Bat assemblage structure in two dry forests of Colombia: Composition, species richness, and relative abundance

Abstract We studied the composition, species richness, and relative abundance of bat assemblages in the Colombian dry forests of Chicamocha and Patia. In Chicamocha, 11 bats of the family Phyllostomidae were captured with mist-nets, corresponding to 85–100% of the potential phyllostomids species in the area. Two bats of the family Vespertilionidae were also captured in Chicamocha. In Patia, 12 species were captured with mist-nets, all Phyllostomidae, representing 72–100% of the estimated total number of species in the zone. Minor differences in number of species and composition were detected among sampling periods in Chicamocha. The most common species in this dry forest were Glossophaga longirostris and Sturnira lilium . In Patia, notable differences in the number of species and composition were observed among sampling periods, and the most common species were Artibeus jamaicensis , Carollia perspicillata and Phyllostomus discolor . Arid-zone dwelling bats were absent in Patia and we suggest that this absence may be associated with the isolation of Patia from other northern dry zones of Colombia since Quaternary times. There was also low abundance of bats in Patia, which appears to be related to human disturbance. The most abundant phyllostomid bat species in the two dry forests studied are those that include fruit and/or nectar-pollen from columnar cacti as an important proportion of their diets.