Agricultural areas use by insectivorous bats (Chiroptera, Mammalia) in coastal valleys from southern Peru

Medina C.E.; Núñez A.C.; López E.; Morales J.A.; Bocardo E.F. · Acta Zoologica Lilloana (2024) · DOI: 10.30550/j.azl/2027

Resumen

In recent decades, interest in the study of bats in the Arequipa Region has focused on documenting their diversity, with little research addressing aspects of their ecology. Bats are an attractive group to carry out studies on habitat use, given that they present a wide range of trophic guilds. Therefore, here we present the first effort to describe the agricultural areas use by insectivorous bats in coastal valleys of Arequipa, southwestern Peru. The intensity of use and preference habitat of bats in representative crops of the Ocoña, Camaná and Tambo valleys was evaluated, from acoustic data. The sampling design considered eight crops, four recording nights per crop, and in both seasons of the year. A total of 47,895 echolocation recordings were recorded, belonging to nine species of bats. Mormopterus kalinowski, Eumops chiribaya, Tadarida brasiliensis and Myotis atacamensis were the species that showed the greatest relative activity in the different types of crops evaluated (alfalfa, tomato, garlic – onion and corn). NMDS and ANOSIM analyses did not find differences between bat assemblages occurring in the dry season, but they did find differences in the wet season, showing distinct assemblages in sugarcane, alfalfa, corn, and garlic-onion crops. Finally, the present study reinforces knowledge about the ecosystem services provided by bats as potential controllers of insect pests in the coastal valleys of southern Peru.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa