Home range size of bats Myotis atacamensis (Vespertilionidae) and Amorphochilus schnablii (Furipteridae) in the coastal valleys of southern Peru

Rodriguez-Pinto N.I.; Díaz D.R.; Medina C.E.; Villalobos-Chaves D.; Morales J.A.; Bocardo E.F.; López E. · Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad (2022) · DOI: 10.22201/ib.20078706e.2022.93.3855

Resumen

Telemetry for calculating home ranges provides meaningful insight into the space use of species, such as understanding important habitat components and patterns. The present study sought to determine the size of the home range of Myotis atacamensis and Amorphochilus schnablii in coastal valleys of Arequipa for the generation of efficient management and conservation plans. Both species are under some category of conservation (M. atacamensis, Endangered; A. schnablii, Vulnerable), due to loss of extension and quality of habitat in their distribution area, in addition to the limited knowledge of them. In 2019, Holohil LB-2X VHF radio transmitters were installed on 12 individuals, obtaining bat's positions using the homing-in-the-animal method. The size of the home range (HR) was estimated with the methods: convex minimum polygon and bivariate kernel function. The HR size for M. atacamensis was 2.1 ± 1.6 ha on cultivated areas, and for A. shnablii it was 24.2 ± 27.1 ha on arid zones and cultivated areas. The results suggest that the use of spaces of M. atacamensis and A. schnablii are mainly oriented to the availability of food, registering greater importance of the cultivation areas in the home range.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa