A network of bat caves in Brazilian drylands support population connectivity in Pteronotus bats (Chiroptera: Mormoopidae).

ABSTRACT: Pteronotus is a Neotropical genus of mormoopid bats known to form large colonies in caves. Cave selection by Pteronotus is not random, and maternity roosts are characterized by the presence of a hot chamber where females give birth and raise their young. Such bat caves are unique from ecological and conservationist perspectives. Previous studies on bat caves in the drylands of Brazilian northeastern region - some holding up to 150,000 bats - have shown that P. gymnonotus presented no population structuring, with no correlation between geographical and genetic distance, and that bat caves up to 700 km apart form a very dynamic roost network used by that species. P. personatus is a smaller relative found in sympatry with P. gymnonotus. Both species frequently share the same roosts and are ex

SUBMITTER: Ito F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12642343 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature