Enhancing sampling design in mist-net bat surveys by accounting for sample size optimization.

ABSTRACT: The advantages of mist-netting, the main technique used in Neotropical bat community studies to date, include logistical implementation, standardization and sampling representativeness. Nonetheless, study designs still have to deal with issues of detectability related to how different species behave and use the environment. Yet there is considerable sampling heterogeneity across available studies in the literature. Here, we approach the problem of sample size optimization. We evaluated the common sense hypothesis that the first six hours comprise the period of peak night activity for several species, thereby resulting in a representative sample for the whole night. To this end, we combined re-sampling techniques, species accumulation curves, threshold analysis, and community concordance of

SUBMITTER: Trevelin LC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5363843 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature