Luciana de Moraes Costa

Mamíferos do Parque Estadual do Desengano, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Even after the devastation of large part of its forests, Rio de Janeiro State still harbors a rich terrestrial mammal fauna. However, information on the distribution and abundance of mammal species in the State is still scarce. This study aims to survey the mammals of the Desengano State Park, located on the northern part of Rio de Janeiro, one of the least studied and most altered regions of the State. The inventory was conducted using Sherman, Tomahawk, and pitfall traps for non-volant small mammals, mist nets for bats, camera traps, sightings and reports of residents and officials of the Park for large mammals. We recorded 56 species of mammals, of which 15 are on the list of threatened fauna of Rio de Janeiro State and 10 on the list of Brazilian threatened fauna, including Brachyteles arachnoides. The most abundant species were the bat Sturnira lilium and the rodent Akodon serrensis. Moreover, Thaptomys nigrita, a rodent not commonly captured in the State, was relatively abundant in the Desengano State Park. Results indicate that the park harbors 33.7% of the species of mammals known to occur in the State, highlighting the importance of the area for the conservation of Rio de Janeiro fauna.

Bats from the Restinga of Praia das Neves, state of Espírito Santo, Southeastern Brazil

Studies on bat richness and diversity in coastal sand dunes (‘ restinga’ ) are still scarce. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were to estimate bat richness in the restinga of Praia das Neves (state of Espirito Santo, southeastern Brazil) and to analyze species abundance. Ten sampling nights were carried out in May and July 2008, resulting in a sampling effort of 21,847.5 h.m2. We captured 125 individuals from 17 bat species. In this study, Tonatia saurophila was recorded for the first time not only in the state of Espirito Santo but also in the restinga ecosystem. The most abundant species was Artibeus lituratus with 32% of all captures. Surveys in coastal restingas are urgently needed in order to obtain more information about the bats living in this environment.

Ocorrência de Diaemus youngi (Jentink 1893), Chiroptera, no estado do Rio de Janeiro

Diaemus youngi e um morcego hematofago obrigatorio que se alimenta preferencialmente do sangue de aves. Este morcego e considerado o menos frequente entre as tres especies hematofagas ao longo de toda a sua distribuicao geografica. Entre 2000 e 2006, foram realizadas campanhas para a captura de morcegos hematofagos em sete localidades do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, onde ataques a aves haviam sido reportadas por proprietarios de terra. Morcegos foram capturados em redes de neblina abertas durante duas ou tres noites em cada localidade, geralmente proximas as aves atacadas. Um total de oito especimes de D. youngi foi coletado nas sete localidades estudadas, e dois registros feitos por outros pesquisadores em outras duas localidades foram confirmados para o Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Diaemus youngi prefere, aparentemente, restringir seus ataques a aves domesticas e selvagens que apresentam o comportamento de se empoleirar. Esta especie de morcego pode apresentar abundância e area de distribuicao maiores do que as aqui descritas, a julgar pelo numero de relatos de ataques em criatorios comerciais de aves ornamentais que criam animais em regime de semi-liberdade no Sudeste do Brasil.

Dados de reprodução de Platyrrhinus lineatus em estudo de longo prazo no Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Mammalia, Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae)

Based on a large bat sampling we analyzed the reproductive biology of Platyrrhinus lineatus (E. Geoffroy, 1810) in the Atlantic Forest, southeastern Brazil. The bats were captured with mist nets from 1989 and 2005, in 27 of the 41 different localities sampled. The beginning of reproductive season was estimated 30 days before the date of capture of the first pregnant female. For determination of the end of the reproductive time we used the date of the capture of the last lactating female, added by 40 days. The total of 688 adult bats was analyzed, of which 58.3% were females. The largest numbers of captures was observed in the months of February, January and August. Males with descent testicles were observed in all of the months. Inactive females were observed in predominance in March and of May to August. Females with palpable fetuses were observed in all of the months except in April, June and July, with peak in August-October and January-February. Lactating females were netted from November to June, with peak in November and February. Females simultaneously pregnant and lactating were captured in all of the months except in July, with peak in April. The size of the reproductive season varied every year, from eight to 12 months, with an average of 10.6 months.

Bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera) of an urban park in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil

Some bat species are able to adapt to urban areas, where they find food and roosts. Despite the high number of parks in Brazilian cities, they did not yet raise the interest of most zoologists, except for some surveys of birds and butterflies. The objectives of the present study were: (i) to inventory the bat species of Quinta da Boa Vista (QBV), a large (25 ha) urban park centrally located in densely populated Rio de Janeiro, which is Brazils second largest metropolis; (ii) to compare the species richness observed in roosts with the richness recorded through mist netting in flight routes and near fruiting fig trees; and (iii) to analyze recaptures of bats marked in this park and recaptured in other sites and vice-versa. Sampling totaled 104 sampling nights resulting in 3,256 captures (including 133 recaptures) between April 1989 and December 2004. We also sampled roosts and received some specimens from park visitors and city workers. We documented 21 bat species, predominantly large frugivores. The number of expected species for this park was 24.0 ± 4.6, and the total sampled represented 87.5% of the expected. The recapture of bats marked in surrounding forest fragments and in QBV shows the importance of urban parks for the maintenance of bat diversity. Inspection of roosts produced two species that had not been captured with other methods. Sampling near fruiting fig trees did not differ in terms of richness from sampling carried out far from these trees or during their non-fruiting periods.

Activity of two species of free-tailed bats over a stream in southeastern Brazil

The objective of the present study was to investigate activity time of the molossid bats Nyctinomops laticaudatus and Molossus molossus at the same locality, and to test whether activity of one species affects activity of the other. During January 2007-May 2009, we sampled for 15 nights over a stream in southeastern Brazil. Total sampling effort was 166 h and 693 m of nets. Time of capture was transformed into minutes in relation to sunset. First captures of M. molossus occurred just after sunset except for one individual that was captured before sunset. Total activity time of M. molossus ranged from 27 min before sunset to 743 min after sunset. Total activity time of N. laticaudatus ranged from 42 to 675 min after sunset and activity differed significantly between species. Activity of M. molossus was related to time of sunset, as expected based on behavior of other insectivorous species, whereas activity of N. laticaudatus seemed independent of sunset.

Morcegos em área de Floresta Montana, Visconde de Mauá, Resende, Rio de Janeiro

The goal of this study is to provide a list of bats from Visconde de Maua, municipality of Resende, Rio de Janeiro State, located 1,300 m above sea level. Fieldwork was carried out during seven nights in November 2005, with captures along flyways, feeding sites, and roosts. A total of 13 species was recorded (10 Phyllostomidae, two Vespertilionidae, and one Molossidae). Seven species are frugivores, two nectarivores, one hematophagous, and three insectivores. Sturnira lilium was the dominant species, with 79.6% of the captures.

Reproduction of Chrotopterus auritus (Peters) in captivity (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae)

Departamento de Ecologia, IbRAG, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Sao Francisco Xavier 524, CEP 20559-900, Rio de Janeiro, brasilCorrespondence to: Carlos Eduardo Lustosa Esberard, Departamento de Ecologia, IbRAG, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Sao Francisco Xavier 524, CEP 20559-900, Rio de Janeiro, brasil, e-mail: cesberard@terra.com.brReceived February 23, 2005 – Accepted April 15, 2005 – Distributed August 31, 2006

ATLANTIC BATS: a data set of bat communities from the Atlantic Forests of South America

Bats are the second most diverse mammal order and they provide vital ecosystem functions (e.g., pollination, seed dispersal, and nutrient flux in caves) and services (e.g., crop pest suppression). Bats are also important vectors of infectious diseases, harboring more than 100 different virus types. In the present study, we compiled information on bat communities from the Atlantic Forests of South America, a species-rich biome that is highly threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation. The ATLANTIC BATS data set comprises 135 quantitative studies carried out in 205 sites, which cover most vegetation types of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Forest: dense ombrophilous forest, mixed ombrophilous forest, semideciduous forest, deciduous forest, savanna, steppe, and open ombrophilous forest. The data set includes information on more than 90,000 captures of 98 bat species of eight families. Species richness averaged 12.1 per site, with a median value of 10 species (ranging from 1 to 53 species). Six species occurred in more than 50% of the communities: Artibeus lituratus, Carollia perspicillata, Sturnira lilium, Artibeus fimbriatus, Glossophaga soricina, and Platyrrhinus lineatus. The number of captures divided by sampling effort, a proxy for abundance, varied from 0.000001 to 0.77 individuals·h-1 ·m-2 (0.04 ± 0.007 individuals·h-1 ·m-2 ). Our data set reveals a hyper-dominance of eight species that together that comprise 80% of all captures: Platyrrhinus lineatus (2.3%), Molossus molossus (2.8%), Artibeus obscurus (3.4%), Artibeus planirostris (5.2%), Artibeus fimbriatus (7%), Sturnira lilium (14.5%), Carollia perspicillata (15.6%), and Artibeus lituratus (29.2%).

Predação ou Necrofagia de Alouatta guariba clamitans por Leopardus pardalis

Relatos de predação de primatas são escassos na literatura primatológica em decorrência, principalmente, das dificuldades de registrar eventos rápidos e raros (Urbani, 2005) e por que muitas observações ocorrem durante estudos com enfoque nos predadores ao invés das presas (Ferrari, 2009). Dentre os animais que consomem primatas podemos destacar os rapinantes, carnívoros de médio e grande porte, outros primatas e répteis (Ford e Boinski, 2007; Ferrari, 2009; Bianchi et al., 2010; Quintino e Bicca-Marques, 2013). A predação de primatas por felinos selvagens tem sido amplamente reportada (Calleia et al., 2009). Leopardus pardalis Linnaeus, 1758 é o felino que apresenta o maior número de estudos relacionado à sua dieta, embora dados oriundos de populações da Mata Atlântica brasileira sejam escassos (Bianchi et al., 2010). Estudos têm sugerido uma relação entre o tamanho do corpo da presa e o do predador (Calleia et al., 2009). Para L. pardalis tem sido reportado principalmente o consumo de pequenos mamíferos (até 2 kg), cuja frequência varia em resposta à abundância local das presas (Bisbal, 1986; Emmons, 1987). Contudo, este felino pode se alimentar esporadicamente de presas de maior porte (Konecny, 1989; Meza et al., 2002), como os bugios (Alouatta sp.) (Peetz et al., 1992; Miranda et al., 2006; Bianchi et al., 2010), seja via predação ou necrofagia (Crawshaw, 1995; Meza et al., 2002).