Chiropterofauna diversity in the Research Institute of the Pantanal and surroundings, Aquidauana, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

The diversity, dominance and trophic guild of chiropterofauna were evaluated in a region of the Southern Pantanal. Between 1999 and 2009, in the vicinity of the Research Institute of the Pantanal, a total of 683 exemplars were captured, belonging to 26 species distributed into five families: Emballonuridae, Molossidae, Noctilionidae, Phyllostomidae and Vespertilionidae. The stabilized rarefaction curve indicates that all species occurring in the region have probably already been caught. With regard to trophic structure, insectivores prevailed with 50%, frugivores represented 23.1%, nectarivores, hematophages and omnivores were 7.7% each, and piscivores comprised 3.8%. The results indicate that the area presents compatible diversity (1.98) with that suggested for Neotropical regions (2.0), demonstrating that the region is still preserved, with high species diversity.