Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: EUGENIA DE JESUS CORDERO SCHMIDT

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
DISCENTE : EUGENIA DE JESUS CORDERO SCHMIDT
DATA : 16/08/2019
HORA: 08:00
LOCAL: Sala de reuniões - DECOL
TÍTULO:

Interactions, persistence and coexistence mechanisms of nectarivorous bats and the plants they feed on, in a Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest in Northeastern Brazil


PALAVRAS-CHAVES:

Caatinga; Chiroptera; variação espaço-temporal; dieta; fenologia; Cactaceae


PÁGINAS: 1
GRANDE ÁREA: Ciências Biológicas
ÁREA: Ecologia
RESUMO:

The Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (SDTF), such as Caatinga, are considered harsh environments due to their high ambient temperature, scarce and variable rainfall and seasonal restrictions on the availability of water and food resources. These characteristics can affect the structure of mammal and plant assemblages and hence their life histories. Several mechanisms of persistence in neotropical SDTF have been depicted for both bats (migration, diet plasticity, morphological differences, foraging strategies) and plants (deciduousness, thorns, seasonal phenologies), all highly influenced by precipitation and temperature. This thesis is the first study for in the brazilian SDTF that assess the interactions between the plants and nectar-feeding bats while exploring what mechanisms of coexistence and persistence are evidenced on these bat species through time. We studied the spatial and temporal variation of the interaction networks between nectarivorous bats and plants (Chapter 1), by capturing bats and collecting pollen samples from their fur, to later identify the plants from which they are feeding. The data collection in the field was carried out in 151 nights distributed in the dry season (55 nights), rainy season (49) and the transition period (47), in seven localities throughout Rio Grande do Norte state (RN).The nectarivorous guild consisted in five species with a total of 668 captured individuals. Glossophaga soricina was the most abundant (n= 252) followed by Lonchophylla mordax (n= 173), Xeronycteris vieirai (n= 134), Lonchophylla inexpectata (n= 103) and the less abundant was Anoura geoffroyi  (n= 6). These five species formed a network of interactions with 31 plant species yielding 1388 interaction events. The network presented a structure of partial nestedness and assimetry. To understand how these five species coexists and persists, we monitored an ensemble of nectarivorous bats for a year in a Caatinga area in Lajes, RN (Chapter 2). Bats were captured and samples of pollen, feces, and morphological measurements were collected. The bat ensemble was composed by four year-round resident species and one "occasional" or rare species, Anoura geoffroyi. Differences were found in the food-resource use among the resident species; however, cacti were the most important resource during both seasons and transitions for all nectar-feeding bat species. Which led us to the last part of this project where we aim to unravel the relationships between cacti and nectarivorous bats (Chapter 3). We characterized the flowering and fruiting patterns of five coexisting species of Cactaceae, detecting phenological overlaps and exploring which climatic factors might be regulating those patterns. Finally we analyzed how the available cacti resources were used by the different species of nectarivorous bats over time comparing different reproductive status among the captured individuals (e.g. pregnant, lactating, non reproductive). Cctaceae flower resources were available year round favoring the year round persistence of nectar feeding bats in this Caatinga area.


MEMBROS DA BANCA:
Presidente - 1718346 - EDUARDO MARTINS VENTICINQUE
Interna - 1914239 - MIRIAM PLAZA PINTO
Interna - 3058386 - VANESSA GRAZIELE STAGGEMEIER
Notícia cadastrada em: 31/07/2019 14:16
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