Comunidade de morcegos e análise de grãos de pólen em pelagem de Phyllostomidae (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) no Parque Estadual Fontes do Ipiranga – PEFI, São Paulo, Brasil

Abstract

Given the situation of habitat loss and natural landscape disturbance, bats represent a good source of information for studies on diversity, interaction and responses to environmental changes. In addition, they perform essential mutualistic relationships for the maintenance of plant species, such as the pollination. However, little is known about the pollen diversity present on the fur of phytophagous bats. Thus, this study aimed to compare the bat assemblage in two sites with different conservation degrees within the Fontes do Ipiranga State Park (PEFI), and also record the pollen types found on the fur of Phyllostomidae bats from the same area. Six mist nets were used to capture the bats, which were monthly set up for four consecutive nights with duration of four hours of sampling, between October 2015 and September 2016 at the PEFI, located in the municipality of São Paulo. The pollen grains present on the fur of Phyllostomidae bats were removed using brush and distilled water. A total of 531 bats were captured (discounting 61 recaptures) belonging to 10 species and three families, in which Phyllostomidae was the most representative. The Botanical Institute accounted for 347 captures (discounting 42 recaptures) of nine species, and at the FPZSP site, 184 individuals were captured (discounting 19 recaptures) belonging to ten species. In both sites the most abundant, dominant and constant species were Artibeus lituratus, Stunira lilium e Artibeus fimbriatus, and the sites were very similar regarding to species composition. On the fur of the five bat species studied, 72 pollen types were recorded, in which the most frequent were Alchornea (9,3%, n=20), Eucalyptus (5,6%, n=12) and Euterpe (4,6%, n=10). The bat species that presented the higher pollen diversity on their bodies were Artibeus lituratus, Stunira lilium and Artibeus fimbriatus. In general, although the study showed that the sites are very similar regarding to species composition, the Botanical Institute site presented a higher abundance, probably because it offers more resources. The abundance and dominance of few species indicates a strong environmental imbalance at the sites, which is directly related to the densely urbanized matrix that surrounds the PEFI and its intense edge effects. The results about the pollen analysis revealed that the frugivorous species presented great pollen diversity on their bodies, and the most pollen types recorded on bat species at PEFI do not have yet, in literature, reports of interactions between these animals and plant species. Thus, it indicates a demand in research that better investigates what kinds of interactions and relationships might be occurring between these bats and these plant species.