Complementarity and efficiency of bat capture methods in a lowland tropical dry forest of Yucatan, Mexico

Abstract

The combined use of different methods for surveying bat assemblages has increased over the last few decades. The objective of this study was to assess the efficiency of bat inventories by comparing assemblages parameters (species richness, abundance and composition) using the 3 most conventional capture methods (ground-level and sub-canopy mist nets and harp traps), in a lowland tropical dry forest in Yucatan, Mexico. In ground mist nets, only phyllostomid species were recorded, principally frugivorous and nectarivorous species, while in harp traps the majority were insectivorous species from other families. Our results indicate that for the order Chiroptera the most efficient combination of capture methods is the simultaneous use of ground mist nets and harp traps. However, an inventory of Phyllostomidae is reliably achieved with only ground mist nets. Also, a combination of ground and sub-canopy mist nets does not provide an efficient sampling strategy.