Time of night and moonlight structure vertical space use by insectivorous bats in a Neotropical rainforest: an acoustic monitoring study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Previous research has shown diverse vertical space use by various taxa, highlighting the importance of forest vertical structure. Yet, we know little about vertical space use of tropical forests, and we often fail to explore how this three-dimensional space use changes over time.

Methods

Here we use canopy tower systems in French Guiana and passive acoustic monitoring to measure Neotropical bat activity above and below the forest canopy throughout nine nights. We use a Bayesian generalized linear mixed effect model and kernel density estimates to demonstrate patterns in space-use over time.

Results

We found that different bats use both canopy and understory space differently and that these patterns change throughout the night. Overall, bats were more active

SUBMITTER: Gomes DGE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7751414 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature