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Artigo
Mobility of bats between caves: ecological aspects and implications for conservation and environmental licensing activities in Brazil
(2021-08-17) Leal, Edson Silva Barbosa; Bernard, Enrico
Bats are highly mobile animals, moving rapidly over long distances. Detecting such movements is challenging, especially in cave areas, a commonly-used roost by bats. Brazil has a large number of caves and bat species, but details on bat mobility among caves is still poorly documented there. Such monitoring provides insights on the structuring and conservation of cave-dwelling communities, with possible legal implications for the environmental licensing in Brazil. Based on marking (2,490 bats captured; 2,142 marked) and recapture (35 events; 14 extra-site), here we present data on the mobility of mormoopid bats between two bat caves 15 km apart in northeastern Brazil. Sexual segregation between caves may explain mobility: one cave is likely a maternity roost; the other is a satellite cave used for copulae. Nomadic behavior due to seasonal distribution of resources in the semi-arid Northeastern Brazil cannot be ruled out. Based on the distance between the two caves, bats could potentially forage over an area of ~170,000 hectares, in a wider use of the landscape. Our data have implications for the conservation of bat species and their roosts, and contribute to a more evidence-based discussion of key concepts governing the environmental licensing of mining activities in Brazil.