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Effects of forest fragmentation on frugivorous and nectarivorous bats in French Guiana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 1999

Jean-François Cosson ,
Jean-Marc Pons  and
Didier Masson
Jean-François Cosson
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de la Faune sauvage, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 65 rue de St Brieuc, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France; and Laboratoire Génome et Populations, CNRS-UPR 9060, Université de Montpellier II, C.C. 63, 34095 Montpellier Cedex, France
Jean-Marc Pons
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Zoologie, Mammifères et Oiseaux, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
Didier Masson
Affiliation:
386 Boulevard des Flamboyants, 40600 Biscarosse, France
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Abstract

The effects of tropical forest fragmentation on frugivorous and nectarivorous bats were studied on recent islands created by the flooding of a dam in French Guiana. Study sites include forest islands isolated by water, and control plots in nearby continuous forest. Studies began 1y before the onset of forest fragmentation and encompassed the first 3y after flooding. Forest fragmentation greatly modified the diversity and abundance of bats. Changes occurred more rapidly in the smallest fragments than in the largest one, and trends were remarkably similar among all the studied islands. Bat captures in islands were characterised by the scarcity of understorey frugivores. Differences in home range size and foraging strategies may explain why understorey fruit bat species are more sensitive to fragmentation than canopy ones. Changes in the frugivorous bat community may have indirect consequences on both the demographic and the genetic structures of plant populations inside forest fragments.

Keywords

batsbiodiversityfragmentationFrench Guianafrugivoresnectarivoresrain forest
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 15 , Issue 4 , July 1999 , pp. 515 - 534
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press

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