Diet analysis and temporary variation of bat mutualistic networks in the northeast Colombian Amazonia

Abstract

The study of mutualistic networks is fundamental to know which species are related, taking into ac-count dietary analysis, and to evaluate the effect of the disturbances on the species of an ecosystem. To a reserve the knowledge of this phenomenon provides information about the outcomes of its conservation efforts. This work was developed in 2014 and 2017 in the county Playa Güío in San José del Guaviare, Colombia. The Levins’ index and the Morisita index were calculated to know the breadth of the niche and the overlapping of diets of the frugivorous bats respectively. Interaction networks were studied by estimating the modularity, robustness and nestedness (NODF). We registered 18 species of fruit bats and 20 species of plants belonging to the families Piperaceae, Urticaceae, Moraceae, Hy-pericaceae, and Solanaceae. The Levins’ index showed that bat species prefer a resource over others, while the Morisita index shows an overlap within nomadic and sedentary bats. The nestedness and robustness of the mutualistic network decreased in 2017 as the number of bat species with few interactions increased, but modularity increased. The county Playa Güío maintains an interaction network with generalist species associated with natural regenerations processes, important for the conservation objectives of the reserve, moreover, the measurements indicate that the interaction network is stable and can persist over time.