title: Deforestation Impacts on Bat Functional Diversity in Tropical Landscapes.
abstract: Functional diversity is the variability in the functional roles carried out by species within ecosystems. Changes in the environment can affect this component of biodiversity and can, in turn, affect different processes, including some ecosystem services. This study aimed to determine the effect of forest loss on species richness, abundance and functional diversity of Neotropical bats. To this end, we identified six landscapes with increasing loss of forest cover in the Huasteca region of the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. We captured bats in each landscape using mist nets, and calculated functional diversity indices (functional richness and functional evenness) along with species richness and abundance. We analyzed these measures in terms of percent forest cover. We captured 906 bats (Phyllostomidae and Mormoopidae), including 10 genera and 12 species. Species richness, abundance and functional richness per night are positively related with forest cover. Generalized linear models show that species richness, abundance and functional richness per night are significantly related with forest cover, while seasonality had an effect on abundance and functional richness. Neither forest cover nor season had a significant effect on functional evenness. All these findings were consistent across three spatial scales (1, 3 and 5 km radius around sampling sites). The decrease in species, abundance and functional richness of bats with forest loss may have implications for the ecological processes they carry out such as seed dispersal, pollination and insect predation, among others.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Instituto de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Mineral de la Reforma, Hidalgo, México.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: García-Morales
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Instituto de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Mineral de la Reforma, Hidalgo, México.
authors.forename: Claudia E
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9584-2619
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.affiliation: División de Ciencias Ambientales, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica A.C., San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
authors.forename: Ernesto I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Badano
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Instituto de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Mineral de la Reforma, Hidalgo, México.
authors.forename: Iriana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zuria
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biotecnología y Ecología Aplicada (INBIOTECA), Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Galindo-González
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Instituto de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Mineral de la Reforma, Hidalgo, México.
authors.forename: Alberto E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Rojas-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Instituto de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Mineral de la Reforma, Hidalgo, México.
authors.forename: Eva S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Ávila-Gómez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D065928:Forests; D008800:Mexico; D012621:Seasons; D014197:Trees / Q000502:physiology; D014329:Tropical Climate