. The program supports all aspects of research necessary to understand biodiversity and the processes that affect it. There are presently 161 sampling sites (see some of them at Supplementary Appendix), most of which use a standardized methodology that allows comparisons across biomes and through time. To date, there are about 1200 publications associated with PPBio that cover topics ranging from natural history to genetics and species distributions. Most of the field data and metadata are available through PPBio web sites or DataONE. Metadata is available for researchers that intend to explore the different faces of Brazilian biodiversity spatio-temporal variation, as well as for managers intending to improve conservation strategies. The Program also fostered, directly and indirectly, local technical capacity building, and supported the training of hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students. The main challenge is maintaining the long-term funding necessary to understand biodiversity patterns and processes under pressure from global environmental changes.

Evaluation of reproductive parameters in male Neotropical bats during dry and rainy months in a specific area of the Cerrado biome.

The aim of this study was to analyse the reproductive aspects of male bats of three common species of the Phyllostomidae family: Artibeus lituratus, Platyrrhinus lineatus and Sturnira lilium, during dry and rainy months in a specific area of the Cerrado biome. Body weight was significantly higher during the dry months for S. lilium. The gonadosomatic index (GSI) and testicular weight were not significantly different between dry and rainy periods. The tubular parameters were significantly bigger in A. lituratus than in the other two species during both periods. No difference in the tubular/interstitial ratio was observed in any of the species during both periods. In both periods, all sperm cells and germ cell developmental stages were visible on seminiferous tubules whereas sperm cells were observed in epididymides of all sampled animals. The percentage of morphologically normal sperm was low (35%-60%), with no difference between periods. Spermatozoa from A. lituratus presented a leaf-shaped head, while the head was round-shaped in the other two species. In conclusion, our data suggest that males from the three studied species did not present reproductive latency during the most critical weather periods (dry and rainy months) in the metropolitan region of Brasilia, Brazil.

Descriptive ecology of bat flies (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea) associated with vampire bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in the cerrado of Central Brazil.

We studied the ectoparasitic bat flies of three phyllostomid vampire bat species. Bats were collected monthly from April 2004-March 2005 in caves within the Cafuringa Environmental Protection Area in the Federal District of Brazil. A total of 1,259 specimens from six species in the Streblidae family were collected from 332 bats. High host affinity from the sampled bat fly species and high prevalence of bat flies confirms the primary fly-host associations (Strebla wiedemanni, Trichobius parasiticus and Trichobius furmani with Desmodus, Trichobius diaemi and Strebla diaemi with Diaemus and T. furmani with Diphylla). Male flies outnumbered females in several associations. Some of the observed associations (e.g., Strebla mirabilis with Desmodus and S. mirabilis, Trichobius uniformis and S. wiedemanni with Diphylla) were inconclusive and the causes of the associations were unclear. There are several explanations for these associations, including (i) accidental contamination during sampling, (ii) simultaneous capture of several host species in the same net or (iii) genuine, but rare, ecological associations. Although various species of vampire bats share roosts, have similar feeding habits and are close phylogenetic relatives, they generally do not share ectoparasitic streblid bat flies. T. diaemi and S. diaemi associations with Diaemus youngi have not been previously reported in this region.

Descriptive ecology of bat flies (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea) associated with vampire bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in the cerrado of Central Brazil

We studied the ectoparasitic bat flies of three phyllostomid vampire bat species. Bats were collected monthly from April 2004-March 2005 in caves within the Cafuringa Environmental Protection Area in the Federal District of Brazil. A total of 1,259 specimens from six species in the Streblidae family were collected from 332 bats. High host affinity from the sampled bat fly species and high prevalence of bat flies confirms the primary fly-host associations (Strebla wiedemanni, Trichobius parasiticus and Trichobius furmani with Desmodus, Trichobius diaemi and Strebla diaemi with Diaemus and T. furmani with Diphylla). Male flies outnumbered females in several associations. Some of the observed associations (e.g., Strebla mirabilis with Desmodus and S. mirabilis, Trichobius uniformis and S. wiedemanni with Diphylla) were inconclusive and the causes of the associations were unclear. There are several explanations for these associations, including (i) accidental contamination during sampling, (ii) simultaneous capture of several host species in the same net or (iii) genuine, but rare, ecological associations. Although various species of vampire bats share roosts, have similar feeding habits and are close phylogenetic relatives, they generally do not share ectoparasitic streblid bat flies. T. diaemi and S. diaemi associations with Diaemus youngi have not been previously reported in this region.

The first record of Diclidurus ingens Hernandez-Camacho, 1955 (Emballonuridae) in Central Brazil / Primeiro registro de Diclidurus ingens Hernandez-Camacho, 1955 (Emballonuridae) no Brasil Central

Species of sheath-tailed bats in the family Emballonuridae are pantropical in distribution. Ghost bats in the genus Diclidurus (Wied-Neuwied, 1820) comprehend four species that occur in the Neotropical regions of Central and South America. However, distributional records are sparsely documented across this vast area. The objective of this study is to report the first occurrence of D. ingens in Central Brazil, representing a range extension of 850 kilometers.

Espécies de morcegos da familia Emballonuridae são pantropicais. No gênero Diclidurus (Wied-Neuwied, 1820) quatro espécies tem ocorrência nas Américas Central e do Sul. Os registros de ocorrências dessas espécies são esparsamente documentados ao longo dessa vasta distribuição. O objetivo desse estudo é comunicar a primeira ocorrência de D. ingens para o Brasil Central, representando uma extensão de 850 quilômetros na distribuição de D. ingens para o sul do país.